It's following policies, procedures, and practices that enable your society's Board of Directors to fulfill their fiduciary (trustee) obligations for the public and tenant funds entrusted to the society for administering your housing portfolio.

It includes:

• Prudent internal controls on handling and recording financial transactions
• Prudent spending authorities
• Effective use of funds by obtaining competitive prices
• Compliance with legal requirements (e.g. taxes)
• Monitoring and controlling revenues and expenditures
• Financial reporting requirements
• Minimizing risk of financial loss through insurance
• External audit of the society's finances.

Best practices in this category help you:

• Plan and control your operating and capital expenditures
• Forecast and generate needed cash flow
• Safely and productively invest funds not needed in the current period
• Comply with accounting, recording, and financial reporting requirements
• Monitor financial performance and take early corrective action
• Protect your society from financial mismanagement and theft.

You can . . .

• Test your society's best practices in Financial Management
• Check out the Best Practices and Resources for Financial Management and Control.