CUCC Expo 2023 Accounting Policy Document

28 Feb., 2023

1 Policy Philosophy

The intentions of this policy are several-fold:

To permit the ﬁnancing of an expedition that breaks even.
To avoid unreasonable expenses being passed on to other expedition members.
To ultimately allow the generation of bills for individuals without surprises.
To allocate costs fairly, in so far as does not take excessive effort.

Where choices exist there will be a bias towards encouraging more caving and greater student participation.

This is being actively edited by the 2023 treasurer: Alice.

2 Expo Income

2.1 Grants

Grant money, unless obtained for a speciﬁc purpose, will be divided per person and offset against communal equipment costs.

The Alex Pitcher Award will be split equally between all eligible participants

2.2 Deposits

All expedition members are expected to pay a deposit before the expedition to ﬁnance the purchase of expensive communally bought items, unless they are personally incurring a larger communal expedition expense. The deposit will be set at a standard rate, with a reduced rate - 50% of standard - for students (other concessions at the treasurer's discretion).

2.3 Personal Contributions

Charged at the end of the expedition to make the accounts balance.

3 Expo Expenditure

3.1 Communal Equipment

For personal equipment, see 3.4.3.

One-off purchases will be charged per person. This covers items such as tarps, anchors, ﬁrst aid supplies, and communal caving/camping gear bought speciﬁcally for the expedition.

Costs of consumable items will be shared per day spent on expedition. Such items include fuel, bog-rolls and cleaning supplies.

Owners of items borrowed for communal use will receive wear-and-tear compensation if the item’s use is agreed in advance by the expedition committee. Such compensation will be based on proportionate use of the item’s expected lifetime, and will be charged as a one-off purchase. Compensation will be generous (an example being 10% of purchase price for rope borrowed for the whole expedition), but does not cover replacement in the event of damage.

Anyone informing the expedition treasurer of an intention not to cave prior to the expedition will not pay for top-camp/caving equipment, except any already purchased on their behalf.

3.2 Transportation

3.2.1 To/From Austria

Transport to/from Austria is considered outside the remit of Expo treasurer. It is up to the driver and passengers to agree a fair split of fuel/ferries/associated costs. However, Bank of Expo may be used to arrange person-to-person swaps between indivuduals when settling these travel costs.

3.2.2 In Austria

Fuel and parking for all vehicles being used for communal purposes (i.e. communal shopping and going caving) will be combined and charged per day spent in Austria.

Driving unrelated to Expo (“Jollies”) must be entered on the appropriate page in the Bier Book, and will be deducted from drivers’ petrol allowances. It is the driver’s responsibility to enter swaps to distribute the costs between their passengers.

A £10 wear-and-tear allowance will be paid to a vehicle’s owner for each week or major fraction thereof the vehicle is on Expo and transporting people communally.

The toll road cost will be shared equally across all caving members of the expedition.

3.2.3 Carbon Offsetting

Travel to and from expo will be carbon offset. This will be calculated on an individual basis and added to the expo bill. Expedition members are responsible for supplying information on fuel usage (travelling by car) or journey details (train or plane) for the purposes of carbon offsetting calculation.

3.3 Maintenance

3.3.1 Food and Drink

Communal food and drink costs will be shared on a time on expedition basis. Personal food/drink items must be accounted separately in the Bier Book.

Gösser and limos will be charged individually based on Bier Book tallies.

3.3.2 Accommodation

Base camp fees will be shared on nights spent at base camp.

3.4 Individual Expenses

3.4.1 Swaps

Person-to-person transactions are processed through the Bier Book, and costs transferred directly. Examples include excursion expenses and personal food/drink.

3.4.2 Seshes and the Expo Dinner

Record accurately in the Sesh Book - these will be entered into Bank of Expo as person-to-person swaps.

Expo Dinner participants will be billed according to their recorded meal choices.

3.4.3 Personal Gear

Any items bought speciﬁcally for expedition members will be charged directly to the individual based on the information supplied by the purchaser to the expedition treasurer. No allowance for wear-and-tear of personal equipment will be made.

3.4.4 Rescue Costs

Not an item for the expedition accounts, expedition members are entirely liable for rescue costs. Buy insurance.

Financial and Accounting Responsibilities for Expo-goers

Pay the deposit.
Keep your receipts - place in the plastic wallet in the Tatty Hut.
If you are in any doubt whether the expedition will reimburse an expense do not incur it before obtaining the expedition treasurer’s agreement.
Fill in the relevant pages of the Bier Book accurately.
Where possible, enter details of your expenses on the Expo computer.
Leave money when you leave Austria in order to cover your share of the campsite bill.
Pay your bill within a reasonable timeframe after the accounts are ﬁnalised.

When making paper or electronic entries, please ensure they are clear.

Implementation of this Policy

The expedition treasurer, Alice Kirby (ark58@cam.ac.uk), will manage the expedition’s ﬁnances. In the ﬁrst instance queries should be addressed to her.

By attending the expedition it is assumed you agree to subsequently clear any debts owed to other expedition members which arise due to application of this policy.

All expense claims must be submitted to the expedition treasurer by ......

Expenses without receipts may not be reimbursed.

Any person-to-person swap which the debtor disputes, and for which the creditor cannot provide evidence, will not be processed through the expedition accounts.

The accounts will be based in pounds sterling. Euro denominated transactions will be converted using the best achievable Euro selling rate at the start of the expedition. This rate will be updated during the expedition should exchange rates change signiﬁcantly.

This document can be amended following consultation with those going on the expedition, and general agreement being reached. An updated version will then be circulated.

The expedition treasurer reserves the right to alter the policy post-Expo, but only where the policy proves unworkable or is found to be in conﬂict with the initially stated intentions. Affected parties will be advised at the earliest opportunity in order for general agreement to be reached on any modiﬁed scheme.