Financial Information

Revenue Account

· A Revenue Account is defined as any money not allocated by the Student Association (SA) deposited by a registered student group (money from fundraisers, dues, donations, etc.).   Revenue accounts are free of cost, and the money stays in the account from year to year.

· To establish a Revenue Account, contact Joan Mitchell in the SAC office to set an appointment ( jzmitch@gwu.edu or 202-994-7783). A memo must also be sent to Joan Mitchell indicating who is authorized to initiate any spending from the group's revenue account (Treasurer). This memo should include the title of their position, name, email and phone.

· Deposits and withdrawals can be made through Joan Mitchell by a member of the student organization.   When deposits are made, be sure to receive a receipt at the same time.  Fill out a Revenue Account Expenditure Approval Form and attach all receipts to the form for withdrawals.

Student Association Account

· An SA Account is defined as operational money allocated by the Student Association (SA) to student organizations. Money is not automatically guaranteed; groups must apply to receive funding annually. Money is allocated for operational costs (for items that are needed throughout the year for the group to exist, not costs for a particular event; equipment, banners, etc.) and must be used up prior to the end of the school year.  

· Organizations must appoint a Financial Officer to process paperwork to request funds from this account.

· The Student Association conducts mid-year reviews of the funds allocated to be sure funds are being used properly. Failure to submit required forms to the SA could result in a deduction of available funds.

Things to keep in mind…

· Money cannot be transferred from your SA allocated account to your revenue account.  However, money can be transferred from your revenue account to your SA account.   To do this, a memo must be sent to Joan Mitchell authorizing her to complete the transfer and should include the organization name, amount to be transferred and purpose.

· There may be restrictions and deadlines for when you can use money from each account. Talk to your SAT Advisor or the SA for more information. 

Expenditure Approval Forms (EAF)

Only the Executive Financial Officers and Presidents of organizations may sign an EAF.    

· An EAF must be COMPLETELY filled out, and should be turned into the SA office if it is paid from the SA account and submit to your SAT advisor if money is being deducted from the Revenue Account.   EAFs submitted to the SA will be reviewed by the Vice President for Financial Affairs, and forwarded to the SAC office for final approval.  EAFs submitted to your SAT advisor   must first be signed by them and they will submit them to Joan Mitchell for payment.

Reimbursement

· Make sure your organization initially has enough money to cover all the expenses before spending any money.

· Students CANNOT be reimbursed for money they spent out of their own pocket for services requiring contracts (DJs, outside speakers, performers, etc.); a contract must be filled out and approved, and payment will then occur using funds in the organization's revenue or SA account (depending on which type of EAF is submitted; an SA or Revenue EAF).   Requests from students for reimbursement  to their personal account for contracted services will not be processed.

· All original receipts must be attached to an EAF, with the following information of the individual who is being reimbursed: name, social security number, and mailing address.   Any food purchased at a restaurant/market where alcohol is present must be submitted with an itemized receipt.

· The individual being reimbursed MUST be the same person who purchased the item.

· Follow all guidelines on the EAF form; incomplete EAFs will delay the reimbursement time.

· Documentation must include ORIGINAL receipts along with bank/credit card statements and a copy of the cancelled check or bank statement as proof of purchase.

· While awaiting reimbursement, keep copies of EAFs and relevant documentation for your records.   Do NOT throw away any receipts.

· For SA EAFs, you will be notified if the EAF has been approved or if there were any problems that need to be addressed.   The SA will then forward the reimbursement request to SAC; after this point, reimbursement will take 4-8 weeks to process.  Any questions should be directed to samoney@gwu.edu

Payment to Contracted Guests (performers, speakers, DJs, etc.)

· All payments to these vendors MUST coincide with University Policies.  Contracts must be processed through your SAT Advisor at LEAST 6-8 weeks in advance of the scheduled event.  Student Organizations are not legal representatives of the University and therefore should not sign any contracts.   For additional information on contracts, please consult SAC's  Student Organization Management Series   form titled "Contracts".