This section details some things Earl found as Expo treasurer in 1999, since updated, which we hope will help you avoid some errors and worries.
So what does this Expo treasurer do? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is as follows:
Your task, appreciated by a few, will require time, effort and perseverance...
Try to get someone else to do these even though they involves expo funds:
In the beginning were the grant applications. At least, there were if last year's committee remembered their responsibilities, so first check that they have been submitted! Also track down the ex-treasurer (if he didn't get you first!) and get the bank details and get yourself as a signatory to the account.
There are copies of lettes requesting grants on the expo online systems letters archive.
You may find at first that the Expo committee is just you and the Expo Leader. Help him/her find and pressgang victims persuade volunteers for the other committee roles:
Absolutely refuse (politely) to do any of these yourself. You have enough to do.
Even before you've got a full committee, start promoting Expo as the top experience it is. Start taking deposits. Ask for £200 before Expo, as installments of £80 and £120. Of course, people can pay it all at once if they want!
The deposits are to give Expo some cash to buy gear. Try and get most people to pay up; people paying for a lot of gear in Cambridge (e.g. for top camp meals and the chief fettler) may request not to pay their deposit. Certainly get at least the first deposit of anyone potentially 'unreliable' (i.e. you haven't seen caving or hasn't been on Expo before) before you spend any money on him/her. Hassle everybody else too :-)
A good way to get the deposits is with the Expo form. This is completed by each person wanting to go on the Expo. Have a look at past year's forms. The forms get you, as treasurer, (hopefully) all the information you'll need to start organising Expo. People are often pretty lousy at completing or even starting their forms, but you'll need an idea of when people want to go on Expo and a list of contact addresses etc. Distribute the forms:
There was an on-line version of the form in 2014, and possibly even a script for processing the responses. Find a suitable nerd to fix it; it's not difficult. The web form can be completed on-line or printed out and sent to you.
In the past requirements set by the GPF/NCA meant that all Expo members needed to be members of a club/organisation which is in turn a member of the NCA in order for Expo to get any grant money. ICheck whether this is still true.
Expo has a number of gear requirements distinct from CUCC in the UK; these include rings, hangers, drills, bolts, surveying instruments and long ropes. We own our own surveying instruments, but they may need expensive maintenance and are very expensive to replace. Consumables and other caving gear are often bought with a large communal order from Yorkshire.
Try and place Expo gear orders jointly with CUCC main orders to maximise the discount we can get. Invite club members to buy their personal gear at the same time. Work with the CUCC main committee to eliminate unnecessary duplication of resources; there is a web page describing CUCC equipment purchasing.
How much of this happens depends on how keen and how many Expo members you have. In 1999 we placed an order with Field & Trek, where we got the group sales rate of 'up to' 25% off their normal prices. Bernies will normally give 10% off medium to large orders, or 20% on large orders if you give him a few days notice. Recently (1998/9), it has seemed that Bernies offers better value than Inglesport; Dragon do excellent tackle sack repairs for £10 per sack.
This involves paying money in, writing cheques and looking after the statements. Statements are currently sent to the Expo Treasurer's address, which is changed for each treasurer. You could get them sent to Dr James Hickson, the CUCC Senior Treasurer at Pembroke. This would mean less changing of addresses, but add delay/uncertainty to your receiving the statements.
Equipment orders are normally paid for by Expo or CUCC main, with the other then repaying their share. The float money (about £850 at the end of 1999) can be used as necessary, but should be replenished at the end of each year. The extra money is very useful for smoothing the cash flow. Do not let the account go overdrawn.
The Expo account is with National Westminster, number 22997253, sort code 60-04-23 (King's Parade branch). Remember to give the bank the signature authority forms to authorise your successor before you leave Cambridge.
The Expo Bier Book and Sesh Book is a record of every expedition expenditure and many administrative details of Expo. Refined over many years, the format now consists of the following sections:
The expenses and sesh swaps are also copied online into the bank of expo and the bier book and sesh book are annotated when when an expense has been transcribed.
Anything else financial can also be included, particularly notes to the treasurer. The Bier Book, Sesh Book, Logbook, Callout Books and Survey Wallets file together make the original source documentation for each Expo.
The largest single bill in Austria will be the campsite bill. Obviously the bill depends on how big Expo is; in 2018 it was over €2,000. How this is paid depends on how many people you have around at the end of Expo. If there are enough then the simplest method is for them just to pay Hilde and claim the cost back through the Bank of Expo. However, if there are not going to be enough people with sufficient cash around at the end, you should start collecting advance payements from attendees anticipating their eventual bills.
The Bier Book and Sesh Book, as copied into the Bank of Expo, should be a complete picture of all Expo financial transactions.
You'll receive some Bier Book & Sesh Book entries by email, post and word of mouth after Expo, as people's credit card bills come in. Set a deadline (say, 40 days after the end of Expo) and add all entries to the Bank of Expo. Include all the other relevant transactions on the other Expo accounts.
Once all the various expenses have been entered in the Bank of Expo (it's probably September/October by now), you're ready to tackle the spreadsheet. Here is the 2014 Expo spreadsheet - but this predates Bank of Expo, so hassle a mroe recent treasuer to get the latest copy. You don't have to use the spreadsheet, but it's best to unless you're a database wizard. Basically you remove the sheets for last years members, copy new blank pages for this year's members and then add this year's data. It's fairly straightforward, but lengthy and requires concentration.
All expenditures in the Bier Book will fall into one of the categories:
What is paid for is determined by the principles described in part 1 of this document. Once all the data has been entered, check that each person has been allocated appropriate traveller, caver and grantshare values.
When sending out the Expo bills, include the addresses of the creditors. Send individual emails personally to each member, rather that announcing it on communal emails. This reduces the amount of ranting about 'Why's my bill more than his?'. However, if anyone asks, have the relevant data ready.
Record accounting trivia, such as the number of Gössers drunk, the times underground, etc.
Archive all the accounts on the Expo online systems in expofiles/accounts and keep scanned copies of the Bier Book and Sesh Book in expofiles/writeups/ Communication: would that it were clear, concise, courteous, correct, charitable and copious. Would that the response was well considered and timely. Try to make your requests SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-scaled. You'll need several Expo Committee meetings. Firstly to plan what should be done, and later to check that all the jobs are being done. If someone just isn't pulling their weight or has too much else to do, the committee meetings should be used to provide encouragement (!) and/or redistribute the workload. I suppose one of the jobs of the Expo Leader is to check that everything is going to plan, be he/she won't always think of everything on their own. See the checklists in the expo planning guide Remember that all the Expo committee are volunteers (more or less of their own volition :-), but they may have different priorities and/or different reasons for participating than yourself. This can make committee work interesting or taxing, depending on your viewpoint, but try to keep Expo as an adventure rather than a chore; it's worth it in the end. Part 1 described the principle of the Expo finances: the sources of income and expenditure and the principles behind the Expo billing system.
Part 2 described the role of the treasurer and details on the practical side of being Expo Treasurer. Being Expo Treasurer will involve quite a lot of work. Remember the need to be open and fair. Good Luck! Top. BCRA Insurance is charged at cost to anyone who obtains it through the club, as are Expo T-shirts and meals at the Expo Dinner. All these are charged using Swaps (see below) to the relevant account. The British Cave Research Association organises special travel insurance with provision for caving. Details are given on the BCRA website. The administrator is: John Cooper, Telephone: 01749 670568 The insurance does not seem to cover canyoning holidays, but possibly would cover a day's canyoning during a primarily caving holiday. The cost of the insurance has increased recently; there may be a better deal elsewhere. Personal members of the BCRA get a reasonable discount; you will need to quote their BCRA membership number (ask for it on the Expo form). Insurance is generally recommended, though some people prefer not to pay for it. They risk the costs on the basis that cave rescue is free (usually) and the E111 form covers standard emergency treatment (maybe). Not all hospitals or all treatment are covered by an E111; they can be very expensive. Some members have used the SnowCard or ActiveCard company in the past. Sometimes you'll hear of people who've never been on a CUCC meet or Expo before but allegedly want to come now. They may be allegedly keen cavers; however, don't get any insurance for them until they have paid their deposit or been guaranteed by someone you trust. We've had people decide not to go on Expo three days before departure, after we'd spent money on their insurance. They may be difficult to track down and get the money out of afterwards. Peoples' plans often change in the months leading up to Expo. For this reason, try and leave arranging BCRA insurance as late as possible, but not so late that you incur the 'short notice' penalty charge (5%). Bear in mind the delays in the post when doing this. Make copies of the insurance certificates from the BCRA. Take the original on Expo in case you need to wave it at hospitals and keep a copy in the UK in case you loose the original and have to make a claim.
Committees...
Summary
Archaic - for historic purposes only
BCRA Expedition Insurance
31 Elm Close,
Wells,
Somerset,
BA5 1LZ
Email: jc@johnmcooper.freeserve.co.uk
Started 1999-12-31 by Earl Merson, Treasurer 1998 & 1999.
This page was last modified 2000-01-07
