Financial Management & Reporting

What's Involved:

• Bank Accounts
• Conference Loan Request
• Conference Budget
• Conference Registration
• Insurance and Bonding
• Miscellaneous Financial Activities
• Government Grants
• Final Financial Reporting
• World-Wide Tax Compliance
  • 1099 Request Form
• Requirements for Audits of Conference Financial Activities

Please visit IEEE Conferences Organization Manual - Section 9 for a more detailed explanation of all the below bullets. 

Bank Accounts

• Establish a Conference Bank Account for receipt and disbursement of conference funds ( IEEE Concentration Banking program is strongly recommended)
• Account Identification
  • IRS regulations require that all conference bank accounts in Regions 1-6 be opened as "The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc., d/b/a Year IEEE Conference Title.
  • Accounts must never be in an individual's name
• IRS Tax Identification Number
  • IEEE conferences sponsored by entities, other than Sections or Regions, holding funds outside the IEEE treasury is 13-1656633
  • Section or Region-sponsored conferences have been assigned a uniform identification number of 13-6117748
• Signatory Powers for Bank Accounts
  • Require that all conference bank accounts have alternate signature designated. The minimum signatures for an account are:
    • One volunteer from the Conference Committee, usually the Finance Chair (or Treasurer).
    • One volunteer alternate from the Conference Committee, usually the Conference Chair.
    • The IEEE Staff Director Financial Services or designee. Alternate signatory arrangements may be necessary for non-U.S. conferences.
• IEEE Requirements - It is the responsibility of the Conference Treasurer to report to IEEE at the end of each calendar year, indicating:
  • Principal Amount
  • Annual Accrued Interest
  • Account Number, Name and Address of any financial institution at which any open conference account exists.

    The Institute requires this information for its IRS Information Return.

• Closing of Bank Accounts
  • IRS regulations require that all IEEE conferences close their accounts and submit a Final Financial Report to the appropriate IEEE Organizational Unit(s) within six months from the close of the conference. IRS regulations stipulate that all surplus funds from the conference first be deposited in the sponsoring entity's IEEE Headquarters account before they can be withdrawn for use as advance funds for a future conference.
  • If an IEEE Region is acting as a single sponsoring entity, all conference surplus funds must first be deposited in the established Region account before withdrawal for further use, i.e., distribution to Sections.
  • It is the responsibility of the Conference Finance Chair to ensure that this procedure is strictly followed in order to protect IEEE's not-for-profit tax status.

Conference Loan Request

Conference loans may be requested from the sponsoring IEEE OU anytime during the planning cycle.  The sponsoring IEEE OU will approve the loan and contact IEEE Conference Services to process the request.

Conference loans are required to be repaid within one (1) month after the conference.

Conference Budget

• IEEE Conference Budget Requirements
  • Prepare a budget indicating estimated income and expenses for the conference
  • Submit at least 12 months in advance of the conference
  • Accompanied by written sponsor approval and forwarded to IEEE Conference Services for approval
• Sponsoring Entities Approval of Budgets
  • Conference budgets must first be approved by the sponsoring entity prior to submission to IEEE
  • IEEE cannot accept a conference budget unless it is accompanied by written approval of the sponsors
• Project Budget Surplus or Deficit
  • IEEE Policy stipulates that all conference budgets that are submitted for IEEE approval must be based on non-deficit expectations.
  • Conference budgets should be set to generate a minimum surplus of 20% over projected expenses.
• Preparation of Budget
  • The initial conference budget should be prepared on the form "Summary, Revenue & Expense Detail Form"
• Budget Revisions
  • If necessary, the Finance Committee may submit a revised budget to IEEE for approval.
  • If significant changes are made to the budget, e.g., decision to cancel an exhibition or conference proceeding publication, it is incumbent upon the Finance Committee to resubmit a conference budget to the sponsoring entity and to IEEE accompanied by written approval from the sponsoring Organizational Unit for IEEE approval. The same forms as used for the initial budget are used in preparing the revised budget.
• Conference Committees
  • It is the general policy of the IEEE that no member of a Conference Board or Committee or his/her immediate family shall receive monetary payment for services. This does not include awards or other honoraria that may be granted under IEEE Awards provisions as defined in IEEE Policies, Section 4.0. Immediate family is defined as spouse, domestic partner, brother, sister, children, mother, father, and in-laws.

Tools and Resources:

• IEEE Financial Web Form to submit financial data related to your conference. Be sure to have the conference record number assigned when you completed the Information Schedule.
• Financial Reporting Workbook incl. Budgeting, Summary, Revenue and Expense detail forms
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement

Conference Registration

• Conference Registration Fee
  • The Finance Committee, with the concurrence of the Conference Committee and each sponsoring entity, establishes the conference registration fee.
  • Conference budgets should be set to generate a minimum surplus of 20% over projected expenses.
    • Other anticipated sources of revenue, such as exhibition sales and income from the sale of conference Proceedings/Digests, should also be taken into consideration when setting registration fees for the conference.
      
• IEEE Member/Non-Member
  • IEEE Policy requires that registration fees for non-members at IEEE sponsored conferences be at least 20% above the IEEE member fee, the exact amount being set by each Conference Committee.
  • Conferences may establish a registration fee lower than the IEEE member fee for sponsoring organizational units members.
  • At the discretion of the Conference Committee, the IEEE member registration rates may apply to members of non-IEEE co-sponsoring, cooperating organizations, or sister societies.
  • Members of the Founding Societies - have a reciprocal agreement entitling their members to the member registration fee at IEEE conferences. They consist of:
    • American Society of Civil Engineers
    • American Institute of Mining
    • Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers
    • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    • American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  • IEEE members are entitled to member fees at Founding Society conferences.
• Non-Member Fee Differential Towards IEEE Membership
  • The Finance Committee, with the approval of the Conference Committee and the sponsoring entity, may allow application of the fee differential paid by non-members at the conference to be applied toward IEEE membership enrollment.
    • If it is decided to allow the fee differential to be applied toward IEEE membership, the IEEE Membership Services Department should be consulted in advance to arrange for smooth processing and to avoid misunderstandings between the new member and IEEE.
    • If this activity is to be done at a meeting, then adequate conference publicity must be done to make it successful.
• Students, Retired, Life Members
  • IEEE Policy permits reduced conference registration fees for students, unemployed IEEE members, retired and Life members and special VIP guests, at the discretion of the Conference Committee and sponsoring entity. Unless otherwise stipulated, the registration fee for retired and Life members should be no more than the registration fee for students.
  • These reduced registration fees may exclude meal functions, Conference Proceedings and other side activities.
• Advanced Registration
  • The advance registration fee is generally set lower than the on-site registration fee in order to stimulate advance registration.
• Refunds
  • The Finance Committee, with the concurrence of the Conference Committee establishes a specific policy with regard to refunds.
  • Notice regarding the conditions for refunds with specific cut-off dates for the acceptance of refund requests should be included in the Advance Program and other related promotional material.

Insurance and Bonding

• Conference insurance and bonding will vary from country to country, according to laws and practice.
• One insurance form is needed for each budget submitted.
• It is recommended that cancellation insurance also be purchased for all meeting over 1,000 attendees and /or having over 100 exhibits booths.
  • This is necessary to minimize financial exposure to sponsor, if the meeting must be canceled at the last minute.

Tools and Resources:

• Insurance Information
• Event Cancellation Insurance for IEEE Sponsored Conferences

Miscellaneous Financial Activities

• Petty Cash
• Cashier
  • General
  • Duties
  • Security
  • Cash Boxes
• Travel Expenses for Participants
  • Explicit policies must be established in advance regarding the payment of travel expenses for participants.
  • These travel expense payments should be incorporated in the conference budget.
  • IEEE Policy prohibits payments of honoraria for the presentation of a paper at a conference, except for a lecture or other educational activity for which a tuition fee is charged.
• Exhibits
  • Treasurer is responsible for the receipt and deposit of all funds from exhibitors.
• Credit Cards
  • Very helpful for registration, especially for registrants from outside the U.S.
  • Credit card procedures and machines may be obtained by contacting IEEE Conference Services.
  • All transactions should be verified in a timely fashion, and the credit card slips should be sent to IEEE without delay.

Government Grants

• U.S. Government Grants
  • All grant proposals must be approved by:
    • IEEE Development Office
    • Signed by a conference representative serving as the Principal Investigator
    • Authorized IEEE staff person.
  • Mail the original grant proposal with the conference representatives signature to: IEEE Development Office, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, Attn: Development Operations Manager, retaining a copy for the conference records.
  • • The Development Operations Manager will review the grant proposal for compliance to the government agency's requirements, obtain the necessary IEEE authorizing signature, and submit the appropriate number of copies of the grant proposal with a cover letter to the government agency.
      
• • Travel Grants
  • Grant Expenses
  • Salaries

Tools and Resources:

• How to Obtain Government Grants

Conference Final Financial Reporting

• General
  • Prepare a final report by completing the Summary Financial Report form
    • Report should be filed no later than six months after conference date
  • Repay all Loans
  • Distribute Conference surplus (according to prearranged policies)
  • Confirm that all physical assets have been distributed (i.e., conference proceedings or digest)
  • Close the conference bank account
• Audit of Financial Records
  • Requirements for auditing of conferences as approved by the IEEE Board of Directors ( Section 9.5.3)
• Determination of Surplus, Disposal of Physical Assets and Loan Repayment
• Sale of conference Proceedings to the TAB Products Conference Proceedings
• Final Financial Report
  • Copies of the completed report to each sponsor and to the IEEE within six months of the end of the conference
• Conference Bank Account
  • Should be closed at the time the Final Financial Reports are prepared
  • If unpaid obligations are outstanding, for which a final bill has not been received
  • *No funds will be applied as partial surplus until all obligations (loans) have been met
  • Before issuing the Final Report, Conference Treasurer should
    • Perform a final bank statement reconciliation
      • Ask the bank to issue a cashier's check payable to IEEE in the amount of the reconciled bank balance
    • Final bank balance should agree with the amount shown as surplus on the Final Financial Reports (minus any amounts that have been prepaid to the Society accounts as partial surplus)
    • The following notation should appear on the payment advice portion of the check
      • "To close the checking account of the 20XX IEEEXXXXXX Conference."
      • This will provide documentation that there is no balance left in account
• Conference Financial Record Retention
  • Supporting documentation associated with all conference financial transactions should be retained by the appropriate sponsoring society for a period of seven years following the conference.
    • e.g., paid invoices, expense vouchers, hotel agreements, printing and A/V contracts, registration summary reports, exhibitor summary reports, bank statements and canceled checks, etc.)

Tools and Resources:

• IEEE Financial Web Form to submit financial data related to your conference. Be sure to have the conference record number assigned when you completed the Information Schedule.
• Financial Reporting Workbook incl. Budgeting, Summary, Revenue and Expense detail forms
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement  
• Conference accrual information

World-Wide Tax Compliance Alert

All Conferences must contact the IEEE Tax Compliance Department regarding tax and business registration requirements. The laws for doing business in each state, province and country vary therefore specific tax and business registrations may be required. A conference should never make contact with any Tax Authorities without first contacting the IEEE Tax Compliance Department for instructions, +1 732 562 5334 or 5351.

Tools and Resources:

• Tax Information for Conferences
• Independent Contractor Procedures