It is with sadness that I am announcing the impending departure of our Financial Director, Harjit Nijjar who will be relocating out of province within the next few months.
Harjit has been an extremely valuable and diligent member of our Board in this position and we appreciate the extensive work she has done since assuming this position to achieve our goals of transparency and sound financial management of the Society’s assets and liabilities in conjunction with the Assistant Financial Director, Bob Briggs.
This however means the Society will be seeking a new Financial Director who hopefully will be able to work alongside Ms. Nijjar to gain a thorough understanding of our financial systems and reporting procedures. Mr. Briggs at this time is unable to assume the Financial Director position but will continue to assist as he has been since his appointment to the position.
This is a very vital and important role on the Board and we need a great volunteer and exceptional communicator able to work well with a diverse group of Seniors in the Society.

  The Financial Director will be:

• A member of the Dogwood Pavilion Seniors’ Society or willing to become a member of the society before assuming the role.
• Have Finance, Accounting or Bookkeeping experience
• Familiar with Sage accounting or the ability to learn the basic concepts relatively quickly
• Required to complete a Criminal Record Check as required by the City of Coquitlam prior to assuming the role
• Must be registered as a Volunteer with the City of Coquitlam and be willing to record their volunteer hours on Better Impact
• Willing to attend monthly Executive and Board meetings and prepare monthly Financial reports.
• Willing to present an annual Financial Report to the membership at the Annual General Meeting.
• Able to work with a diverse group of Activity Group leaders and Directors to address questions related to the Activity Group financial status.
• Complete all required provincial and Federal financial reporting on behalf of the Society.
• Able to provide suitable references with respect to management of a Financial portfolio in a non-profit society.

To provide additional context and clarification, the following excerpt is a description of the Duties of the Financial Director and Assistant Director.

14. DUTIES OF THE FINANCIAL DIRECTOR and/or ASSISTANT FINANCIAL DIRECTOR  

i. The duties of the Financial Director and the Assistant Financial director are interchangeable.

ii. Responsible to advise and recommend to the Board on the total management of the separate and joint bank accounts in the best interests of Dogwood Pavilion Seniors Society.

iii. The Director/Assistant will prepare an annual Dogwood Pavilion Seniors Society budget for approval of The Board. 

iv. Responsible for keeping a true and accurate account of all monies received and paid out and a record of all financial transactions of any kind under the direction of The Board.

v. Further duties include, but are not limited to:
i. Ensuring that the appropriate forms are completed at the bank to grant signing authority for The Society accounts.

ii. Conducting regular banking duties, including checking at Dogwood Pavilion’s office on a regular basis for any funds to be deposited and depositing them and exercising borrowing powers as approved by the Board.

iii. Maintaining up-to-date and legible books for monies received and expended.

iv. Preparation and presentation of financial reports to the monthly Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting.

v. The Financial Director/Assistant Financial Director will review activity group accounts to determine if funds held in their activity accounts meet the groups’ requirements.

vi. Timely completion and accurate reporting to external Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments in accordance with their respective reporting requirements. This includes but is not limited to Tax returns for charities, sales tax remittance and gaming license reporting.

vii. Attend sub-committee meetings that have a potential financial impact (either current or future) on The Society.

viii. Activity Group fees balance records will be maintained by The Society’s Financial Directors. 

ix. Each Activity Group will be identified as a separate balance in the Activity Ledgers

x. The Financial Director will review Activity Group requests for expenses to determine that the funds are being used for the activity.

xi. It is recognized that Activity Groups that provide community services may exceed their annual budget. Upon review by the Financial Director additional funds may be accessed from a discretionary account established by the Board for this purpose.

xii. Requests for large amounts will be accompanied by a second signature or the minutes authorizing the request.

xiii. The Financial Director will carry over any Activity Group balances at year end to the next calendar year.
 
We invite expressions of interest for this position from all those having the requisite experience and qualifications.
We would ideally like to find a suitable candidate as soon as possible to allow for crossover orientation by the current Financial Director.
Please submit your letter of application via email to Dogwoodseniors50plus@gmail.com.