This is our four part discussion of what ALL board members and officers of community associations in America should read: the 35-point bulletproof list of financial procedures detailed in “Escaping Condo Jail“, and consider it a survival manual.
It is divided into four segments:
- Inheriting Old Books
- Guarding and Vigilance
- Cyberbanking Procedures
- Efficiency Maximization and Return
Previously, we discussed Banking on the Cloud: Cyberbanking Safeguards.
In this post, we will discuss the fourth and final segment, Show Me the Money: Maximizing Efficiency and Return.
- Consider mandatory recurring Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments for assessment payments. This type of payment can track payments in real time -even from an iPhone – and delinquencies can be addressed immediately. To help avoid skimming, do not allow owners to make payments in cash.
- If the reserve account is substantial in size, the association’s financial procedures manual should address how and whether – the money will be safely invested, for example, in staggered CDs, or a small percentage may be invested in guaranteed investments. All risky investments such as playing the stock market should be strictly prohibited, even if the association’s present is a trader.
Next up, we’ll compile all four posts together into one comprehensive Financial Procedures Checklist! Until then, feel free to live chat with our staff about your association!