Spring Break
EDITORIAL: Finance reform woes
Editorial | 5/22/07
Posted online at 2:41 AM EST on 5/22/07
Administrators have long viewed student fiscal autonomy with Student Activities Fee money as troublesome. So starting next year, no club other than the student Union will have an off-campus bank account; all club reimbursements will go through Accounts Payable, and clubs' personal accounts will be replaced by a University procurement card, but only for the seven secured groups and up to five chartered clubs of Union Treasurer Choon Woo Ha's '08 choosing.
These major changes are deeply troubling to student clubs on a number of levels. If clubs are forced to keep all of their funds at the University, the administration takes on the role of banker.
The administration already has access to most off-campus accounts and doesn't need more control. It's possible to maintain oversight without taking over club finances. Micromanagment of each account is infeasable. Budget analyst Steve Costa says there are far too many accounts for the University to keep track of, but responsible club leaders can work in partnership with the Union Treasurer and administrators to stay on top of them.
Instead, to ensure that club leaders know what they're doing, the Treasurer should run a mandatory financial training for club leaders every year.
Accounts Payable is a notoriously slow office and turnaround time for reimbursements could very easily be even longer than it is now, as Mr. Ha himself has admitted. Clubs have bills to pay and delays could cause greater problems.
The Union will be allowed to keep petty cash in its office to give out to clubs in case of emergency purchases. This means the administration trusts Union officials over club leaders to keep track of money. We believe this to be a mistake.
Mr. Ha was not elected with this new plan on students' minds; had they known that they would be bestowing such concentrated power into one Union official's hands, they might have voted otherwise. Mr. Ha told the Justice last month that he would be selecting the few chartered clubs who will obtain a P-card by himself; that should not have happened.
We have nothing but the highest regard and faith in Mr. Ha; but he cannot remain Union Treasurer forever, and sooner or later a less than scrupulous or competent person may be elected to fill his shoes. The only way to prevent favoritism, then, is to spread the decision-making among multiple individuals.
Mr. Ha will be creating an office of the treasury over the summer, in order to help carry the burden of the new responsibilities he will be gaining; again, we urge him to consult others in choosing his subordinates.
In order to prevent future abuse, it is vital that as many students as possible have a voice in the funding process and that it is as fair to all student groups as possible. We fear, however, that along with being incredibly inconvenient, this new system will create more beaurocracy and decrease student autonomy over their finances.
These major changes are deeply troubling to student clubs on a number of levels. If clubs are forced to keep all of their funds at the University, the administration takes on the role of banker.
The administration already has access to most off-campus accounts and doesn't need more control. It's possible to maintain oversight without taking over club finances. Micromanagment of each account is infeasable. Budget analyst Steve Costa says there are far too many accounts for the University to keep track of, but responsible club leaders can work in partnership with the Union Treasurer and administrators to stay on top of them.
Instead, to ensure that club leaders know what they're doing, the Treasurer should run a mandatory financial training for club leaders every year.
Accounts Payable is a notoriously slow office and turnaround time for reimbursements could very easily be even longer than it is now, as Mr. Ha himself has admitted. Clubs have bills to pay and delays could cause greater problems.
The Union will be allowed to keep petty cash in its office to give out to clubs in case of emergency purchases. This means the administration trusts Union officials over club leaders to keep track of money. We believe this to be a mistake.
Mr. Ha was not elected with this new plan on students' minds; had they known that they would be bestowing such concentrated power into one Union official's hands, they might have voted otherwise. Mr. Ha told the Justice last month that he would be selecting the few chartered clubs who will obtain a P-card by himself; that should not have happened.
We have nothing but the highest regard and faith in Mr. Ha; but he cannot remain Union Treasurer forever, and sooner or later a less than scrupulous or competent person may be elected to fill his shoes. The only way to prevent favoritism, then, is to spread the decision-making among multiple individuals.
Mr. Ha will be creating an office of the treasury over the summer, in order to help carry the burden of the new responsibilities he will be gaining; again, we urge him to consult others in choosing his subordinates.
In order to prevent future abuse, it is vital that as many students as possible have a voice in the funding process and that it is as fair to all student groups as possible. We fear, however, that along with being incredibly inconvenient, this new system will create more beaurocracy and decrease student autonomy over their finances.
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