Who is the chief accountant in an HOA?
Typically, this position appears in large communities that include several houses. Naturally, in such a situation there is a need for large-scale accounting.
When some troubles happen in financial matters, the board asks him first of all. It is he who periodically submits reports and informs management about the state of affairs for a specific period.
What does this person do?
As a rule, a person holding the position of HOA accountant is engaged in setting up and maintaining tax records , since this is considered the most responsible action. At the same time, such a person is engaged in the formation of individual accounting policies, based on the needs for calculating tax payments.
Thus, we can say that the HOA accountant monitors and manages all financial flows passing through the community for which he works. At the same time, his actions are aimed at improving the financial situation and meeting the needs of residents.
You can find out what taxes the HOA must pay and the specifics of paying the funds in our article.
Responsibility
The only accounting employee, the accountant lived. The office accepts responsibility , like any chief accountant, for the following actions:
- violation of the law in the performance of their duties;
- their improper execution;
- causing material harm to the partnership;
- carrying out unlawful instructions of the chairman.
If the chairman induces the accountant to violate financial legality, a written instruction should be required, and the audit commission should be informed about these facts.
You can find out about what objects are included on the organization’s balance sheet, as well as how the HOA has the right to fight debtors for utility bills on our website. You can find a sample of the organization's staffing table.
Is it necessary to hire him?
Even if there is only one house in a community, accounting will still require attention. The board may not hire an accountant, but someone should keep the records early.
Anyone who understands it and has the desire can do this. Even the head of the HOA board, that is, the chairman, can deal with such matters. But if among the residents there is not a single person willing to keep records with work experience, then hiring an accountant becomes mandatory.
In such a situation, under no circumstances should a person with no experience be forced to perform such activities, as this may lead to serious consequences.
Should there be a position of chief accountant?
Hiring a person for the position of chief accountant of an HOA is just as unnecessary as hiring an ordinary accounting employee. As mentioned above, such a position can only be in large communities.
However, it is worth noting that for an HOA that includes several residential buildings, the presence of an accounting department is mandatory. The fact is that one person, even with consulting experience, will not physically be able to process such a huge flow of accounting data coming from each house.
However, even under such circumstances, there may not be a formal position of chief accountant. His duties may be performed by one of the most experienced members of the accounting department with the approval of the board.
Requirements for the applicant
An accountant's responsibilities include working with documents and PCs. Based on this, the main requirements for an applicant for the position of accountant are:
- availability of economic education and experience in accounting for at least 1 year and 3 years of experience as an ordinary accountant in the housing and communal services sector;
- skills in working with 1C programs: VDGB;
- Fluent computer skills and knowledge of programs such as Microsoft Office, Word, Excel;
- orientation in office work;
- ability to conduct accounting in homeowners' associations, housing cooperatives, management companies;
- knowledge in legislation, jurisprudence, personnel issues.
Skills related directly to the individual play an equally important role:
- good mentality;
- composure and stress resistance;
- painstaking work with documents;
- perseverance and patience.
Who is looking for a person for this vacancy?
In principle, any resident of a house that is part of an HOA with the approval of the board can search for a future accountant. However, only people involved in community management can hire him.
The chairman himself can also look for an accountant if he has a desire to do this. After a candidate has been found, he is considered at a board meeting and it is decided whether he can be entrusted with accounting or not.
It is worth noting that the person searching for candidates must enjoy some trust from the board and the chairman.
What are his rights and responsibilities?
Responsibilities may include:
- calculation of payments for apartments and non-residential areas;
- accounting and withdrawal of material assets;
- tracking and recording various financial receipts to the HOA account;
- making payments to energy suppliers and contractors.
However, an accountant also has rights:
- he can sign various documentation and also endorse it;
- an accountant can be a representative of the partnership on financial matters;
- such a person has every right to track and analyze cash flows.
Important. More information about the rights and responsibilities of HOA accounting employees can be found in the job description.
Responsibilities and rights
An HOA accountant has a wide range of functional responsibilities in the workplace:
- maintains accounting records for the HOA;
- prepares accounts, primary accounting forms, internal accounting and reporting papers;
- calculates taxes and issues them to subcontractors and resource suppliers;
- conducts inventory;
- maintains a register of accounting of property, funds, materials, finances, credit transactions, services, HOA estimates;
- provides owners with receipts, invoices, and controls payment;
- settles accounts with third parties;
- pays the HOA's loan obligations;
- writes off materials and spare parts;
- prepares and constantly updates information for GIS;
- issues certificates and recalculations for utility services to residents;
- conducts calculations for the rental of non-residential premises;
- makes payments to the social insurance fund and pension fund;
- advises residents on all issues regarding payments.
All accountant responsibilities are spelled out in more detail in the job description.
In addition to the duties, the specialist has the following rights:
- signing documents or their endorsement;
- representing the partnership on financial matters to service providers or contractors;
- cash flow analysis;
- debt collection;
- control of material assets through inventory;
- opposition to irrational or criminal spending of money or materials of the HOA;
- control of the legality of the partnership policy;
- requirement to improve the professional level of governing bodies.
Job description of an accountant in a homeowners association
Such a document provides information regarding what an accountant should be, what he should do, what rights he has and what responsibilities he bears. It says that:
- Only those people who have an appropriate higher education can be officially appointed to this position;
- the decision to hire a person for this position must be documented in the minutes of the HOA board meeting;
- a person can be appointed or removed from this position only by order of the chairman of the board.
It is worth saying that a document such as a job description plays an important role for any accountant.
Job description of an accountant in a homeowners association
Hiring procedure
- First of all, the candidacy of the future accountant is brought up for discussion during the HOA board meeting.
- If it is approved, then the next step is to issue an order within which the person is hired.
- After the board has made its decision, an employment contract is concluded with the candidate. Within the framework of this document, a person begins to perform the duties specified in it and receive the indicated salary.
Important. Thus, a citizen can be officially hired. However, situations often arise when, by the time the contract is concluded, the accountant has already been working for the benefit of the HOA, for some time unofficially.
Employment contract
Such a document must be drawn up in accordance with all legal rules and contain:
- rights, as well as responsibilities of a person appointed to the position of accountant;
- validity period or a note that the contract is unlimited;
- terms of remuneration, as well as the amount of salary;
- working hours, vacation periods and weekends;
- various guarantees and compensations provided to a person in this position;
- the liability that the accountant will bear in case of disruption of the work process or failure to fulfill his duties;
- circumstances under which a citizen can be dismissed from his position.
Important. In conclusion, it states how disputes can be resolved, the terms of the contract can be changed, etc.
Can the chairman of the HOA work part-time?
The answer to this question mainly depends on where exactly the chairman wants to work part-time. There are two possible options:
- combining positions in the same HOA (where the person is listed as the chairman);
- placement in another organization.
Let's say right away that the first option is illegal. In clause 3.1 of Article 147 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation it is written that a member of the board of an HOA (which is the chairman) cannot combine his work with another position in the same partnership, having been registered under an employment contract.
Combine work as a janitor
As noted above, this is possible if he gets a part-time job with another employer. This possibility is not prohibited by law, which means he has the right to such a combination. This is directly stated in Art. 276 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, there is one important condition. First, the chairman must obtain appropriate permission from the members of the OSS.
Theoretically, a house manager can work part-time as a janitor for another employer. In practice, such situations occur quite rarely.
Can the chairman of the HOA be an accountant in one person?
If the chairman of the partnership has a good level of knowledge and appropriate education, then he can perform the functions of an accountant. However, again, without concluding an employment contract. These responsibilities may be additionally included in the text of his job description.
In practice, there are more often cases when an outside employee is hired to do accounting, or an individual is selected from among the members of the HOA with the appropriate competencies.
Can a lawyer be the chairman of an HOA?
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 2 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On advocacy and the legal profession in the Russian Federation”, a lawyer does not have the right to be registered under an employment contract as an employee, with the exception of positions related to scientific, teaching and creative work. At the same time, he can only combine his main activity of providing legal assistance to those in need with other work in the bar association.
Thus, we can conclude that a lawyer does not have the right to work as the chairman of an HOA on the basis of an employment contract. The only exception is when it comes to performing the duties of a house manager on a voluntary basis.
Employee Responsibility
An accountant may be held liable if:
- accounting is carried out incorrectly, which gives rise to neglect and distortion of reporting data;
- the provisions of the current legislation regarding the organization of accounting are violated;
- the rules and regulations governing financial and economic activities are violated;
- deadlines for submitting quarterly and annual reports and balances are not met;
- violation of established deadlines and incomplete payments to suppliers of various services.
For all of the listed offenses, an accountant may incur a wide variety of liability, including imprisonment.
Find out about all the nuances of accounting for HOA funds under the simplified tax system.
How does dismissal happen?
It is possible to dismiss a person from the position of accountant of an HOA under Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, it is worth remembering that you won’t be able to do this just like that. The fact is that this position can only be appointed by the HOA board during a meeting.
Dismissal is carried out in the same manner. At the meeting, such a proposal is made and facts are presented that serve as evidence of the citizen’s inadequacy for the position held.
If the board decides to dismiss an accountant, then the employment contract with him is simply terminated at the initiative of the employer in accordance with the above-mentioned article.
An HOA accountant is undoubtedly a very responsible position and a person who does not enjoy a certain amount of trust or does not have the necessary reputation will not be able to receive the appointment.
Employment contract
When entrusting a person with the management of the partnership’s finances, it is necessary to conclude an agreement with him, according to which it will be clear what to ask of the specialist, and what he can ask of you.
The employment contract stipulates:
- General working conditions.
- Salary and number of working hours.
- Rights and responsibilities of both the specialist and the HOA.
- All areas of responsibility and all necessary actions of the accountant are outlined.
- Conditions of work and rest.
- Details of both parties.
Important! Without concluding an agreement with an accountant, all financial activities of the HOA have no legitimacy, and if the tax service comes with an audit, you will have to pay huge fines.
If any clauses of the contract change, a new copy is drawn up.
