Does your common interest community follow a governance matrix to define roles and responsibilities?
Have you taken the time to clearly understand the duties incumbent of your Board, your CAM, your bookkeeper, your staff, your committees, owners and residents/tenants? Responsibilities vary based on a number of factors including the scale of your community, but you'll find it challenging, if not impossible, to create a reasonable accountability model without a tool that explains role-based responsibilities.
Management Toolkit
Community Association Governance Matrix
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Row 1 | ||||||||
Row 2 | C2:I2 COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE / RESPONSIBILTY MATRIX | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Row 3 | Board of Directors | Community Association Manager | Bookkeeping Service | On-Site Manager & Concierge Staff | Committees | Owners | Residents / Tenants | |
Row 4 | B4:B5 Leadership & Service | Board of Directors <> Provide leadership and inspiration through service.
<> Serve the community with empathy, honesty, integrity, reason and transparency | Community Association Manager <> Provide excellent service to all owners and residents of the Association | Bookkeeping Service <> Provide excellent service to all owners and residents of the Association | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Provide excellent service to all owners and residents of the Condominium | Committees <> Act within the scope of individual committee charters to provide inspiration through excellent service to the community | Owners H4:H5 <> Be a good steward of the Association | Residents / Tenants I4:I5 <> Be a good steward of the Association |
Row 5 | Board of Directors <> Instill a sense of caring and shared responsibility
<> Establish a specific vision for the COA/HOA and its owners and residents. Take proactive steps to realize that vision | Community Association Manager <> Reflect interpersonal care, duty and professionalism on behalf of the Board to all owners, residents, staff, vendors and additional third parties | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Reflect a sense of caring, duty and professionalism on behalf of the Board to all owners, residents and staff | Committees <> Show you care by volunteering | |||
Row 6 | B6:B7 Governance | Board of Directors <> Direct governance by drafting net new P&P when necessary and updating existing governing documents
<> Ensure all governing documents are legal, reasonable, and consistently applied and enforced
<> Read and understand the Association's governing documents | Community Association Manager <> Provide timely feedbaack related to Federal, State and Local governance updates that impact the Association
<> Provide proactive governance considerations to the Board
<> Implement governance duly adopted by the Association and/or Board (declaration, bylaws, policies, procedures and resolutions)
<> Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the Association's governing documents, applicable Federal State and Local statutes and ordinances and best practices | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Implement governance duly adopted by the Association and/or Board (declaration, bylaws, policies, procedures and resolutions) | Committees <> Act within the scope of individual committee charters to create and/or update documentation and/or to identify solutions | Owners <> Read, understand and comply with obligations outlined in the Association's Declaration, Bylaws, Rules (R&Rs) and any related policies, procedures and resolutions | Residents / Tenants <> Read, understand and comply with obligations outlined in the Association's Declaration, Bylaws, Rules (R&Rs) and any related policies, procedures and resolutions |
Row 7 | Board of Directors <> Establish the Association's formal position on governing document interpretation
<> Approve extraordinary work by the Association's legal counsel
<> Directly interact with legal counsel as needed | Community Association Manager <> Liaise with the Association's legal counsel for matters defined by policy and/or resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors and as otherwise authorized by the Board | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff N/A | Committees N/A | Owners <> Ask questions and voice your feedback as needed! | Residents / Tenants <> Liaise with the unit owner if you have questions and concerns about governance | |
Row 8 | Human Resources | Board of Directors <> Make all final hiring and firing decisions based on direct involvement and/or recommendations of hiring entity
<> Create, update and approve applicable governance including job descriptions, pay ranges, benefits, HR policies, etc. | Community Association Manager <> Facilitate payroll (if needed)
<> Facilitate on-site manager recruitment and limited orientation / on-boarding
<> Facilitate HR management for on-site manager
<> Facilitate hiring and termination on behalf of the Board
<> If contracted separately, manage all recruitment and on-boarding | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> On-Site Manager: facilitate recruitment, on-boarding and HR management for direct reports | Committees N/A | Owners <> Ask questions and voice your feedback as needed! | Residents / Tenants <> Liaise with the unit owner and/or Community Association Manager if you have questions about Association staff |
Row 9 | B9:B11 Notice
Meetings
Documents | Board of Directors <> Establish the the schedule and agenda for all meetings of the Board and Owners (Annual & Special Meetings + Budget Ratification)
<> Review and approve all official notices | Community Association Manager <> Facilitate dissemination of meeting notices, agendas and other documents to owners and residents as needed
<> Facilitation assistance with Board Meetings and Owner Meetings including participation tracking, vote management and documentation | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Facilitate dissemination of meeting notices, agendas and other documents to owners and residents as needed | Committees <> Set the agenda for committee meetings | Owners H9:H11 <> Engage by attending meetings, reviewing meeting minutes and reviewing documentation
<> Ask questions and voice your feedback as needed | Residents / Tenants I9:I11 N/A |
Row 10 | Board of Directors <> Prepare, edit, review and approve Board meeting minutes | Community Association Manager <> Facilitate storage of Board meeting minutes
<> If contracted separately, record and update meeting minutes
| Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Facilitate storage of Board meeting minutes | Committees <> Record committee meeting minutes and transmit to the Board | |||
Row 11 | Board of Directors <> Establish a document storage and retention policy based on statutes, best practices and common sense | Community Association Manager <> Execute the Association's document retention policy
<> Facilitate records reivew | Bookkeeping Service <> Prepare all finanicial documentation
<> File documents according to the document retention policy | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Execute the Association's document retention policy | Committees <> Submit all documents to be filed according to the Association's document retention policy | |||
Row 12 | Grounds Infrastructure | Board of Directors <> Establish a specific vision for how components will be maintained, repaired and replaced
<> Approve expenditures for goods and services as warranted by conditions and events over time
<> Provide feedback to management with questions and concerns | Community Association Manager <> Recommend actions to maintain, repair and replace components of the Condominium in coordination with On-Site Manager and third-party resources
<> If contracted separately, provide project management services to facilitate the same | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Recommend actions to maintain, repair and replace components; coordinate approved services to facilitate the same
<> Liaise with Association vendors who provide services related to grounds and infrastructure
<> Supervise on-site services to ensure third parties perform to contract | Committees <> Recommend actions to maintain, repair and replace components of the Condominium within the scope of individual committee charters | Owners <> Ask questions and voice your feedback about the Association's infrastructure and grounds | Residents / Tenants <> Liaise with the unit owner if you have questions about the Association infrastructure and grounds |
Row 13 | Insurance | Board of Directors <> Review and approve applicable insurance policy expenditures as required by statute and/or by the Declaration | Community Association Manager <> Liaise with Insurance Brokers + insurance companies | Bookkeeping Service N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Work directly with Community Association Manager as warranted to resolve insurance claims | Committees N/A | Owners <> Maintain insurance as required by the Association's Declaration | Residents / Tenants <> Maintain renter's insurance as required by the Association's Declaration |
Row 14 | B14:B16 Business Basics | Board of Directors C14:C16 <> Delegate specific responsibilities that improve the operation of the Association as allowed by state and/or by the declaration | Community Association Manager <> File annual corporate renewal(s) as needed | Bookkeeping Service E14:E16 N/A | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff F14:F16 <> Serve as the primary communicator to Unit Owners and Residents for in-scope questions and concerns (generally on-site policies and procedures, property questions, etc.)
<> Communicate with the Board and Community Association Manager as needed | Committees G14:G16 N/A | Owners H14:H16 N/A | Residents / Tenants I14:I18 N/A |
Row 15 | Community Association Manager <> Communicate with the community
<> Maintain individual Unit files (ACCs, violations, etc.)
<> Serve as the primary communicator to Unit Owners and Residents for in-scope questions and concerns (delinquencies, violations, annual and special meetings, records requests, etc.);
<> Communicate with the Board and Staff as needed
<> Liaise with third parties on behalf of the Association | |||||||
Row 16 | Community Association Manager <> Facilitate the Unit resale process | |||||||
Row 17 | B17:B18 $ | Board of Directors <> Ensure financial transparency
<> Make financial decisions. Review + approve:
> annual audit
> federal tax return
> draft annual budget
> reserve spending
> discretionary spending
> extraordinary operating expenses
> insurance claims
> investment decisions
> financial policies & procedures
> capital improvement projects
> capital allocation / spending priorities | Community Association Manager <> Liaise with Association vendors who provide services related to finance and major operational expenses:
> professional bookkeeping service
> auditors and tax professionals
> reserve study consultant
> insurance brokers and insurers
> financial managment firms (as needed)
N.B. Most management companies offer bookkeeping as part of the management agreement, but that does not mean mangement and bookkeeping should be accomplished by the same vendor. | Bookkeeping Service <> Perform all bookkeeping functions to manage accounts payable and receiveable:
> catalogue receipts
> assign expense codes
> provide financial reporting
> liaise with auditors and accountants
> liaise as needed to help collect outstanding AR
> ensuring that bills are paid on time
> obtain spending authorizations when needed
> transfer funds between Association accounts | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Catalog all transactions made by on-site staff charged to the Association's credit and/or debit card(s) and petty cash
<> Provide receipts and coding to professional bookeeping service | Committees <> Act within the scope of individual committee charters to recommend adjustments to annual budget, reserve study, investing strategy, etc. | Owners H17:H18 <> Ask questions and voice your feedback about the Association's finances | |
Row 18 | Board of Directors <> Provide feedback and guidance if concerns arise with bookkeeping and accounting
<> Work with the Finance Committee | Community Association Manager <> Act as a finaincial liaison between the Association and the professional bookkeeping service
<> Proactively review books and reconcile discrepancies with the professional bookkeeping service
<> Review financial records to identify discrepancies, patterns and opportunities for savings | Bookkeeping Service <> Ensure bookkeeping is correct
<> Reconcile discrepancies in an orderly and timely fashion | On-Site Manager
& Concierge Staff <> Review invoices to ensure billing accuracy relative to service / performance to contract | Committees <> Act within the scope of individual committee charters to review Association financial data | |||
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