Competitive Team Budgets

Competitive Team Budget Policy

Responsibilities

The budget and finances of the team are the responsibility of the team officials and the parents. Specific responsibilities regarding team budgets include:

• The Coach and Team Officials are responsible for developing a team budget at the beginning of the season reflecting the program outlined by the Coach and presenting to the parents for approval.
• The team Treasurer is responsible for tracking and controlling the financial transactions of the team as per the Team Bank Account Policy, summarizing actual results compared to budget and presenting the summary to the parents for their review on a regular basis.
• The Parents are responsible for approving the Initial team budget at the beginning of the season and any subsequent changes and reviewing the summary of actual results compared to budget provided by the Treasurer. The initial budget and subsequent adjustments must be agreed to by the majority of the parents. Any decisions regarding adjustments to or specific details or line items in the budget are done by way of vote.
• The KMHA is responsible for setting policy regarding team budgets and providing direction to Coaches, Team Officials and Parents regarding application of the policy. For greater clarity, the KMHA does not directly manage the financial activity of the team and any issues or discrepancies that may occur regarding team finances are not the responsibility of the KMHA.

Team Fees

There are no total budget expense or team fee limits set for KMHA competitive teams.  Coaches are directed by the KMHA to ensure when developing the budget they should be mindful of the total cost being incurred by individual parents and should make all efforts to keep team costs and the team fees charged to the players to a minimum.  Fundraising is encouraged to mitigate the amount of team fees charged to players.  For greater clarity, the purpose of fundraising is not to allow additional expenses to be added to the budget.  Successful fundraising or lower spending may result in a budget surplus which is to be refunded to parents at the end of the season. Upon consensus from the parent group, small surpluses may be donated to charity to reduce the administration of refunding small amounts to parents.

Team Expenses

The total budgeted expenses for any particular team will reflect the program outlined by the Coach for the season and is influenced by several factors including additional ice time requirements, specific skill and player development or off-ice training activities and potentially bus transportation to tournaments.  In addition, non-parent coaches are often assigned to competitive level teams and travel expenses for these coaches are included in that team’s budget - see Non-Parent Coach Expense Policy.

Expense items included in the budget should be focused on required items to operate the team such as tournament and league fees, ice costs, referees etc. and player skill development activities.  Other items not directly related to team operations or player development such as team bonding activities should be kept to a minimum and focused on the players only - not family members.

Expenses related to team social events and parties and team clothing or equipment such as track suits, socks, hats etc. should NOT be included in a team budget. Procurement of these items may be coordinated by a team official or parent but should be settled on a cash basis with the player and his family and not transacted through the team account.

Budget Format

All Initial Team Budgets and Actual to Budget Summaries must be prepared using an Excel spreadsheet - see Budget Templates.  The line items in the budget and summaries must be in sufficient detail to properly describe the nature of the income or expenses included.  Supporting schedules providing further detail of the transactions or activity related to an item should be included where necessary.

Key Dates and Deliverables

• Initial Budget approved by Parents no later than September 30^th.
• Actual vs Budget Summary #1 provided to Parents no later than November 30^th.
• Actual vs Budget Summary #2 provided to Parents no later than January 31^st.
• Final Actual vs Budget Summary provided to Parents no later than March 31^st, or within 1 month of last ice time, whichever comes first.
• Final budget settlement and bank account closure no later than May 31^st.

Best Practices for Treasurers

• Communicate budget status to parents regularly and often
• Obtain parent approval prior to incurring significant unbudgeted expenditures
• Record transaction activity as it occurs and retain supporting documentation
• Ensure cash-based transactions are accompanied by receipts or a sign-off list
• Ensure bank reconciliations are performed monthly
• Follow up and escalate issues with delinquent fees early
• Document each parents acknowledged receipt of Initial Budget, Interim Summary Reports and the Final Summary

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact the KMHA Treasurer- treasurer@kmha.ca