By-Law #3: Article 11: Financial : Gateway Housing Cooperative

11.01 Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the co-op starts on December 1 and ends on November 30 of the following year.

The following persons must be bondable:

Every officer or employee in charge of or handling money or securities,
Every signing officer,
and Any other officer, employee or person under contract that the Board decides should be bondable.

The members appoint an auditor at each annual member’s meeting. The auditor can be either a chartered accountant or a chartered accountant firm.

The auditor stays in office until the members appoint the next auditor.

Section 124 and 125 of the Act states how to remove an auditor and appoint a different auditor.
The auditor must have access to the books, accounts and vouchers of the co-op at all reasonable times.
The directors, employees and officers of the co-op must provide any information and explanations which the auditor requires.

The auditor reports at the annual member’s meeting on the fmancial statement ofthe coop.

The president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer will be signing officers, and the coordinator may be given signing authority.
All cheques or other negotiable documents must be signed by two signing officers. Officers must never sign a blank cheque.

Before signing a cheque or other negotiable documents, the officers must make sure that the expense has been properly approved.

All other documents must be signed by two signing officers. This includes any written commitment of the co-op such as a contract for work done. Before signing a document, the officers must make sure that the document has been properly approved.

The Board can make a specific decision to appoint any officer, director or employee to sign a document, or any class of documents, for the co-op.

Signing officers must have Board approval before making any commitments, prior entering into contract or obligations, for the co-op.
When authorizing a document, the Board can decide its exact form. If it does not, the signing officers can approve the final document.
Anyone who has the authority to sign documents can also put the corporate seal on a document.

The directors shall have only the specific borrowing powers that follow (or as set out in any later By-law):

Except as provided in subsection (b), the directors may borrow money on the credit of the co-op, and may mortgage, pledge or charge any of the assets of the co-op as security for monies so borrowed. In taking any of the actions referred to in this Section 11.06, the Board shall consider any contractual obligations of the co-op to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and others.
The total of all such indebtedness shall not at any time exceed $25,000.00 unless specifically authorized by special resolution of the members.

The Board may invest surplus funds of the co-op in government bonds, or interest-bearing deposits or other interest-bearing securities with a credit unit chartered bank, trust company, or Province of Ontario Savings Office. Surplus funds shall be invested in a manner that achieves a reasonable rate of return but does not jeopardize the financial stability or interfere with the normal operation of the co-op. The Board shall not invest any funds of the Co-op in any security or investment other than as mentioned above the authority of a resolution of the members. Investments should have staggered maturity dates coming due yearly or more often.
When investing the funds of the co-op, preference shall be given to investments with credit unions and other co-operative financial institutions if the terms of such investments are reasonably comparable to or better than those generally available.
The Board shall invest all reserve funds in accordance with subsection(a). The interest earned on reserve hall be added directly to the reserve and shall not be considered operating revenue.