Finances

Text in italics has been added for our purposes including content from our previous rules of incorporation. Plain text is from the Companies Office's Constitution Builder. The help text in boxes is usually that provided by the Constitution Builder to explain requirements. Items in bold are defined terms.

Control and management (Mandatory section)

The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 gives a society full capacity to enter into any transaction or activity but also says that a society’s constitution may restrict its capacity, rights, or powers. To ensure that a society’s activities are appropriately constrained, it would be useful to include such a rule. This helps to reinforce that the society’s activities should be restricted to those that advance or support its purposes. The Act and the Regulations set out financial recording and reporting requirements for incorporated societies, which vary depending on the size of the society.

1. The funds and property of SCANZ will be controlled, invested and disposed of by the committee, subject to this constitution, and devoted solely to the promotion of the purposes of SCANZ, however, branches and the Kingdom of Lochac will have SCANZ funds allocated for their needs.
2. The committee will maintain bank accounts in the name of the society.
   1. Branches will hold allocated SCANZ funds in their own sub-accounts, administered at the branch level with local signatories according to applicable financial policy.
   2. The Kingdom of Lochac will hold allocated SCANZ funds for costs associated with kingdom-level activities, administered by the Council of the Purse according to applicable financial policy.
3. All money received on account of SCANZ must be banked within 10 working days (after receipt or after the end of the event at which it was received).
4. All accounts paid or for payment from corporate or kingdom allocated funds must be submitted to the committee for approval of payment.
5. All accounts paid or for payment from branch allocated SCANZ funds must approved according to applicable financial policy.
6. The committee must ensure that there are kept at all times accounting records that —
   1. correctly record the transactions of SCANZ and its branches, and
   2. allow SCANZ to produce financial statements that comply with the requirements of the Act, and
   3. would enable the financial statements to be readily and properly audited (if required under any legislation or SCANZ's constitution).
7. The committee must establish and maintain a satisfactory system of control of SCANZ's accounting records.
8. The accounting records must be kept in written form or in a form or manner that is easily accessible and convertible into written form. And the accounting records must be kept for the current accounting period and for the last 7 completed accounting periods of SCANZ.

Balance date (mandatory section)

The balance date determines timelines for other obligations. For instance, your society must hold its annual general meeting within 6 months of its balance date. It must also prepare and file annual financial statements with the Registrar within 6 months of its balance date. The Act and Regulations determine the specific requirements for how each society prepares its financial statements, and whether they need to be audited.

1. SCANZ's financial year shall commence on 1 April of each year and end on 31 March (the latter date being SCANZ's balance date).

Financial reporting

1. Branches of SCANZ will report to the SCANZ treasurer or their appointed representative according to guidelines that may be set by the SCANZ treasurer from time to time.
2. Failure to report without appropriate explanation is grounds for suspension of the responsible officer in that branch.
3. Failure to report within a further month without appropriate explanation is grounds for the suspension of that branch.
4. As required by the Act, the SCANZ treasurer or their appointed representative shall present the end-of-year accounts to the annual general meeting for approval by the membership, a copy of which is registered with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies within 4 weeks of that meeting accompanied by a certificate stating they have been approved by a general meeting of the membership.