[bc-gnso] What must be in a proper draft charter -- #1: Proper Financial Controls

[George Kirikos]

Hi folks,

Given we have two weeks to deliberate, and while free speech continues
under the existing charter, I plan a series of bite-sized posts on
what should be in a future charter (and as per my prior post, all
charter discussions and the charter itself should be on the public
mailing list, as per the vote we had months ago which made any other
mailing list illegitimate).

#1: Proper Financial Controls
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At present, there is no separate bank account that belongs to the
constituency. Would ICANN permit all the funds of the organization to
be held by Paul Twomey's Argo Pacific, a contractor, instead of being
held in its own name? Of course not. Neither should the BC. This is
beyond being basic. With members like eBay (who own PayPal) with great
financial experience present, it would be very simple to design
effective financial controls that ensure proper financial controls.
Sites like PayPal.com or FreshBooks.com allow for easy bookkeeping.

*** Recommendation A: The BC charter should mandate that it should
have its own bank account. At a minimum, large balances like the
reserve fund of the constituency should be held independently of any
contractors, e.g. held by ICANN or the GNSO.

---------

To ensure accountability, there should be a democratic process for
spending and for fees. This can only take place if budgets are voted
upon, and if there is an Elected Treasurer. This elected Treasurer
provision is present, for example, in the Registrars constituency (see
section 3.1.2 of http://www.registrarconstituency.com/legal/bylaws.php
) and the IP Constituency (see IV.(A) of
http://www.ipconstituency.org/bylaws.htm ).

*** Recommendation B: The BC charter should mandate an elected
Treasurer and a budget process that is accountable via a democratic
vote amongst all BC members.

-----------

Also to ensure accountability, the finances of the constituency should
be subject to audit. This is present in the IP Constituency (section
VII.D, http://www.ipconstituency.org/bylaws.htm) and ensures that the
funds of the constituency are being properly spent

*** Recommendation C: The BC charter should mandate that: "Upon a
request made in writing (including via e-mail) to the officers by any
member, there shall be an independent review conducted of all BC
ledgers and accounts. The BC officers shall select the conductor of
said review, a neutral third party with recognized accounting
experience. The results of said review shall be made known to the BC."

In order to keep these "bite sized", I'll have more on financial and
other topics in future posts.

Sincerely,

George Kirikos
416-588-0269
http://www.leap.com/