FINANCE
COMMITTEE
Purpose
The Finance Committee discusses Area 79 self-support and the Seventh Tradition.
- Look for methods to improve carrying the message to groups.
- Review all literature relating to finance.
- Discuss and prepare annual budget for Area 79.
- Send our Delegate to New York for the annual Conference.
- Assure that expenses are in line with level of contributions.
AREA 79
TREASURER
About
The Treasurer is responsible for the handling of all Area 79 Contributions and expenses and is one of the members of the Area Service Committee “Finance Committee” which also includes the Chair, Alternate Chair and Alternate Delegate. This Committee meets monthly to discuss all aspects of Area 79 financial matters.
FURTHER
INFORMATION
Our 7th Tradition
District Committee Chair?
A79 Resources...
Resources to assist the fellowship with committee work, along with minutes and reports from the ASC and much more can be found in the libraries.
ELECTIONS AND
APPOINTMENTS
Area Officers
Fourteen (14) Area Officers are chosen, every second year, to serve 2-year terms on the Area Service Committee (ASC) . Seven of these are elected, in even numbered years, at the September Assembly of the full Area 79 Committee. Seven are appointed by the Selection Committee, following the elections, to sit as chairs of designated Area standing committees.
It is strongly suggested that the outgoing (not the incoming) GSRs and DCMs be available to vote at the Election Assembly in order to assure a more informed election.
To apply for an appointed position in Area 79, please email your resume to resumes@bcyukonaa.org
Elected Officers
The seven (7) elected officers are listed below, with a brief summary of their roles:
- Delegate – Reports to and from the General Service Conference.
- Alternate Delegate – Assists Delegate in responsibilities. Currently the Alternate Delegate also sits as the Literature Chair.
- Chair of Area 79 – Responsible for the agenda and chairing Area and Area Service Committee (ASC) meetings, assigns travel of committee members.
- Alternate Chair – Assists Chair in responsibilities. Currently the Alternate Chair also sits as Grapevine Chair.
- Treasurer – Maintains payables and receivables for Area 79. Chairs Finance Committee.
- Secretary – Records meetings and prepares the minutes.
- Registrar – Maintains Group Records of Districts and Groups in Area 79 and informs the General Service Office (GSO) in New York.
Appointed Positions
We encourage everyone who is interested in an appointed position on the Area 79 General Service Committee to submit a brief resume. The following positions are appointed by the incoming Chair through a Selection Committee made up of the incoming Chair and 3 other elected ASC members.
- Accessibilities – Explore, develop and offer resources to make the Alcoholics Anonymous message available to everyone.
- Archives – Collect, classify and care for literary works and artifacts.
- Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC) – Establish and maintain better communication between A.A.s and community professionals
- Corrections – Carry the AA message to alcoholics in correctional systems
- Finance – Discusses Area 79 self-support and the Seventh Tradition.
- Grapevine – Develop awareness of the many benefits that can be derived through the Grapevine and La Viña (Spanish version) subscriptions
- Grassroots – Oversees the production and distribution of Grassroots Forum, the BC/Yukon Area 79 Newsletter.
- Literature – Promote Conference-approved literature, audiovisual material and other special items.
- Public Information – Communicates to the public what AA does and does not do.
- Remote Communities – Creates awareness about and assists those who are unable to make it to regular face-to-face meetings on a consistent basis
- Treatment/Bridging the Gap – Assists members and groups who are interested in carrying our message of recovery to alcoholics in treatment facilities
- Website – Maintains the Area 79 Website.
Additionally – Grassroots Committee Chair: Responsible for the Area Newsletter (Grassroots Forum) and leads the committee responsible for the format, content and distribution of this quarterly publication. Motion passed in October 2016 reads….
“The Area 79 chair will be free to assign Grassroots, or any other standing committee, as an additional responsibility to any member of the ASC, based on committee workloads and ASC members’ skills”.
Things to Consider
- Communications between members of the Area Committee are generally via email and therefore it is essential to have access to electronic communications in order to be considered for a position.
- The transitional General SC meeting held on the first Wednesday of December, (after the election assembly) is mandatory as are all monthly ASC meetings of the 2-year rotation.
- The time commitment required is substantial and will vary from position to position, and also with the particular skills possessed by the member. Generally, some time will be spent every day to check and respond to emails and phone messages. Some jobs have workloads that are heavier at certain times than at others.
- We encourage you to speak with members of the ASC (current or past) to ask more specific questions if you are considering applying for an appointed position.
- General Service Committee membership may sound demanding, but, as we so often find in AA, the rewards are far greater than time and effort put in.
- For more information please read “duties common to all” on the job description page.
How to Apply
- Email your resume to resume@bcyukonaa.org
- You will receive an immediate confirmation of receipt of your application and a response from the Area 79 Chair within 48 hours.
- Resumes must be received at Resumes at BC/Yukon AA by October 31st to be considered. When sending your resume, you can include additional information that may help the Selection Committee.
- Resumes are reviewed by the Selection Committee the evening of the first Tuesday of November. The Chair will call you that evening with the results. Please be sure that you are contactable by telephone.
- Successful applicants will be required to attend a transition meeting held the first Wednesday of December at the BC Yukon Area office in Vancouver (travel expenses are covered by Area 79).
- Successful applicants will be ratified at the January Quarterly. At that time, they will present their resumes (2 minutes maximum) to the fellowship.
AREA
TREASURER
Job Description
The Treasurer should be a responsible person with a solid period of sobriety. They should be organized enough to keep good records and it is very desirable to have some accounting knowledge and/or bookkeeping experience. The person elected will be helped by the previous treasurer to become familiar with the Area 79 accounting procedures. The treasurer may also seek accounting and clerical assistance from volunteers within the fellowship. Persuasiveness, firmness and diplomacy will help the treasurer do the job.
BC/Yukon Area 79 operates on a calendar year with a budget in excess of $250,000. Currently we are using QuickBooks as our accounting software.
Duties
- Process cheques, electronic and cash contributions.
- Send out receipts by email or mail. When using mail include a new contribution card and self-addressed envelope.
- Make bank deposits regularly.
- Write and distribute expense cheques and other cheques requiring payment.
- Prepare monthly bank reconciliations and financial statements.
- Administrate Square Credit card processing account and work with Literature/Grapevine chairs to keep pricing current in Square inventory.
- Meet with ASC finance committee monthly in advance of the regular ASC meeting.
- Report to the Area Service Committee regarding the area’s financial status.
- Present four financial statements a year to the membership, and report on the financial health of GSB/AAWS/AAGV,
including detailed contribution lists (experience with MS Excel is therefore very useful). - Address any financial questions or concerns of the membership.
- Work with the Area Service Committee finance committee to prepare budgets for approval by the membership.
- Provide and maintain a display at area quarterlies and assemblies, and other A.A. events as required, to inform members of Area 79’s financial status and particulars of where the Seventh Tradition is spent.
- Oversee collection of Seventh Tradition at quarterlies and assemblies.
- Ensure cash is collected from self-support tins and safeguarded at quarterlies and assemblies; report on amounts collected.
- Chair the Area 79 finance committee, which meets at quarterlies and assemblies.
- Facilitate communication between district treasurers through such means as quarterly on-line sharing sessions.
- Correspond with our insurance agent before each quarterly event to ensure our certificate of insurance is correctly completed.
- Communicate with the bank regarding any changes to the account, ordering of supplies, etc.
- Prepare contribution envelopes and contribution cards and ensure adequate supply is kept at office.
- Duties common to all ASC members on the ASC page.
Follow up with guests that share rooms with ASC members to ensure they re-imburse Area when appropriate.
Qualifications
Knowledge of current self-support information (pamphlets, Final Conference Report, Box 459, etc.) is useful when sharing information at committee meetings and workshops.
Money has never been a requirement for A.A. membership or service work, and to keep it that way, all of A.A.’s trusted servants have an ongoing obligation to inform groups and individuals about the value of self-support and the need for voluntary contributions throughout the fellowship.
FINANCE
CHAIR
Job Description
(Position usually assigned to the Area 79 Treasurer)
The finance committee discusses self-support and the Seventh Tradition. We look for methods to improve carrying the message to groups and provide information on how to make contributions to BC/Yukon Area 79. We also review related literature and make suggestions on improving it.
Duties
- Assist all members to become familiar with our Seventh Tradition of self-support.
- Encourage groups to fulfill the duties of self-support to all levels of service, including district, area, the General Service Office and intergroup or central office.
- Provide a display at Area 79 assemblies and quarterlies and other AA events as requested, including pamphlets on self-support and information for group treasurers.
- Review the Area 79 financial position, as shown in current financial statements, with members of the committee.
- Encourage all committee members to review the Conference final report, especially the sections on finances and associated reports.
- Encourage members to ask questions on self-support and budgets for our area.
- Conduct workshops on finances and self-support as requested.