The Financial Director is responsible for monitoring all financial aspects of the organization. They prepare a budget for the fiscal year, monitor it throughout the year, and prepare a variance analysis between budget and actual revenues/expenditures. They also create or approve Committee budgets alongside the President. They must keep consistent record of cash receipts and disbursements, reconcile bank statements every quarter, prepare a Treasurer’s Report for every Executive Meeting, and prepare financial statements at the end of the fiscal year. Through the use of reports, charts, and/or graphs, the Financial Director ensures that the Executive understand and are up to date on the financial position of EPIC. They also ensure that the financial information is made available to the public. The Financial Director oversees the financial controls of the organization and ensures they are being met (making sure that no one person has too much power over EPIC funds). Attention to detail is key in this role, a working knowledge of how to use spreadsheets is recommended, and a basic knowledge of accounting concepts is required.
Hi, My name is Kiran. Once it entered, Harry Potter consumed my life. I met many of my friends at the premiere of the second Deathly Hallows movie and together we have been a part of Edmonton Potterwatch since it's inception. My obsession with the wizarding world transferred easily to EPIC as I realized that my passion could bring about positive change in my own world. I co-headed EPIC's first big campaign, Accio Books, and felt an inspiration from what we had been able to accomplish, together as a community, that was unparalleled to any I had felt in my life. I served on the first Executive and not only got to watch, but help, this group grow from fans meeting to eat donuts and talk about Harry Potter, to an organization capable of bringing about great change.
Why do you want to serve on the EPIC Executive Committee?
EPIC is young for an organization, especially considering the magnitude of what its members have managed to accomplish in its short life. With the continued enthusiasm of its members, EPIC is capable of growing into something much bigger than anything initially imagined for it. I share with EPIC members the enthusiasm for what we have accomplished and what we have the potential to accomplish in the time to come. I believe that I can, not only help EPIC achieve its current goals, but also help it to make and achieve new and bigger goals. Serving on the EPIC Executive Committee is a perfect combination of many of my passions: passion for Harry Potter, for being a part of a force of good, for numbers and strategies and building and organizing, and for doing this all with a community of fans inspired to create the change they want to see in the world.
What skills or qualities do you bring to the EPIC Executive Committee?
I am currently studying for my Bachelor of Commerce and my studies target many areas of interest to an organization such as EPIC. For instance, I have taken classes dealing with marketing, management, and business law, and they have all given me a broad range of knowledge that I believe I can apply to my position on the Executive. My specialization in Accounting transfers well to the role of Financial Director and I have used the knowledge I gained from my classes countlessly during my previous term, whether it be to balance our books, prepare budgets, create various other spreadsheets or reports, or for other tasks.
My position as Financial Director for the previous term of the EPIC Executive is an asset in two major ways. The first is that I have had the opportunity to practice each task required for this position, developing a system to get the tasks done efficiently. The second is that I have built the financial system we are currently using. I know the ins and outs of this system and I know where it needs to be improved. With another term on the Executive, I hope to improve and expand our financial and organizational systems to be more efficient and more encompassing of all that EPIC does.
Describe your personal involvement in one EPIC project or campaign from the last year that you are particularly proud of.
I was the co-head of Accio Books 2013. This was the first major campaign of EPIC and it set a precedent for what EPIC is capable of accomplishing. I worked closely with a small group of EPIC members to plan and organize this campaign, but I also worked with all EPIC members that came to participate during book sorting’s, book pick-ups and drop-offs, and our screening of the first Harry Potter movie. It was incredible to see this community work together to accomplish something so grand and, together, we were successful in collecting and distributing just under 7,000 books to many different charities and organizations across the city.
Planning for Accio Books required a great deal of organization, phone calls to various businesses and charities, and general communication with fellow Potterwatch members. I helped to contact organizations, to keep track of donation boxes set up around the city, and to keep track of incoming and outgoing books. I also assisted in organizing teams of people to sort and count books and to drop books off at local charities.
What new ideas, projects, campaigns or policies would you like to see the EPIC Executive Committee implement in the coming year?
I am interested in expanding some of our current major campaigns and projects, such as Accio Books and the Yule Ball, by assisting in their growth and helping to streamline their organization. I am also interested in helping members of EPIC who are passionate about a particular idea bring that idea to life with the assistance of the Executive and other EPIC members. One idea I am personally interested in EPIC pursuing is partnering with other HPA Chapters around the country and participating in a national, Canadian campaign. There has been talk of a national campaign among a few Chapters already and it would be wonderful to see fellow Canadian Potterheads band together to accomplish something great.
I am also interested in expanding and deepening EPIC membership. Carded membership is a relatively new policy within EPIC and it has much room for growth. I’d like to help increase member engagement; increase communication between the Executive, committees, and members; and find a good balance between committees and more casual, though no less crucial, member involvement.
If you could change one thing concerning the operation of EPIC over the past year, what would it be?
A major improvement that can be made within EPIC is with the unclear and uneven distribution of both tasks and power in the group, in both the Executive and all of the various EPIC committees. This is something EPIC has struggled with in its first year of operation, but it is also something that has been greatly improved, especially with the finalization of the EPIC Constitution. However, despite the vast improvement, there is still much that can be done, such as working on improved communication between all areas of the group, having more set guidelines for important roles within the group, and ensuring the follow through of the tasks associated with each role.
