Accounting Students Association

 

Preamble

We, the members of the Accounting Students Association, and subscribing to the regulations and policies of Arizona State University, establish this Constitution to govern the matters within our organization.

 

Article I – Name

The name of this organization shall be Accounting Students Association, aka (ASA).

 

 

Article II – Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be to maximize its members’ networking opportunities and to introduce them to the different career paths available in the accounting profession.

 

 

Article III – Membership

Eligibility:  Any Freshman or Sophomore interested in learning more about accounting can join this organization, regardless of any major they may have declared.  A Junior or Senior must be currently enrolled in the Professional Accounting Program offered by the W.P. Carey School of Business.

 

Students in either of the Master Degree Programs for Accounting/IS (MAIS/MTAX) are also allowed to join or remain as members.

 

Membership Fees:  Fees are $25 per semester or $40 per academic year.  This policy is permanent and can only be changed for financial or marketing reasons (ie - Fees are not meeting semester expenses, Membership is falling due to high fees).  Any change in fee policy requires the approval of the President, Vice-President, Finance Officer, and Membership Officer.

 

All members have equal status once their dues have been paid.  A variety of prizes will be awarded randomly throughout the academic year to members in attendance at scheduled ASA meetings, activities and events.

 

 

Article IV – Officers and Elections

The Officers of this organization shall consist of eight positions, each elected for one academic year (the new officers will be elected in May for their positions and will be considered official officers from the end of the Spring semester through the following academic year’s Spring semester).

 

In order to ensure even workload distribution, every officer will be responsible for two events over the course of the academic year (two officers will be assigned to each event).  For each event, the assigned officers will be responsible for coordinating room reservations, firm correspondence, faculty notification, webmaster contact, RSVP counts, etc. with the ASA advisors (and President and Vice-President), working with the Treasurer on payments, check collections, etc., tracking all tasks associated with the event in order to update ASA’s instructional/informational binder (and providing them to the Vice-President once all of the event tasks have been completed), and coordinating with the Membership officer to make sure that students are notified on a timely basis about each event.

 

The following topics identify the Officers of the organization and their respective responsibilities (other than those already discussed above):

 

President:  The Vice President from the previous academic year will become President in the following academic year.

Responsibilities:  The President is responsible for leading the ASA and providing a structured guidance for the organization and its officers.  The President is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of events and the organization.  Responsibilities include:

 

1.      Understanding the responsibilities of all officers and holding them accountable.  Making sure that they each have the appropriate binder and event information that they need to complete their duties/assignments. 

2.      Ensuring that constant communication is established between officers, advisors and any other person who may have been designated for a specific event.

3.      Following up with other officers to ensure that they are on target for the planning events they are responsible for. Note:  Each officer will be responsible for two events per academic year (there will be two officers assigned to each event to ensure an even workload distribution).

4.      Keeping up-to-date with new developments inside and outside ASU concerning events and planning.

5.      Making sure that the Vice-President is involved in all decision making that takes place at the President level so that they will be adequately prepared to handle the President duties when they take over the following academic year.

6.      Taking responsibility for long-term planning and developing organization policies.

7.      Being aware of all possible resources available to ASA.

8.      Arranging meetings as needed. 

9.      Providing consistent leadership and maintaining a constant momentum throughout the semester.

10.  Working with other officers to make sure that ASA is advertised to Accounting Students and prospective Accounting Students.  Working with other officers and advisors to make sure that ASA events are advertised to Accounting students and prospective Accounting students.

11.  Sending thank you letters to firms, faculty, and ASA members for their participation in events as well as corresponding with firms about ASA events and calendars.

12.  Working with another officer on two events per academic year.

 

Skills:  The position of President requires outstanding communication skills and solid leadership.  A working knowledge of MS Word and Excel are required.  This position requires a significant level of commitment and time.

 

 

Vice President:  The Vice President will be elected on an annual basis by ASA members.  Responsibilities:  The Vice President is primarily responsible for working closely with the President and assisting him/her at all times.  The Vice President is also directly subordinate to the President and will become President in the following academic year.  Responsibilities include:

 

1.       Assisting the President in event monitoring, advertising, etc. 

2.       Assisting the President in long-term planning and developing organization policies.

3.       Making sure that binders are kept updated and that information in the binders is current.  Binders should be updated after each event (there will be two master binders, one for the advisors and one for the President/Vice-President). 

4.       Ensuring that all ASA items given to officers during the semester are collected at the end of the academic year in readiness for the officer transition.

5.       Researching current jobs and internships relative to accounting and posting them

      on the website.

6.       Reconciling ASA’s bank statements. 

7.       Working with another officer on two events per academic year.

 

Skills:  The Vice President should have a working knowledge of MS Word and Excel.  Organizational and communication skills are vital to this position.  Leadership qualities are a mandatory quality of this position as well.

 

 

Membership Officer:  The Membership Officer will be elected on an academic year basis by ASA members. 

Responsibilities:  As Membership Officer, this position requires a great attention to detail, proficient written and verbal communications skills, and organizational management.  Throughout the semester, the Membership Officer will work with other officers on an as needed basis to provide ASA membership information for events, actively participate in all organizational meetings, be available to all Members and maintain communication with Members on upcoming events.  Responsibilities include:

 

  1. Creating/Organizing the electronic version of the Meet the Firms Event Resume Book.
  2. Maintaining electronic Membership records within excel files.
  3. Providing prizes and mechanisms for awarding door prizes for randomly selected students who attend scheduled events. 
  4. Promoting ASA, actively seek new memberships participants, accepting membership dues and applications and making sure that the membership dues are then passed on to the Treasurer for deposit in a timely manner.
  5. Handling the elections process during the Spring semester of each year.
  6. Supporting other officers with event planning, and necessary responsibilities to run the organization. 
  7. Working with another officer on two events per academic year.

 

Skills:  The Membership Officer should have excellent oral/written communication skills, a working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and organizational management skills. 

 

 

Treasurer:  The Treasurer will be elected on an annual basis by ASA members.  Responsibilities: The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining ASA’s bank account.  Responsibilities include:

 

1.      Providing “timely” and “accurate” financial information to ASA officers.  At a minimum, financial summary data of deposits, expenditures and balances should be provided to advisors and officers on a semester basis via an excel workbook.

2.    Making payments for services/products ordered and for events. 

3.      Collecting receipts from ASA officers and reimbursing them.

4.      Working closely with the Membership Officer concerning the collection and deposit of membership payments.

5.      Depositing all cash and checks.

6.      Recording all financial transactions in the check register and in excel.  Keeping track of all invoice and check copy documents in a file by academic year. (For the excel responsibility, the Treasurer should have a single workbook with a basic worksheet for each event to assist with planning for the event in the future.  The worksheet should include revenue, expenditure and net income/net cost data.)

7.      Working with another officer on two events per academic year.

 

Skills:  The Treasurer MUST have a strong understanding of bookkeeping practices and Excel.  The utmost integrity is required for this position.

 

 

Operations Officers (there are 4 of these officer positions) The Operations Officers will be elected on an annual basis by ASA members.

Responsibilities:  The Operations Officers are responsible for advertising ASA and working with the other officers to help ASA to be successful in achieving its goals.  Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

 

1.      Advertising ASA to Accounting students and prospective Accounting students.

2.      Supporting other officers with event planning, and necessary responsibilities to run the organization.  Note:  Each officer will be responsible for two events per academic year (there will be two officers assigned to each event to ensure an even workload distribution).

3.      Maintaining and updating ASA’s website and Blackboard as needed, taking pictures for events and posting them on the website.

4.      Working with another officer on two events per academic year.

 

Skills:  The Operations Officer positions require outstanding communication skills and organizational skills.

 

Article V – Meetings

Officers meetings will be scheduled on an “as needed” basis.  There are no meetings for members on a regular basis but events are scheduled each semester and allow for the scheduling of necessary meetings before the actual event begins

 

 

Article VI – Advisors

There shall be two faculty advisors who shall be the members’ ex-officio with no voting privileges.  These positions are selected by the Accounting Department of the W.P. Carey School of Business.

 

Article VII – Amendments

The constitution may be amended by a 5/8 majority vote of its officers.  The votes of the President and Vice President are mandatory to make an amendment.