kiwipaul said;
A vote by all owners is very common (every AGM). I never said it requires a unanimous vote, just a vote put to ALL owners that the treasurer be allowed to invest the money however he sees fit and a simple majority of votes cast would be adequate IMHO.
This is what you said: ” … be given approval by a vote of ALL owners.” AGMs are very rarely a vote by all owners simply because a lot of people don’t even bother to send proxies but be that as it may, ‘approval by a vote by all owners’ reads like a unanimous vote in favour to me.
If, as you now say, you meant a majority vote at an AGM, then that’s perhaps what you should have said.
OP doesn’t say how long this has been going on for but if it’s for more than 1 year fully and frank disclosure should have been made at last AGM and if not they are surely in breach of the act.
The Act is sketchy on this but we have established already in this thread that there is an obligation to present a full financial statement so that estimates for contributions can be made. Urban did say in his initial posting that the investment had been mentioned in passing at an AGM.
I think I’d sooner loose my vote than any more money. Unless I received satisfactory ans to various question I would ask for an immediate audit from an independent auditor (NOT one recommended by this Strata Manager) and if this was refused lodge an action at CTTT.
It’s very hard to ask for an audit when you can’t move a motion or vote at a general meeting because you haven’t paid your levies. FYI: Large schemes (100+ lots) are required by law in NSW to have their accounts audited before an AGM. Smaller schemes are merely allowed to have them audited – in other words, it’s their choice. In my experience, in any case, an auditor will merely sign a statement (or not) that the figures all add up. I doubt whether they ‘red flag’ any investment that they’re not sure about although they would certainly refuse to sign off on accounts that were not legitimate.
I’m incredulous that in NSW strata funds can be used by the Strata Manager with no requirement for him to explain his action to owners. For all you know this investment could be a punt on the gee gee’s.
Again, you are making wild statements and missing the point. The strata manager and/or treasurer does have to explain where all the money sits. Have a look at the sections of the Act that I quoted as well as ScotlandX’s posting which says:
“As a matter of corporate governance you would expect a resolution to approve the investment of the funds at the outset, and ongoing reporting in relation to those funds. This is trust money, it should not be in the control of someone who has no obligations under any legislation, unless there are proper controls in place. This is distinct from a strata manager who does have obligations and if something goes wrong you have recourse.“
There is a requirement to detail finances with which this particular Treasurer has not complied. Urban Spaceman wanted to know if it was legitimate for the treasurer not to reveal what the investments were, and we are all agreed that this is very unprofessional. The legal requirements are quite clear and the safety net is there for those who are game to ask the pertinent questions.
I’d be interested to read the relevant sections of the Act in Qld to see what it says in terms of ‘disclosure” – I couldn’t find any reference to this at all but then I may have been looking in the wrong place.
OP doesn’t say how long this has been going on for but if it’s for more than 1 year fully and frank disclosure should have been made at last AGM and if not they are surely in breach of the act.
The Act doesn’t say anything about ‘full and frank disclosure’ and I wonder if a vague reference to ‘investments’ as a line item in the accounts would fulfill the legal requirements under Section 75(3) (below). But, again, it’s up to owners to ask the questions and they are entitled to get an honest answer and take action at the CTTT if they don’t.
By the way, it would be a very foolhardy Strata Manager who refused to reveal details of Owners Corp investments when asked to do so at an AGM or via a question submitted through the Executive Committee. If I were in Urban’s shoes, I’d be composing a letter to the EC right now asking where he could find details of the Owners Corp’s investments and insisting that it be minuted at the next EC meeting.