Hi folks, Given we have two weeks to deliberate, and while free speech continues under the existing charter, I plan a series of bite-sized posts on what should be in a future charter (and as per my prior post, all charter discussions and the charter itself should be on the public mailing list, as per the vote we had months ago which made any other mailing list illegitimate). #1: Proper Financial Controls ---------------------------------------- At present, there is no separate bank account that belongs to the constituency. Would ICANN permit all the funds of the organization to be held by Paul Twomey's Argo Pacific, a contractor, instead of being held in its own name? Of course not. Neither should the BC. This is beyond being basic. With members like eBay (who own PayPal) with great financial experience present, it would be very simple to design effective financial controls that ensure proper financial controls. Sites like PayPal.com or FreshBooks.com allow for easy bookkeeping. *** Recommendation A: The BC charter should mandate that it should have its own bank account. At a minimum, large balances like the reserve fund of the constituency should be held independently of any contractors, e.g. held by ICANN or the GNSO. --------- To ensure accountability, there should be a democratic process for spending and for fees. This can only take place if budgets are voted upon, and if there is an Elected Treasurer. This elected Treasurer provision is present, for example, in the Registrars constituency (see section 3.1.2 of http://www.registrarconstituency.com/legal/bylaws.php ) and the IP Constituency (see IV.(A) of http://www.ipconstituency.org/bylaws.htm ). *** Recommendation B: The BC charter should mandate an elected Treasurer and a budget process that is accountable via a democratic vote amongst all BC members. ----------- Also to ensure accountability, the finances of the constituency should be subject to audit. This is present in the IP Constituency (section VII.D, http://www.ipconstituency.org/bylaws.htm) and ensures that the funds of the constituency are being properly spent *** Recommendation C: The BC charter should mandate that: "Upon a request made in writing (including via e-mail) to the officers by any member, there shall be an independent review conducted of all BC ledgers and accounts. The BC officers shall select the conductor of said review, a neutral third party with recognized accounting experience. The results of said review shall be made known to the BC." In order to keep these "bite sized", I'll have more on financial and other topics in future posts. Sincerely, George Kirikos 416-588-0269 http://www.leap.com/