Learn More: Documentation Management for Treasurers

All Unit funds management must adhere to a fiscal year 1 January - 31 December, except where government or banking regulations prohibit such a requirement.  Such exceptions must be reported to the MGA Board through the Region Director.

As you take office as the Section Treasurer, please confirm that your Section is in compliance with IEEE Policy regarding bank accounts.  Additionally, you should make sure that the appropriate Section Officers are included as authorized signers on the account.  If the account is not updated with the new Officers, the Section may not be able to issue payments to cover expenses.

Accounts established in the name of IEEE shall be reserved for the purpose for which they are established, without co-mingling of funds.  The account must be opened in the legal name “Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Incorporated _______  Section (or Chapter).”  Accounts should never be opened in the name of an individual.

All IEEE Units are strongly encouraged to participate in the IEEE Concentration Bank account.  Units outside the USA are also encouraged to open an IEEE Concentration Bank account, but may establish a local bank account to facilitate local activities.

All IEEE Unit bank accounts must include as an authorized signer, the IEEE Staff Director-Financial Services.  If an account access authorization (or signature card) includes the name Thomas Lynch as authorized signer, it is considered to be in compliance.

Please obtain the required number of signatures for the bank account prior to obtaining that of the signature of the Staff Director-Financial Services.  Once received at IEEE, the completed signature card will be forwarded to the bank directly.  A copy of the form will be kept on file at the IEEE Operations Center, and each signer on the account will receive a copy of the completed form.

The intent in authorizing the signature of the Staff Director-Financial Services on Unit accounts is only so that the account may be accessed should the other Officers of a Unit become unavailable. 

Units outside the United States, which are prohibited by government and/or banking laws and regulations from complying with the policy, are able to request an exemption from compliance as part of the annual financial reporting package.  It is recognized that some countries, such as Australia and India, will not permit a non-resident to have access to a local bank account. 

In such instances, IEEE policy stipulates that three (3) local volunteers should be authorized signers on the account.  This way, should two of the volunteers become unavailable, a third would still be able to access the funds.

If your Section has not submitted bank account signature authorization documentation for all accounts held by the Section and its Subunits, then the Section will not receive the rebate for that year. 

A Technical Chapter and/or Affinity Group may maintain its own accounting of income and disbursements, either within separate sub-accounts of the Section treasury or within a separate bank account, as approved by the Section Executive Committee.

The IEEE Concentration Banking Program offers all Geographic Units, Conferences, and Standards Developing Committees a bank account with unlimited check writing privileges, paying a higher rate of interest than traditional business checking accounts.  The account works just like a normal checking account.  You make deposits, write checks, and earn interest on the daily ending balance for the benefit of your IEEE Unit or Group.

The type of IEEE Concentration Banking account you have will be determined by the location of your IEEE Operating Unit.

• Regions 1 through 6 and Conferences: US Dollar account
• Region 7 and Conferences: Canadian Dollar account
• Regions 8 through 10: US Dollar Custody account

A Concentration Banking (CB) Card is available for all IEEE Concentration Banking accounts.  The CB Card is a MasterCard credit card with debit features and can be used internationally wherever MasterCard is accepted.

IEEE Concentration Banking account statements and cancelled checks can be viewed online via the Concentration Banking Reporting System (CBRS) Web site.  Treasurers will receive e-mail notification each month when the statements have been finalized and are available for viewing.

Each Section is required to establish a budget on an annual basis.  The budget should be approved by the Section Executive Committee (or Section Committee).  A Budget is a list of all planned expenses and revenues.  It is a plan for saving and spending.  The purpose of budgeting is to (1) provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures and (2) enable the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.  Typically the budget for the upcoming year should be developed in November/December and formally approved in January/February. 

• Sample Section budget (XLS, 43KB)