MANUAL OF PROCEDURES

Approved by SWH November 4, 2008
Modified & Approved March 21, 2019

1.1 Introduction

  • Spokane Women’s Hockey (SWH) recognizes that the association’s activities are essential to maintaining the vitality and health of SWH in Spokane. These activities, which provide real and tangible benefits to the region and the members, are worthy of financial support.
  • The finance accounts, a General Account for Women’s Recreational Hockey League (WRHL) and other general uses and a Tournament Account for home hosting of and sponsorship of teams to tournaments, are used to cover expenses required to facilitate activities as defined within the following document.
  • The fiscal year for this account is July 1-June 30.

1.2 Expenses

The General Account shall cover reasonable expenses associated with the management of SWH. Expenses include, but are not necessarily limited to:
  1. Food and snacks at monthly meetings and other SWH gatherings
  2. Flowers or other gifts for various occasions sent on behalf of SWH and as approved by the officers
  3. Ice time fees for WRHL and other SWH-coordinated events for members
  4. Referee fees for WRHL and other SWH-coordinated events for members
  5. Equipment purchases or rentals
  6. Postage and courier expenses
  7. Miscellaneous office supplies
  8. Bank charges
  9. Website expenses

The Tournament Account shall cover reasonable expenses associated with the management of SWH. Expenses include, but are not necessarily limited to:
  1. SWH traveling team support
    • Expenses for this category in a given fiscal year may not exceed income from tournament profit in the prior fiscal year.
    • Refer to the guidelines for SWH travel teams for details on how this money is disbursed.
  2. Tournament expenses

1.3 Income

The finance accounts are supported through three primary sources of income.
  1. Tournament Entry Fees: Entry fees from hosting tournaments go into the Tournament Account.
  2. SWH Member Dues: The General Account receives money from annual member dues.
    • Current dues are $20/year/member
    • Dues may be increased by a majority vote of officers subject to the total fund limitations.
  3. Fees charged to SWH members playing on a WRHL team go into the General Account.
    • Fees are charged at the start of the season and again at mid-season, each time to cover approximately the cost of ice time and refs for the half-season.
    • Fees must be paid in full by the second game of the half-season or the player will be contacted by an officer.
    • Special arrangements may be made on an individual basis and at the discretion of the officers for SWH members to pay their league team fees according to a different schedule than set forth above.

1.4 Finance Account Management

  • The finance accounts shall be managed by the SWH Vice President and/or President and SWH Treasurers.
  • The maximum value of the General Account at the end of the fiscal year shall be $2,000 USD. If the account goes over this maximum value, then the SWH members must vote on how the surplus should be used. Two (but not the only) options include reducing the SWH dues amount for the coming year and/or reducing the WRHL fees. The proposed option for dealing with the overage shall be indicated in the budget. Any consideration of increased support of SWH travel teams from a surplus is still subject to the limitation of profits from the prior fiscal year’s tournaments.
  • The minimum value of the General Account shall be $1,000 USD.  If the account goes below this minimum value, then the proposed budget may include an increase in the SWH dues and/or WRHL fees for the next fiscal year. 
  • The finance accounts shall be maintained with joint signing authority. The joint signatures shall be those of the SWH Vice President and/or President and SWH Treasurers. This does not require both signatures to transact business, but if the SWH Vice President and/or President or an SWH Treasurer becomes incapacitated or unavailable, the funds in the account will be available to SWH through the alternate signing authority. The joint signatory shall be provided the necessary information to access the accounts (account numbers, passwords etc.).
  • The outgoing SWH Vice President and/or President and outgoing SWH Treasurers shall transfer control of the fund to the incoming SWH Vice President and/or President and incoming SWH Treasurers by June 30 of each year.  The outgoing SWH Treasurers shall be responsible for the oversight and proper conduct of this transfer.

1.5 Budgeting

  • The General Account budget document (The Budget) for the following fiscal year shall highlight income and expense projections, the current state of the fund finances and a confirmation of the value of the SWH dues and WRHL fees for the upcoming year.
  • The Budget shall be presented at the SWH meeting for final review and approval by the membership.  The budget should include brief explanations of expenses when necessary and should be submitted with any past budgets for comparison. The SWH Secretary shall include a copy of the final Budget as an attachment to the meeting minutes.

1.6 Auditing

  • The Audit Team shall consist of 2-3 SWH members who volunteer for the task. Current SWH officers are not eligible for service on the current Audit Team. Past SWH officers who were serving during the year the account is being audited are not eligible for service on the current Audit Team.
  • The Audit Team shall be responsible for the audit of the finance account. The audit period shall be for the period of July 1-June 30 of the previous fiscal year.
  • The Audit Team shall receive all the necessary documentation to properly complete the audit (balance sheets, bank statements, copies of receipts, bills, etc.) by September 1.  The SWH Vice President or an SWH Treasurer shall provide the documentation for the Audit Team.
  • A summary of the final audit report shall be read into record at the September meeting of SWH and a copy of the entire final report shall be included as an attachment to the meeting minutes.