sharing information with owners

I got this e-mail for an owner today "I am requesting the check register that is provided by the Board to the owners include a copy of the bill/bills paid. Hopefully this is not too labor intensive to provide – if you need assistance, I can help you. This change will reflect universally acceptable proper accounting procedures/record keeping being in place at the PCA.

Another item I am hoping you will consider is keeping a copy of all checks being deposited - this copy reflecting the total deposited will then be attached/stapled to the Deposit slip and filed in chronologic order. Again this is proper accounting procedure/record keeping that we should be following."

We do share the check register with our members but we do not send them copies of the invoices. Do other associations send out check registers and invoices to members. This owners says it universally acceptable proper accounting procedures but I never heard of that and think the owner is making it up to get their way. What do you do?

Good accounting practice is to retain a copy of any invoice and to have a means for cross-referencing invoices and checks written to pay them. In many states the association is required to make records available for inspection and that would include the invoices, if requested. Note that most state laws require only that the records be available for inspection; members usually may be charged if they request copies.

After re-reading the original, I am not certain if the member is requesting access to the accounting records or if he is requesting that images of the invoices be included with the monthly financial reports. If the latter is the case, take him up on his offer to assist.

Making copies of checks deposited is also a good accounting practice but making those copies available to members might violate privacy laws as the payers' names, addresses, account numbers, and routing numbers would be revealed. While not specifically addressed in my own state laws, I have always considered this to be "personal financial information" that the association may lawfully withhold.

The member seems to be confusing GAAP's (Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures) with, "Gee, this would nice." While your association should be and probably is adhering to the GAAP's, the information that an association shares with its members is not addressed by GAAP. State law, more than anything else, will dictate what you must disclose and what you may withhold.

Sam,

First and foremost, members may typically examine the books and records of the Association (with some limitations) but must pay for copies. This varies by State, so check to be sure.

If it were me, I would offer to show the records between the hours of x and y. If they want copies it will cost x cents per page and you estimate this cost to be around $xx.xx However, I would also simply ask what they are trying to find out (as it will save everyone a bunch of time if they simply ask so I can show the specific records (if allowed, i.e. I wouldn't show the specific ledger for any lot except theirs - due to privacy laws).

We do not share the check register but I'd have no problem doing so. We also do not share invoices, but I'd have no problem doing so (with the exception of legal invoices until they are redacted as they may indicate the collection action against a specific lot).
We do provide an spreadsheet showing expenses (amount and what budgetary category they are assigned to).

As for copies of checks, our CPA did advice that we maintain copies (I simply download a jpeg from our bank's online system). This has been helpful a couple of times when there were disputes. I would not provide copies of those checks to anyone without a court order, as it may be considered private info. When we make our deposits, we always indicate what lot the amount is being credited to on the deposit slip. This way, if records are lost they can be recreated from copies of the deposit from the bank.

Thanks for the replies. We are a small condo association of 24 units in a resort town. The unit that requested the information seems to have a trust issue. We are self-managed but hired an accounting firm to do our bookkeeping. I think I'll remind the unit that the data is available for their inspection but will not be sending it out. I already believe we do more than is required and more than most other associations by sending out the check register.

SAM

Take the approach that you will be happy to allow him to see or copy appropriate documents but you are not going to guess at what he wants and copy everything to send to him. Set up a time a place. Show him the "boxes" of everything and tell him to have at it. You take a snooze and ask him to wake you when he leaves.