|
|
|
|
|
We had several issues with our day camp program. One of the biggest was the management of equipment and trying to make sure that we were able to have enough of the correct equipment at each day camp. Often times each area would buy there own equipment and we would have a lot of somethings and not enough of the other plus it was stored all over the place. The other problem we had was coordinating getting the items to the correct location and having to pay for a lot of individuals to go to camp school. Our solution was as follows. We hired a Camp Director and a Program Director to run all the camps instead of one for each. We have 6 day camps so this means we only had to send two people to camp school instead of 12. This helps us to bring continuity to our day camp program and they get the experience of doing better fixing problems and so forth as you would at a resident camp. The second thing we did was purchase a trailer to store all day camp equipment. This enclosed trailer is easily towed by any volunteer with a tow hitch. Since all the equipment is in one place we can better manage our needs and not over purchase items. Also we are able to better manage our petty cash. With only having one set of directors to deal with we are able to manage the expenses and cut back on the amount of petty cash that is out at one time. So far we have been pleased with the results.
|
|
|
Current Environment:
Expense reports were being filled out on excel worksheets by computer and some by hand. There was inevitably numerous mathematical errors and the professionals were not separately breaking out sales tax which is refundable from the state of Utah. The account numbers being used by the Council Staff in 30% of the cases were wrong either in the account or the activity code. Accounting would get these marginal reports have to fix the math, account numbers and sales tax errors. In addition the accounting department would need to reentry all of the receipt amounts into another excel program to group them by account number to facilitate their entry into the Account Payable system. The process was full of errors, time consuming and produced an unacceptable level of problems.
Project Description:
The project was to develop a computer program that would allow Council staff to easily input and for the accounting department to economically process reimbursements to staff and volunteers. The main objectives were as follows:
1. Have a system that was easy and intuitive for the user.
2. Gave the user the options need for the what type of request was being made i.e. Expense Report, Petty Cash Reimbursement, Activity Reimbursement or Check Request. (See attached Exhibit 1)
3. Force users to break out the Utah State Sales Tax
4. Force compliance with IRS regulations under the Accountable Plan Regulations.
5. Have the system guide the user into the proper general ledger accounts to use.
6. Accumulate the various charges by general ledger account numbers to ease entry into the general ledger system.
7. To allow staff to easily charge mileage to various cost centers rather than the 000 account.
8. To have a standardize report that is easy read and put into the computer.
Project Timeline
The project initially started back in 2006 with the preliminary ground work being laid with determining what the current system did and working with various users as to what we wanted to accomplish with the project.
Over the next 12 months a flowchart was constructed and reviewed by an internal committee made up of IT, accounting and end users to review the flowcharts, which finished in June 2007 (see Exhibit 2). A software developer was selected and final contract negotiations and reference checks took the balance of the year.
Starting in 2008 the programming began and finished in only 3 months. March 2008 the committee met to review the product. At that time various improvements were made and the system went into beta testing in April and finally roll out to the Council in May in time to be utililized during the very busy camp season. The project has now been in operation for little over a year and has been without question a great success. A sample report (Exhibit 3) is attached to see how nice the reports look and easy to be inputted into the Accounts Payable System.
Conclusion
The project objectives were met as follows:
1. The entire staff was required to use the system and even those who were not particularly computer savvy had no problems with the system after the first time. The time using the system was about the same as the old system but the product coming out was vastly improved and accurate. The side benefit is our professional staff understands the BSA chart of accounts better than they did before, which helps then with their professional development.
2. The auditors in their Report to Management had put the Council on notice that their compliance with IRS regulations relative to documentation was not sufficient. The new computer system force compliance by not letting them proceed with their expense reports until all documentation is properly entered for example on business meals they must put in who was there and what was discussed.
3. The payback on the system was probably about 18 months. This came by cash inflows with at least an additional $2,000 a year in Utah sales tax refunds since the system requires that entry. The other huge payback is in the accounting time that between the Accounts Payable Accountant and CFO the annual savings in time for not having to reenter information and the quicker review time since everything is standardize is estimate at $5,100 a year for an overall saving of $7,100 a year and every year in the future.
4. The other benefit is the professionals and staff are now able to quickly bill mileage and expenses to many different cost centers. This is giving the Council relative to various cost centers much better financial information to evaluate what is working and what isn’t. It is amazing how getting good accurate information can help in properly managing a Council.
If any questions, please let us know. This has been a very beneficial project for the Council and the computer platform and software has been very dependable.
The test site is http://expenses.imagicom.com
You can login with the following user:
Username: test
Password: test
Please make sure the login stuff is all working. You may want to create a test user for them for each of the levels (user, accounting and administrator). Test is currently an administrator.
|
|
|
Monmouth Council has developed several sources of sustainable and diversified revenue through innovative use of the council's assets. In the Scout Service Center's back space, the council has partnered with Garden State Rocks, an indoor state-of-the-art rock climbing center and has a 5 year lease. The council also leases office space at the Service Center. Through the camp properties the council has several sources of diversified revenue from leases, including a laser tag business operation, a new cross-country camp for middle school-aged youth, and a hunting club. Through these partnerships and sources, the council adds over $50,000 to the Operating budget each year.
|
|
|
To be able to maximize our revenue and minimize our expenses, the Jersey Shore Council uses an internal Fiscal Management Report which is reviewed once a month at a staff meeting. The report lists all the cost center, who is responsible for the cost center, what is budgeted, what is projected, and what the difference is. This allows every staff member to be accountable for the budget and explain why it is above or under budget. From a management standpoint, it allows us to see where we currently are and where expenses can be cut. Thus far, this has proven to be a very useful tool getting the entire staff to own the budget.
|
|
|
Vote Up
Vote Down
Close