Friday, September 22, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline Forum : Checks needed for condo kitty
 This story was printed from TODAYonline | |
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| Checks needed for condo kitty Lack of training, rules hinders management committees' financial governance Friday ? September 22, 2006 Letter from Patrick Sio UNLIKE the Town Council Act, which provides for the Government to make financial rules, there is an absence of the same in the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act. Financial rules are important as they govern the collection, receipt, custody, issue, expenditure, due accounting for, care and management of all public moneys. The rules provide guidance to all persons managing public money. The Financial Rules (in the Town Council Act) require the effectual recording, examination, inspection and checking of all receipts and expenditure and the keeping of all necessary books and accounts. The rules will also state the forms by which all books are to be maintained. The Town Council manager has to prepare estimates of revenue and expenditure and present them to the chairman, who is also a Member of Parliament. The absence of financial rules for private condominiums management councils (MC) can result in poor record-keeping of accounts; the refusal by persons with access to public money to disclose finance-related matters; and a failure to budget for expenses. This is my personal experience in having had to spend $500 to bring a condominium developer to the Strata Titles Board to obtain photocopies of documents. Above all, the treasurer of a private condominium MC ? who is often not trained in book-keeping or accounting ? is not guided. For example, in my condominium, at the first Annual General Meeting, when I asked the treasurer why the gym equipment was not declared as an asset of the MC, the treasurer said it was the owner of the developer who had paid for the gym equipment. Clearly, he is unaware of the distinct legal identity of the MC from the company (the developer) for whom he works. This is dangerous because public money is left in the hands of untrained officers of the MC, who may unintentionally use the public money wrongly. | |
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// posted by Shajahan @ 1:53 PM 