Finances

I think it is so important for all our volunteers to be trained on the BYUSA financial procedures. If everyone is trained and aware, then we can avoid a lot of mistakes and headaches. When I came into the office to interview to be an ED, there was a girl talking to the front desk receptionist, and she was obviously very upset. As I sat in the chairs waiting for my interview I listened and found out why she was upset. I think she was an EL or PD, and she had just purchased over $500 of t-shirts with her personal credit card, which (as we learned) you can't do. It turned into a nightmare for the staff who tried to help her.

I think the certification training was very helpful in teaching us what was necessary to know in order to perform financial procedures correctly. Our program directors will be certified, but obviously not everyone is required to certify. I think that the tutorials that we saw in order to prepare for the certification test were very effective, and could be used as a review. I also think that our binder is helpful. If the volunteers correctly certify and have access to these resources, training could be effective. I think that once everyone is properly trained, then there is no reason that they cannot be held accountable. Yesterday in the Activities area training that I attended Angela told us that there are high expectations placed on us, but we will never be asked to do something we aren't trained or won't be trained to do. And once we are trained, then we are accountable. I think that the best way for us to be able to hold our volunteers accountable is by making sure we train them properly.

I think a way that the financial procedures can help me in my personal finances is the lesson we learn to always plan ahead. I've always been taught to keep money in savings. You never know when something unexpected will happen, whether it be a big thing like a health emergency or a smaller thing like a textbook you didn't know you needed. In BYUSA we plan ahead financially and make sure our plan is viable. Another lesson we learn is to budget carefully. I've never worked in a situation before with "zero balance budgeting," but I see the value in it. This forces us to be a little more creative with our plans and I think ultimately it will lead to a better program. Planning budgets creatively also can help us with our personal finances. Things don't always go as planned, and sometimes we have to work differently.