BSA Governance Information

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA - POLICIES - BSA Policies and procedures documents are in the process of being rewritten to reflect our commitment to transparency and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002). The policy and procedure work will be complete by December 31, 2007.

Revised March, 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATION
II. MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
      A. Membership Types
III. OFFICERS
      A. Election and Appointment of Officers
      B. Duties of Elected Officers
      C. Duties of Appointed Officers
IV. COUNCIL
V. SECTIONS
VI. COMMITTEES
VII. PUBLICATIONS
      A. American Journal of Botany
      B. Plant Science Bulletin
      C. Web Presence
VIII. ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
IX. BSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
X. GRANT MANAGEMENT
XI. ACCOUNTING
      A. CHART OF ACCOUNTS & CLASSES
      B. DUES PROCESSING
      C. INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
      D. PAYROLL
      E. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
      F. PETTY CASH
      G. BANK ACCOUNTS
      H. BANK RECONCILIATIONS
      I. INSURANCE POLICIES
      J. ENDOWMENT FUND & SALOMON SMITH BARNEY ACCOUNTING
      K. ACCOUNTANT RESPONSIBILITIES
      L. ANNUAL BUDGETS
      M. MONTHLY / ANNUAL CLOSE OF BOOKS
      N. DONATIONS TO THE BSA
      O. QUID PRO DONATIONS TO THE BSA
      P. RECORD RETENTION
      Q. MONTHLY / ANNUAL CHECKLIST
      R. COMPETETIVE BIDDING REQUIREMENTS
      S. PROMPT USE OF FEDERAL GRANT MONIES & SEGREGATED ACCOUNTING
XII. WEB SITE & DATABASE MANAGEMENT
      A. WEBSITE MANAGEMENT
      B. ONLINE DUES PROCESSING
      C. DATABASE MANAGEMENT
XIII. INTERNAL CONTROL
      A. STAFF EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS
      B. OPENING MAIL & CASH RECEIPTS
      C. SIGNING CHECKS
      D. BANK RECONCILIATIONS
      E. TIME USAGE REPORTS
XIV. SECTION & SPECIAL FUNDS ACCOUNTS
      A. SECTIONS
          i. Allotment Allocation
          ii. Use of Allotments
      B. SPECIAL ACCOUNTS
          i. BSA Unrestricted Funds
          ii. BSA Endowment Fund
          iii. BSA Educational Fund
          iv. BSA Botanical Friends Fund
          v. BSA PlantingScience Fund
          vi. Vernon I Cheadle Fund
          vii. Michael Cichan Fund
          viii. Conant Travel Fund
          ix. Isabel Cookson Fund
          x. Leasure K. Darbaker Fund
          xi. Katherine Esau Fund
          xii. John S. Karling Fund
          xiii. Margaret Menzel Fund
          xiv. A. J. Sharp
          xv. Maynard Moseley Fund
          xvi. Winfried and Reneta Remy Fund
          xvii. Grady L. Webster Fund

I. OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATION

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA (BSA)

The Botanical Society of America (BSA) is a "not-for-profit" membership society that exists to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere.

For tax purposes, we are a 501©(3) organization that was originally incorporated in Connecticut – TAX ID# 62-0671591. Member Kent Holsinger is our agent for service in the state of Connecticut and files the incorporation renewal with the CT Secretary of State every 2 years. The administrative offices of the BSA are located in St. Louis, Missouri adjacent to the Missouri Botanical Gardens (MOBOT) and MOBOT provides the site and support services to the BSA.

Sales tax – the BSA has no obligation to charge sales tax for internet sales. All internet sales across state lines are not subject to sales tax (as of now…).

As the BSA operates as a non-profit in Missouri, they have applied for and received an exemption so they don’t have to charge sales tax (which would normally apply to merchandise sales to Missouri residents). Their Tax Exempt# 18473598.

The BSA is registered as a non-profit organization with the Missouri Secretary of State.

The BSA has a fiscal year of October 1st to September 30th. Prior to 1999, the organization had a June fiscal year end but it was changed to encompass the Annual Meeting activity in July/August.

Missouri does not require a corporate or non-profit return filing so the Association only files an annual federal non-profit tax return, form 990. This form is available online at a national non-profit website located at: www.guidestar.org. As a non-profit , the Association is required to provide a current copy of their tax return to any person or organization that requests it (and the BSA can charge them a copy or mailing fee).

II. MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

There are two categories of membership in the Botanical Society of America, Voting (v) and Non-Voting (nv). Within each category there are various membership types. New membership types must be approved by a 2/3^rds vote of the BSA Council.

A. Membership Types

i. Professional Member (v) - Any person who is interested in botany/plant biology and who is not eligible for, or does not desire inclusion in, the categories that follow. - $50

ii. Student Member (v) - Any full-time (degree-seeking) student who submits an application. - $30 (Maximum eligibility - 7 years)

iii. Emeritus Member (v) - BSA Member for 25 years or more and now retired. No charge for membership - the BSA thanks you for your contributions over the years.

iv. Family Members: - Members of the families of one of the three member types above. Family members have the same rights and privileges as other members except they share one copy of all publications and/or mailings from the Society. All family members have the right to vote. Add +$5 to the main members membership type.

v. Corresponding Members (v) - Corresponding Members are distinguished senior scientists who have made outstanding contributions to plant science and who live and work outside of the United States of America. The number of such members is limited to fifty living persons. Members or Sections submit nominations supported by credentials of proposed Corresponding Members to the Committee on Corresponding Members which reviews these credentials and forwards its recommendations to the Council. The Council evaluates these proposals and presents its selected nominees to The Society for election at an annual business meeting. Corresponding Members pay no dues and have all the privileges of Voting Members.

vi. K-12 & Community College Classroom Teachers (nv) - K-12 & Community College teachers interested in plants and plant biology as part of the overall science program. - $10

vii. Affiliated Professional (nv) - An Affiliated Botanist is a professional person working in, or having interest in, plant-related information that does not fit within our professional membership category. This is a non-voting, non-publishing membership with online access to the American Journal of Botany (including the journal archives) and Plant Science Bulletin.- $35

viii. Amateur Botanist (nv) - Membership for the non-professional, non-Academic, who loves plants and is interested in gaining online access to nearly 100 years of the American Journal of Botany. This is a non-voting, non-publishing membership with online access to the American Journal of Botany (including the journal archives) and Plant Science Bulletin. - $20

ix. Associate Membership (nv) - An Associate Membership is designed offers an opportunity for BSA members to gift/provide membership to fellow plant scientists working in developing nations (based on the Hinari stage 1 & 2 criteria http://www.who.int/hinari/eligibility/en/), who might not otherwise be able to join the Society. BSA members can recommend their colleagues for an Associate Membership. This is a non-voting, non-publishing membership with online access to the American Journal of Botany (including the journal archives) and Plant Science Bulletin. Members, to use this membership type please go to https://payments.scientific-conference.net/associatememberships.php, contact the BSA office at 314-577-9566 or email us at bsa-manager@botany.org. - $10

x. Corporate Membership (nv) - For details of benefits, see Corporate Membership on the BSA website - $6,500.

xi. Other Temporary Memberships (nv) - Other temporary membership types may be employed from time to time at dues agreed by the Council for promotional purposes, for example gift memberships to students.

III. OFFICERS

A. Election and Appointment of Officers

B. Duties of Elected Officers

C. Duties of Appointed Officers

D. Etical Guidelines

E. Conflict of Interest

IV. COUNCIL

V. SECTION

As part of being a general member of the BSA, there are special interest groups (i.e. ecology, paleobotany, etc) that each member can join (called Sections); some of these Sections require an additional fee be paid up front and these monies are allocated towards a specific cash fund for that section (although no separate bank accounts are kept). These funds are discretionary & to be used by the Sections as their bylaws allow – for association dues, awards and Annual Meeting related expenses.

In addition to monies they raise through dues, the sections are also allocated an annual sum (called an Allotment) that they can also spend in accordance with their bylaws. See Sectional & Award Allotment

Each section has both a Cash account (from dues raised and specific donations to that fund) and an Allotment account. Expenses for the sections are first paid out of the Allotment accounts and then out of the Cash account. Since no Sections are allowed to end the fiscal year in the red, any over spending of the Allotment account is covered by a transfer from the Cash account of each specific section.

VI. COMMITTEES

VII. PUBLICATIONS

A. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY (AJB)

The Botanical Society of America publishes a peer reviewed scientific journal called the American Journal of Botany; an online subscription is included in each annual membership fee. Apart from members, institutional subscribers (clients) also purchase the journal.

B. PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

The Plant Science Bulletin is another publication of the BSA printed quarterly & published by a volunteer committee who prepares the info on MS Pagemaker and directly submits to Allen Press.

C. WEB PRESENCE

VIII. ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

IX. ANNUAL BOTANY CONFERENCE

As separate part of the BSA operations, the Society arranges and administers an annual botanical conference which is where the bulk of the awards sponsored by the BSA are given out. This conference is at a new site each year.

BSA Meetings Manager administrator and coordinates the meeting activities year round.

X. GRANT MANAGEMENT

The BSA will fully comply with all granting agent policies and procedures and produce any and all required reports on time and to the detail requested.

Under constructions....

XI. QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTING

The BSA’s accounting records are kept online with Quickbooks. That site is located at https://login.quickbooks.com. Quickbooks/Intuit is responsible for the daily backup of this information at an off-site server.

All financial reporting is done through the online Quickbooks program.

CHART OF ACCOUNTS & CLASSES

See the attached appendix for the full chart of accounts

As part of the accounting, each Income and Expense transaction is also posted to a specific department, called Class, within Quickbooks. This allows the reporting of BSA results by the following classes:

1 – St. Louis
2 – AJB (American Journal of Botany)
3 – EC (Executive Committee)
4 – Annual Meeting Activity
5 – Sections and Special Interest Accounts
6 – Awards
7 – Investment activity
8 – PSB (Plant Science Bulletin)
9 – Grants

DUES PROCESSING

Income is generated from these different areas:

• INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS – the BSA does some direct billing but the majority of these renewals come from Agents who submit the renewals. Current Subscription rates can be found at www.amjbot.org/subscriptions/print.shtml. These payments are mostly made by check payment, some by credit cards & BSA Finance and Administration Officer records on a separate deposit ticket before being input into the Quickbooks accounting.
• MISCELLANEOUS INCOME –American Journal of Botany (AJB) editorial charges, advertising, JAM royalties (from Stanford High Wire Press web site viewing), etc; these come by check and are grouped with other miscellaneous deposits on a deposit ticket.
• ANNUAL BSA MEMBERSHIPS – the memberships are renewed on a calendar year basis & the majority of the renewals are received during the winter months of November through February. Renewing members pay a variety of fees based on the type of membership (www.botany.org/membership/). As a benefit of membership, an online subscription to the AJB is included. As part of the renewal process, members can pay an additional $85 to receive a print copy of the AJB and may also purchase merchandise, join sections and make contributions to the BSA.
  • MAIL IN MEMBER RENEWALS – these are mailed into the St. Louis office and processed by BSA Finance and Administration Officer who manually updates the membership database for the renewal info and records the deposits in Quickbooks. Credit card payments are processed thru Personal Ticket Capture.
  • ONLINE MEMBER RENEWALS – this information is processed online via the web site, an order is printed up and then the order is imported into the member database.
    1. To view the order, go to the botany.secure web site and input the range of dates to process the current orders; orders can be viewed and printed individually and then imported into the database.
    2. The accounting side of the member dues is recorded as follows:
    a) Go to Verisign web site and download the activity report for the month’s work
    Access the website at: Call BSA Office
    Partner: Call BSA Office
    Login: Call BSA Office
    Password: Call BSA Office
    
    REPORTS, SETTLEMENT & change dates to month of report (Oct 1, 2003 to Oct 31, 2003)
    b) From the Verisign report, add up the dollars associated with each batch and match these up to the bank statement deposits.
    c) Go to the secure.botany web site and go to the bottom section for ‘Online Dues’ reporting. Create the report for the month and match up the monthly totals on the VeriSign report (there will be timing differences at the beginning & end of each month). This report is setup to convert to a *.csv file (see bottom) which can then be saved as an Excel file.
    
    Access the website at: Call BSA Office
    Username: Call BSA Office
    Password: Call BSA Office
    
    ONLINE DUES (from date 10/1/03 to 10/31/03), then VIEW REPORT
    When report is on the screen, click on ‘Download Online Dues in CSV format’
    
    d) Once the batch totals have been tied to the bank statement, add up the total ‘cleared’ deposits ONLY on the bank statement and record a single deposit for that month’s total dues.

INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS (CLIENTS)

In addition to individual members, the AJB magazine is also available by subscription to businesses and institutions (academic and non-academic) in either a print or online version.

These are based on a different pricing system than the individual member subscription and are recorded separately in the accounting.

The majority of the institutional subscriptions are handled by agents (Ebsco, Swets Information Services) who do the actual invoicing to the institution. They then send a lump sum check to the BSA with the various client payments attached.

Other than one agent, Swets/Blackford, these have not been converted to an electronic system for easy download into the database. The Administrative Coordinator inputs them manually into the database.

PAYROLL

The BSA outsources its human resource and payroll functions from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Ohio State University. The relationship with Ohio State is a grandfather arrangement for one member of staff.

Missouri Botanical Garden

BSA staff are employed through an HR/Payroll relationship with the Missouri Botanic Garden (MOBOT) and fall under the MOBOT umbrella for fringe benefits, including retirement, workers compensation coverage, and sick and vacation time. The BSA reimburses MOBOT for their out-of-pocket costs on these employees.

The BSA has a personnel committee which oversees the performance and employee reviews for both of these employees.

Ohio State University

As an accommodation to the BSA, BSA Meetings Manager has been hired as an A&P (administrative and personnel) ‘employee’ of Ohio State. Her initial salary was determined by the BSA (and is within University guidelines) and she receives the fixed benefit package that Ohio State offers to all of it’s A&P employees, including the cost of living increases provided to all of its staff on regular schedule. The Botanical Society of America has adopted the University sick and vacation policy as their own. See http://hr.osu.edu/policy/policy627.pdf for the full and complete policy.

A second web site for the Human Resources Policy and Procedures manual is: www.ohr.ohio-state.edu/policy/policy1.htm

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

All operational and section cash disbursements are made from the BSA’s primary bank account at Commerce Bank.

Within Quickbooks, checks are written through the menu option Banking, Write Checks. The bank account is #1025, Commerce Bank. Choose a payee from the vendor list (drop down arrow to the right of Payee field), input the amount & memo, and then post to a specific Account (drop down arrow to the right of the Account field), and add a Class.

Leave the ‘to be printed’ box checked so the system can automatically assign check numbers when printing checks.

Then go to Banking, Print Checks, change the bank account to #1025 and add the starting check number. Put the computer checks in the printer & then print. Align as needed to fit the check form.

PETTY CASH

When a check is first written to fund the petty cash drawer, that payment is posted to Account# 1020 – Petty Cash Missouri. As cash is used up, the receipts are collected so that they may be entered into the accounting system as expenses.

To re-fund the cash drawer, a check is written to cash for the new amount to replenish the drawer. Simultaneously, a journal entry is recorded in Quickbooks to record how the previous cash was spent.

A sample journal entry is recorded as:

Debit: Office Expense (for receipts on hand) $35.
Debit: Meals Expense (for receipts on hand) $50
Credit: Petty Cash/MO $85.

As with any payment, a class designation needs to be input for each expense entry.

At any time, the balance for Petty Cash in the financial statements should match the combination of the cash on hand plus the receipts in the drawer.

Example:

Starting cash to fund drawer $100

Receipts on hand ($85)
Net cash on hand $ 15

Add: new check to replenish funds $100

Equals: cash on hand in drawer $115

BANK ACCOUNTS

Commerce Bank, Missouri (2) – there are two accounts, a general checking and a sweep (savings) account. Both are administered by the St. Louis administrative office. Online access is available for both accounts. Authorized signatures on the account are: Executive Director and BSA Financial Manager.

Salomon Smith Barney accounts (3) – these three accounts are overseen by the Finance Committee and include the BSA endowment and long-term savings of the Association. The bank statements are directly sent to the Treasurer, and the CPA, Mary Widiner, who reconciles the statements online. The St. Louis business office maintains online access to these accounts.

BANK RECONCILIATIONS

These are prepared monthly for all open bank accounts. Use Quickbooks help for additional instruction.

When the bank reconciliation is complete, print a copy of that month’s check register and save it with the bank reconciliation summary/detail report.

INSURANCE POLICIES

The BSA keeps the following policies:

Traveler’s - $5 million Commercial Umbrella coverage, including coverage for Botany Conferences, staff/officer/member travel, staff/director fidelity coverage.

Policy for the St. Louis, Missouri administrative offices, non-St. Louis staff and all BSA equipment - $100,000.

Directors and Officers Liability $5 million, including all participants of the PlantingScience program.

ENDOWMENT FUND & SALOMON SMITH BARNEY ACCOUNTING

In 1993, the BSA created an endowment fund with the purpose of increasing the monetary assets of the Society to provide income for funding major initiatives, travel grants, scholarships, and other activities within its Mission. The Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) has been given the authority to manage this fund.

There are currently 3 accounts held at Salomon Smith Barney that hold these endowment funds, and which are invested in a mixture of stocks, corporate bonds, and cash. Each account is ‘actively managed’ and incurs a quarterly investment fee.

Contributions are made to the endowment fund by a direct contribution made through the business office or through the annual online membership renewal process. Direct contributions to the BSA Endowment fund, increased or decreased by investment performance, amount to approximately $200,000 (as of May, 2004).

There was an increase to the endowment fund made by long-time members of the BSA, Richard and Deana Klein, in 2001 and that has been accounted for separately including an increase or decrease due to the portfolio performance. This donation was unrestricted, with the funds to be used for “___________________”. (Mary to research further…)

Although the BSA Board of Directors refers to the entirety of funds held in Salomon Smith Barney as the ‘Endowment Fund’, for accounting and tax purposes, only specific donations made to the Endowment Fund are separated on the financial statements. Since the BSA has a specific plan (as approved in their bylaws) for how Endowment funds are to be presented, and since they have solicited for funds on this basis, the BSA must account for those donations separately than other operational funds that have accumulated in the course of time.

The FAC has voted that the BSA Endowment fund will be allocated their pro-rata share of any investment increases or decreases that occur during the year, including both realized and unrealized gains.

ACCOUNTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Treasurer has a three year term of office within the BSA. Each Treasurer chooses the accountant that they want to work with (normally in their local area) who is responsible for the following:

? Preparation of the annual tax return (form 990)

? Preparation of quarterly financial statements

? Preparation of the NY payroll & the related payroll tax returns & year end W-2’s

? Preparation of forms 1099 at year end (for non-employee compensation exceeding $600)

? Accounting support for the Business Office as needed, including assistance with the annual budget preparation

ANNUAL BUDGET

The Executive Director, Bill Dahl, handles the drafting of the annual budget which the Treasurer presents to the Board for approval at the annual meeting in July/August.

MONTHLY / ANNUAL CLOSE OF BOOKS

The Quickbooks online accounting software does not require a monthly or annual closing of the books. At the fiscal year end, Quickbooks automatically reclassifies net income to Retained Earnings as of October 1st. The accountant then creates a journal entry to reclassify the Retained Earnings to the various BSA fund accounts.

DONATIONS TO THE BSA

When donations are made to the BSA (including through the web site), the donation is classified as either “unrestricted” or “restricted”. Unrestricted donations are made with ‘no strings attached’ and can be spent freely by the BSA on anything they choose. Restricted donations are made to be spent for a ‘specific purpose’ or item and need to be tracked separately in the financially statements and internally so that our record keeping can support that we actually spent the item how we were supposed to. We need to save all correspondence that comes in with these ‘restricted’ donations for tax support.

QUID PRO QUO DONATIONS TO THE BSA

Even though the BSA is a non-profit organization, donations to the BSA to pay membership dues are not a tax deductible charitable donation UNLESS a specific donation is made to the BSA endowment or one of the special funds, and in that case, only the donation part of the cost is tax-deductible.

Membership dues are not considered a ‘charitable donation’ as you receive something back in return (in the form of member services, including the AJB subscription).

For businesses, the BSA membership cost is a business deduction (fully deductible) and for individuals, it is a personal non-deductible cost. On an individual return, it might be considered a ‘Union & Professional Dues’ cost deductible as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

This explanation covers regular dues as well as section dues paid in.

RECORD RETENTION

All membership, check disbursement and banking records should be maintained for a minimum of 7 years.

The exception to that is any records pertaining to assets that are still held by the BSA, including the Salamon Smith Barney accounts and all correspondence related to the Endowment account.

MONTHLY / ANNUAL CHECKLIST

See the appendix for a calendar of key dates

COMPETETIVE BIDDING REQUIREMENTS

The Executive Committee is responsible for implementing a competitive bidding procedure and for determining the dollar threshold of purchases that apply. For purchases below that limit, the Executive Director has the authority to handle day-to-day purchasing responsibilities (and as delegated to the Controller). The Controller’s mission is to advise and assist in the purchasing of supplies, equipment, and services necessary for the successful operation of the BSA. The BSA’s objective is that all purchased goods and services be obtained for the best-evaluated price and terms and, when applicable, the competitive bidding process is an integral component of this requirement.

Specifications
When it is determined that a good or service be subject to the competitive bidding process, the Executive Director will assist in formulating the specifications of product being purchased and the Controller will handle the administrative aspects of the competitive bidding process.

It is the BSA policy to prepare specifications in a manner that facilitates competitive bidding from all known qualified sources.

Competitive Bidding Policy
The following competitive bidding policy has been approved by the BSA’s Board of Directors:

Purchases under $25,000: Competitive bid not required, but competitive pricing can be sought at discretion of the Executive Director and/or Controller.

Purchases over $25,000: Formal competitive bidding process is required. Bid package should be sent to a minimum of three qualified bidders. Controller can obtain three quotes verbally if approved by the Executive Director. A single purchase may not be divided for the purpose of avoiding bid procedures.

Exceptions to Bidding Requirements
The following types of purchases are exempt from the competitive bidding process to the extent noted:
• Purchases involving the acquisition of personal or professional services.
• Purchases of insurance requirements.
• When the purchase is from the only known source (and approved by the Executive Director)
• Existing contracts for the print and online publishing of the AJB magazine (as the timely issuance of this product would be disrupted if subjected to the competitive bidding process).
• When deemed necessary for the ongoing operations of the BSA - Executive Director approvel is required.

PROMPT USE OF FEDERAL GRANT MONIES & SEGREGATED ACCOUNTING

The BSA operates a separate bank account for the exclusive use of non-federal grant monies. Direct charges against these grants are tracked in the accounting records and the funds are transferred from the grant account to the general operating account to reimburse only direct expenses incurred (following the specifications of each grant).

For federal funds, the BSA’s preferred policy is to incur the costs and then request reimbursement of those costs. If funds are advanced before expenses are incurred, they will be kept in a separate bank account and interest remitted back to the grantor.

XII. WEB SITES & DATABASE MANAGEMENT

WEB SITE MANAGEMENT

The BSA maintains a web site called www.botany.org

The AJB magazine maintains a web site called the www.amjbot.org

The BSA maintains a web site called www.PlantingScience.org

Sites and database support are maintained by Lanspeed, a computer support company in Santa Barbara, California.

ONLINE DUES PROCESSING

The majority of the BSA membership renewals are now processed online via the www.botany.org web site.

These are reviewed by the Administrative Coordinator before importing them into the member database.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

Lanspeed created the current Access database being used and incorporated a prior database being kept by the Columbus, Ohio office. The current database runs off of the BSA web site at www.botany.org and is maintained by both the BSA Webmaster.

The database contains all current individual membership information, including section alliances, donations made to the BSA and areas of interest to the member. Prior membership information is also available.

To keep the database current, all outside deposit info (for Special interest accounts too) will be manually input into the Database so that those reports can be used as the Master control of all financial deposits to the BSA. For the Special interest accounts, this includes the Remy & Remy royalty payments, Karling & Darbacker accounts, etc. What is not input into the database are miscellaneous receipts non-specific to a member, such as advertising revenue, editorial charges, etc.

The goal of the BSA is to have the majority of their individual memberships apply and renew their annual subscription online.

XIII. INTERNAL CONTROL

Staff Expenditure Limitations

Opening Mail & Cash Receipts

Signing Checks

Bank Reconciliations

COMMERCE BANK - BSA Finance and Administration Officer opens mail, makes deposits, reconciles bank statement; Bill has online access and reviews frequently, makes cash transfers and reviews financial statements frequently.

MEETING ACCOUNT: BSA Meetings Manager makes all deposits and writes all checks; bank statements and cancelled checks are sent to BSA Finance and Administration Officer who reviews the cancelled checks and reconciles the account.

ONLINE DUES PAYMENT – cash is directly deposited into Commerce Bank account.

Time Usage Reports

COMPLIANCE – All BSA staff and contract workers will provide a detailed monthly breakdown of all activities to ensure full complinace with and adherance to BSA Grant Management (X.) policy.

The BSA office will maintain time and activity records for all staff. Activity records will represent an “after the fact” account reflecting a reasonable allocation of time associated with any/all BSA activities, programs or grants and will be kept in conjunction with time reports supplied to the payroll office.

All staff will complete a time allocation sheet reflecting a reasonable allocation of time associated with any/all BSA activities, programs or grants. The sheet will be recorded on a monthly basis. An electronic copy will be returned to the office for assessment, distribution across programs and payroll evaluation by the 5th of each month. A signed paper copy of the time allocation summary page, accurately reflecting the electronic form, will be signed and returned to the BSA office.

Variances between the electronic and singed forms must be reconciled before approval. The Executive Director must approve any amendments to the signed or electronic forms and place a discrepancy report alongside the signed copy.

The signed time allocation summary and electronic form will be compared by the BSA Finance and Administration office. The summary sheet must be approved and signed by the Executive Director. Summary activity reports outlining any/all BSA activities, programs or grants will be provided to the BSA Board on a monthly basis.

BSA Finance & Administration Officer collects the time and activity records and the timesheets. Our records are based on after the fact activities. Records are compiled, reviewed and final copies are submitted to the Executive Director for review and approval. Time sheets are forwarded to the Missouri Botanical Garden for payroll purposes. Allocation is then made across any/all BSA activities, programs or grants. Any adjustment beyond this point must be approved by the Executive Director and reported to the Board. All documentation must be entered into the specific program or grant file.

Time Usage Tracking Sheet - http://www.botany.org/governance/reports/BSATimesheet.xls

XIV. SECTIONS & SPECIAL FUND ACCOUNTS

A. SECTIONS

i. Sectional & Award Allotment Allocation

To continue placing an emphasis on the annual meeting and to provide active Sections with more resources to support their activities, the Executive Council instilled a new method of allocation. The Allotment amounts used to be a fixed $700 per year per section but have been restructured to be in increments of $1,300 and $400, with each amount determined based on the Section’s activity at the last annual meeting.

$1,300 is allocated to disciplinary Sections organizing one or more full contributed paper sessions (approx 10-12 presentations). The remaining disciplinary and regional Sections shall be allocated $400. Since the activity of some Sections at the annual meeting is variable and dependent upon the presence of a co-convening society, the allocation may vary from year to year. In an effort to keep funding and participation synchronous, in those years when a co-convening society (e.g. but not limited to, Association for Tropical Biology, American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Phycological Society of America) meets with the BSA the allocation for the affiliated Section will be $1,300 for that fiscal year. If the co-convening society does not meet with the BSA in the following year, the allocation to the appropriate affiliated Section will return to the lower level. The Treasurer will notify sections of the their allocational status and available funds.

Based on BSA board discretion, the Allotment funds may either be carried over to use in future years or any unused funds are then taken back.

If an allotment is unused for two years, the funds will revert to the BSA, and the annual allocation will cease until the Section petitions the BSA Treasurer for an allocation by presenting a proposed activity and budget (invited speaker, social, symposium, etc.) for fund use. Allocational funds will not be transferred to any other sectional accounts or societies.

ii. Use of Allotments

These funds are administered by the BSA Treasurer in accordance with policies established by the BSA Council and Executive Committee. Direct payments of awards and honoraria are made to the recipients. Officers of the Section or chairs of the award committees must provide the name of the award recipients, name and address of the awardee to the Treasurer prior to the 5pm on the day of the BSA banquet for the awardee to receive their award at that time. Expenses may be billed directly to the Treasurer with prior notification by a Section officer. All other expenditures are handled as reimbursements supported by receipts. All payments to non-society members should be submitted by a sectional officer.

For accounting purposes, these monies are never given directly to the Sections. Dues and donations are accounted for as part of the normal dues collection process and reported in the financial statements. Section expenses are submitted to the BSA office and paid from the general operating account.

Separate accounting is done outside of the online Quickbooks accounting for the BSA; a separate (not online) Quickbooks file is maintained to track the running balances of the various Section and Special Fundraising funds. Reporting is done to the Sections on a quarterly or as requested basis.

B. SPECIAL ACCOUNTS

Special fundraising & award accounts – there are specific fundraising & award funds that have been setup through the years and they provide scholarships, awards and other benefits to both members and non-members (see attached list). Most of these awards are given out at the Annual Meeting in August.

The FAC has voted that both the Section and Special accounts (excluding Allotment accounts) that have a minimum average balance of $1,000 or greater during the year will be allocated their pro-rata share of any investment increases or decreases that occur during the year, including both realized and unrealized gains.

See the attached information from the web site with descriptions of each Special Interest Fund.

The following Special funds have specific directed donations that need tracking each year:

i. BSA Unrestricted Funds

ii. BSA Endowment Funds

iii. BSA Educational Funds

iv. BSA Botanical Friends Fund

v. BSA PlantingScience Fund

vi. Vernon I Cheadle Fund

vii. Michael Cichan Fund

viii. Conant Travel Fund

ix. Isabel Cookson Fund

x. Leasure K. Darbaker Fund

a) They receive a dedicated donation each year from Mellon Bank

xi. Katherine Esau Fund

xii. John S. Karling Fund

a) Check the budget to see if any of the awards given were directed to come specifically from the Karling fund.
b) The Karling fund sells T-shirts & merchandise at the Annual Meeting. Historically, both the costs (from AJL Merchandising) & the proceeds are posted to the Karling fund. This changed in Yr 2003 as the BSA office sells the remaining t-shirts and sales were poor, so evaluate annually before affecting the Karling accounts.

xiii. Margaret Menzel Fund

xiv. Aaron J. Sharp Fund

xiv. Maynard Moseley Fund

xv. Winfried and Reneta Remy Fund

a) Pat Gensel, BSA Past President, has allocated the full royalty proceeds from her book, “Plants Invade the Land” to the Remy & Remy fund. Various royalty payments are received during the year from Columbia University

xvi. Grady L. Webster Fund