Maya B read opening remarks
OPENING REPORT C.A. WORLD SERVICE CONFERENCE 2018 FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
INTRODUCTION AND OPENING COMMENTS:
Wow! I can’t believe how fast this last year has flown by! We’ve had a fantastic committee this year. Even better, we had enough people to create sub-committees (which we have lacked in prior years), and boy did they make up for lost time! We had eight full committee conference calls, and two additional Budget Sub-Committee calls, with lots of work in between calls of course.
We prepared an Amended 2018 Budget and a Proposed 2019 Draft Budget that were included in the SR-14 mailing. We’ve made great progress on consolidated (US and International) Financial Guidelines and are looking forward to the time available here to continue making progress. We also had an International Banking Committee that worked so thoroughly they worked themselves out of a job! We also have come up with what we think will be a great fundraiser for the WSO, but more to be revealed on this matter!
COMMITTEE INTRODUCTIONS:
Maya B – Chair
Paul S – Vice Chair
Jim G – Secretary
Allison M – WSO Treasurer
George M – ANR Trustee
Kerry W – SWR Trustee
Caryl S – Fundraising
Dawn M – Financial Guidelines
Freddie P – International Banking
Pierre K – International Banking
Stephanie K – Financial Guidelines
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REFERRALS THAT WERE WORKED ON DURING THE YEAR:
Finance 2017-3 From Dawn M. CAUK Area (In-Conference):
That the WS finance committee operate bank accounts in various currencies (subject to any legal requirements and constraints) to alleviate the cost of exchange rates and charges. E.G: Dollars for US, EURO for ER, Sterling for UK, Krona for Denmark, etc.
This proposal supports not only cost-efficient financial management but also commences to underpin one of the fundamentals of international development and long-term planning.
It seems onerous and costly to me that Areas donate in one currency to have it exchanged to credit it to an account and then possibly spent again in another currency incurring further losses. An example of this is where Denmark donates in Krona, then when buying its Literature it costs more due to the exchange rate – possibly pricing/rate cards could be developed by currency type for all goods/literature and payments received through the correct currency account.
Action: We created an International Banking Sub-Committee that had conversations with our Bank of America representative, in person meetings with multiple Bankers from South Africa, and online research. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have a solution other than “use PayPal”.
So, the solution comes down to keeping the number of international transfers low and if the currency exchange rate changes often to keep an eye on it and time transfers at optimal rates. These suggestions will also be included in the new Financial Guidelines we are currently working on. We were hoping to have a better solution to pass along to World Service Office, but at this time we feel we have exhausted all efforts.
COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AS OF THE START OF THIS CONFERENCE
| Chair | Maya B | aunt.maya@gmail.com | |
| Vice-Chair | Paul S | paulscudo@hotmail.com | |
| Secretary | Jim G | jimut2501@gmail.com | |
| Treasurer | Allison M | ordesall021@gmail.com | |
| Trustee | Kerry W | swrt@ca.org | |
| Trustee | George M | anrt@ca.org | |
| Member | Caryl S | ladycnote1@yahoo.com | |
| Member | Dawn M | dawnydelegate@gmail.com | |
| Member | Freddie P | freddiepro12@gmail.com | |
| Member | Pierre K | pierrekennedy@mweb.co.za |
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Member Stephanie K stephaniekottmann@yahoo.com
CLOSING COMMENTS
Committee Budget requests are due to us by noon on Friday! If you have not personally spoken with me or Paul, my Vice Chair, for an exception to this you may miss your chance to have any budget at all. Please be considerate of our time and realize that we don’t want to work late into the night trying to find available room in the budget any more than you want to work late into the night on your committee. Plus, closing reports are due Friday night and we don’t want to anger the secretaries!
The Finance Committee is charged with the financial well-being of our Fellowship, which is something that we all take very seriously. However, this doesn’t mean that we don’t like to have fun! If you are looking to learn a new skill, see where your 7th Tradition funds end up, or are just curious how the finances work come and join us!
And remember No Money = No Party, but Mo Money = Mo Party!!
Respectfully Submitted in Love and Service:
Maya B
Maya B – If you see anyone wearing the Red button, please talk to one of us to answer questions on the SMART donation program or the on-line option from the ca.org site.
Trevor S – Any questions for the committee? Seeing none, please thank the committee. Also, please hold applause until the end of introductions.
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