I don’t want to embarrass the Managing Agent,
Don’t worry about embarrassing them. worry about your money. Having studied accountancy you should be aware that incomplete, inaccurate financial records always have one issue and sometimes two.
The first issue is that the people putting the records don’t know what they’re doing. This means that fees and levies may not be properly collected or appropriately spent on the proper purpose.
The second potential issue is that fraud is occurring and being covered up by poor record keeping. If this is occurring then it needs to be exposed ASAP.
As the chief cook and bottle washer for our OC (i.e. Secretary and Treasurer and everything else) I keep very detailed records on an Excel spreadsheet and make it available to owners as requested and at meetings. With scanned copies of all invoices and receipts I can justify every cent I’ve spent and where it came from.
I can quickly show the paid insurance policy etc.
I can show who paid their fees and levies and when. I have a list of outstanding fees and what is being done to get them paid.
Even on a little OC the m0ney can quickly get out of control and large amounts accumulate. Our small block turned over >$20,000 in the last three years.
Timely and accurate accounting is essential to provide assurance to owners that their money is being appropriately accounted for and properly spent, especially when there is an emergency.
So be polite but don’t be afraid to embarrass anybody. As the old bank advertisement noted:
“It’s your money Ralph!”