Planning and Finance

History and Mission

The Planning and Finance Committee was established by the Board of Directors at the 1998 Annual Meeting in Blacksburg, Virginia.  The Committee’s mission is to develop the annual budget as a planning tool rather than a spending plan.  The original charges to this Committee included: 1) develop a philosophy and guidelines for use of the Reserve Fund, including the overall purpose, goals with regard to our annual budget, and guidelines defining how we will arrive at spending limits for each year (document approved by the Board in 1999; following a request by the IRS, a policy for spending from the General Reserve Fund was approved by the Board in 2009, see the policy here); 2) determine the cost of insuring officers of the Society to protect against legal action (has become part of the annual budget); 3) examine how the Society can improve its relevance in terms of what it offers members through its publications.  This latter charge and the development of the annual budget, on behalf of the President, are now the ongoing duties of the Committee.

Responsibilities

Specific charges to this committee during its formative phase include:

  • The President-Elect serves as the Committee Chair and plays a key role in the drafting of the annual budget.
  • Chair collects annual budget requests from ASM committee chairs and Officers.
  • Chair combines budget requests with financial reports from the Secretary-Treasurer to develop an annual budget proposal for the President in consultation with the Committee.
  • Provide advice and recommendations to the President on budget requests and strategic initiatives that involve expenditures of ASM funds.
  • Chair presents the President’s budget proposal at the Board meeting at the Annual Meeting, modifies the proposed budget according to the wishes of the Board, and provides the final approved budget to the Secretary-Treasurer.
  • Committee continually evaluates how the Society can improve its relevance to its members and the profession of mammalogy.

Chair

E. J. Heske (eheske@illinois.edu)

Members

D. M. Leslie, Jr., A. V. Linzey, S. McLaren, R. M. Timm, R. Van Den Bussche, M. R. Willig

Suggestions from ASM members are welcomed and can be sent to any committee member.