« December 2005 | Main | March 2006 »
February 28, 2006
Long, boring, unread financial reports
As a manager, you're faced with providing a financial report to the baod each and every month. And every month your copier goes into ovetime, blows through a toner cartridge and maxes out your postage (or filling up e-mail boxes) to provide a report that probably only one person seriously looks at, and some of the others don't even understand. Why do you continue to do that?
The Treasurer needs, and should have a complete financial report. But the rest would probably prefer an executive summary giving them the cash situation, a balance sheet, an exception report, maybe a bank reconciliation and a delinquency update. The Treasurer is supposed to fill them in on anything else during his or her report, so why waste a few trees every year for something that is going to filed, either in a cabinet or the circular one?
Have you ever considered asking your boards just what financial information they really want? Or need? Some management firms are cranking out 30 page encyclopedia's that the average board member doesn't have the time or ability to read. So why are you giving them something they won't use?
Just ask your boards what financial information would be both useful and more likely to be read before the board meeting. And change your contracts to offer both an executive summary for board members and a full report for the Treasurer. Let them know what that full report costs them in copy charges and they might actually opt to make your job a little easier.
Posted by joewest at 12:03 AM
February 9, 2006
NJ Case Moves Association's Closer to Government Standards
A recent appellate decision in New Jersey is a case that is going to make its way across the country in very short order. To read the details of the case, visit the New Jersey Law Blog. Basically, the court determined that "private entities", in this case a homeowner's association, could not limit an owner's constitutional rights to ceratin freedoms of expression.
This case is going to be debated by attorney's all over the country and board's are going to have to take a serious look at rules and regulations that deal with political signage, flyers related to board elections, flags, and petitions by owners. The courts determined that the "business judgment" rule was not the standard to apply.
As a manager, you might want to take a look at certain restrictive rules and regulations of your associations. A new opinion might be order from the association's attorney.
Posted by joewest at 12:31 PM