The Body Corporate Manager (BCM) is responsible for maintaining the Body Corporate Portal, which until July 2023 included a ‘Financials’ tab which let owners inspect, for example, the body corporate ‘General Ledger’. It disclosed, in near to real time, all payments made by the body corporate to service providers and allowed associated invoices to be inspected.
In July 2023, the BCM was advised that certain invoices on the General Ledger would not open and asked that she correct the problem. In response, she removed the ‘Financials’ tab entirely from the portal and has not reinstated it. This is despite requests to do so.
Transparency in body corporate financial management promotes accountability. When such information is openly shared, owners can see how their contributions are being used. This creates a sense of ownership and encourages owners to take greater interest in body corporate affairs, which can help prevent financial mismanagement.
Annual body corporate expenditure usually exceeds $4 million! Responsibility for authorising payments for all goods and services is in the hands of the committee, which is comprised of unpaid volunteers.
Restoring the General Ledger to the portal will enable ALL owners to oversight body corporate expenditure throughout the year, in ‘real time’. They will be able to question transactions, as was the case until July 2023 when the General Ledger was removed in questionable circumstances.
Legislation provides that all members of the committee must be allowed access to the body corporate’s records, without payment of a fee.
If the BCM is unable or unwilling to reinstate the General Ledger on the portal, the Committee is equipped to publish a Monthly Newsletter to all owners, with a link to the General Ledger including invoices, or attach a copy of that month’s General Ledger.