Exchequer Policies for the Shire of Hartshorn-dale

NOTE: These are local, procedural policies only. Nothing in these policies may be construed to revise Kingdom or Society Exchequer Policies. Where policies conflict, the Kingdom or Society policy prevails unless we have received a specific waiver. Any area that is not addressed by this document should refer to the Kingdom and Society policies.

Signatures: Signatories to the Shire's bank account(s) shall be the following:
  Exchequer
  Seneschal
  Deputy Exchequer (if there is one) or another member of the Shire as agreed at a Shire meeting
  Kingdom Exchequer

Financial Committee: The Shire members, through business meetings, have expressed a preference that the "financial committee" of the Shire be the members themselves, not a sub-set. Nevertheless, in keeping with the Kingdom and Society policies, it is the policy of the Shire that major financial issues be decided upon only at those meetings attended by the Seneschal and the Exchequer (preferably) or by the Seneschal or Exchequer and at least one other officer of the Shire. Major financial issues include: purchase of items or materials for making items requiring an expense over $100; creation of the general budget for an event; any decision creating a regular, ongoing expense (such as rental of space). They do not include the specific spending for an event (which is up to the Autocrat and event staff) or the continuing of an expense already known, unless there is a significant change contemplated (i.e., "we've been paying $10 a month for XYZ, but shall we upgrade to $20 a month to get ABC benefit").

Advances: Advances will be given to people who will be purchasing goods for an event or project upon:

1. Approval by the Autocrat for an event (verbal to the Exchequer is acceptable) or at a Shire meeting for a project; and
2. Specific request to the Exchequer

With an advance check the person will receive a copy of the Advance Reconciliation/Reimbursement Request form with the advance listed.

Advance Reconciliation and Reimbursement Requests: Requests for reimbursement and reconciliation of advances must be to the Exchequer within two weeks of the event or completion of the project and must be accompanied by the Advance/Reimbursement form and all receipts. If you do not receive a receipt from the vendor, please write one, listing the item(s) purchased, the date purchased and the vendor as well as the amount spent. (I.E.: "Box of grapes, purchased 11/11/01 at roadside stand $8.00") Such occurrences should be kept to a minimum, most vendors, even roadside stands, will provide you with a receipt if requested. For "brief description" on the reimbursement form, you do need to put enough information for the Exchequer to be able to classify the expenses. In keeping with Kingdom and Society policy, NO REIMBURSEMENTS WILL BE GIVEN WITHOUT THE FORM AND RECEIPTS. The form is available at the Hartshorn-dale website and the Exchequer will carry copies at all times.

Exchequer responsibilities

1. The Exchequer should strive to attend all Shire business meetings. If unable to attend, the Exchequer should try to secure the attendance of the Deputy or another person to accept reimbursement requests.
2. The Exchequer should have the checkbook and copies of the reimbursement form and tax ID material available at all Shire functions attended.
3. The Exchequer should notify the Shire through the Email list of all Shire functions being attended.
4. The Exchequer should also be reasonably available to Shire members through Email and to be able to meet with members as needed.
5. The Exchequer should keep the Shire's books in reasonable condition and up to date and complete reports in a timely manner as follows.
1. Event reports are due within thirty (30) days of the date of the event. Note that it is the responsibility of each event Autocrat and anyone expending or collecting monies for the event to assist the Exchequer with meeting this goal.
2. Year End report is due on or before February 15. The balance sheets should be made available to the Shire members following completion of the report.
3. Mid-year report is due on or before August 31, or as otherwise set by the Kingdom Exchequer. The balance sheets should be made available to the Shire members following completion of the report.
4. Second and Third Quarter reports are due as set by the Kingdom Exchequer. These reports are "hello, I'm still here" reports, and not required to be presented to the Shire.
6. The Exchequer should be ready to report to the Shire regarding the financial condition of the Shire at any business meeting.

Shire Responsibilities: The members of the Shire also have some fiscal responsibility to the Shire:

1. When purchasing goods for events and/or projects, members should strive to obtain the best price and quality possible.
2. When purchasing goods which are normally taxable, members should obtain the tax documentation from the Exchequer to utilize the tax-free status of the SCA, Inc. whenever possible. If the purchase is small, this is less important, but whenever making large purchases, this should be kept in mind. (I.e. not so important when buying a pack of pens; pretty important when making what could be a capital purchase.)

Disclaimer: This is the recognized Web Page for the Shire of Hartshorn-dale of the East Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.  The maintainer of this page is Osgrim Iserbit.  (Please remove the REMOVEME in the email address to email the webminister correctly) It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and does not delineate SCA policies. In cases of conflict with printed versions of material presented on this page or its links, the dispute will be decided in favor of the printed version.
This page last modified January 01, 2003.