hi,
excuse that i write this email, while not beeing directly concerned, but maybe there are some similarities to other countries, like in this case switzerland.
the bylaws state that the auditors have access to the financial books at any time. if the bylaws are violated, the board, the members personal or via general assembly and the tax authority can take action.
examples: the board itself can immediately change the roles, i.e. put in place a new treasurer. the general assembly can change the board, the tax authority can revoke the tax exempt status, a member can sue the treasurer, wmch can sue the treasurer.
while normally members and board members are not personally liable, this changes in case of a violation of the bylaws. there might be criminal liability, or material liability vs the local law.
a little more to the role of the auditors: * "mandate" is defined simple in the bylaws: access at any time to the financial statements. members do not have that.
* "access" is defined quite simple: there is an account and account statement, and for every money movement, there must be a receipt or document in support. and if the auditor shows up, the responsible person (treasurer in our case) must be able to show it. at the general assembly they propose to accept or reject the financial statements. auditors only suggest how they want to have the financial statements - but never measures for wmch in general (this is the general assemblies, and boards business).
side note: wmch might not be directly comparable though, as wmch is organized like a football club, i.e. the general assembly of the members is the highest body giving the direction, giving the bylaws, and electing the board.
there is a committee (i.e. board), which runs the business, the treasurer beeing one of the board. and there is the auditors, which was 2 members, not board, in former times (which could choose to ask a company for help), nowadays a company only.
best regards,
rupert.
On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM, Limoke Oscar oslimoke@gmail.com wrote:
Having an Audit Committee is a good idea, however my question is, What are its mandates? I mean like yes I want us to have one, but what happens when they make recommendations incases of malpractice in the board? I say this because technically all the members have been some sort of auditors and have been checking and asking for answers from the board especially as regards to vary many decisions, financials included. So please let us lay out the mandate of the committee and there is nothing worse like making recommendations that never get implemented like most commissions and committees in Kenya.....my personal 2 cents
That Said, I know Abbas, Grace (who stepped down from the Chapter) and Kosgei are the other volunteers, so I guess we have an audit Committee ready
On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 10:52 AM, Branton Obwari bruceobwari@gmail.com wrote:
Hi , matters of integrity ,n accountability are bound to rise ,in this kind of organisation i personally thought the issue we just heard on the mailing list would have been avoided if there was an audit unit as suggested earlier . i am available to volunteer on that capacity together with others. My regrds
Bruce.
On 7/25/12, David Mugo raidarmax@gmail.com wrote:
Guys,
I hope you are good, I am writing this in great concern of what is happening with the chapter and finances. We are a very young chapter and we need not be where we are at this point. When we elected the board, we agreed to have an audit committee that will be there to keep check on the board's decisions in all matters including finances.
The fact that WMKE is ran by the board means we need an external organ to ensure accountability and responsibility.
I would hereby propose that we suggest/nominate 4 members who can handle this until we have the next meeting to either confirm the members or conduct a process to appoint these members. I would like to leave this open but also insist that it is really urgent as we decide on the current situation, its solution and action to be taken by the chapter regarding the matter. Please suggest names or volunteer and we can all come up with a final process to create membership of this committee.
--
David Mugo, Adviser to Kenya's VP on Digital Media & Technology, CEO & Board Chairman, Wikimedia Kenya http://mugo.me Twitter: @raidarmax
WikimediaKE mailing list WikimediaKE@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
-- Regards,
Limoke Oscar, Dream.Believe.Become....a world of endless oportunities
WikimediaKE mailing list WikimediaKE@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake