banking - Tips on Book Keeping and Reporting on the Club Financial Affairs

Annually a report must be presented to the members on the clubs money affairs and financial position. The form of the report presented will depend on the size of the club and the volume of its activities. In the case of a club with a few members, and of which all transactions are for cash, a statement of receipts and payments will be sufficient, but in the case of a big club an income and expenditure statement and also a balance sheet are desirable. The size of the club and the volume of its transactions will also determine whether a complete set of books must be kept or not. In the case of a small club with cash transactions only it will be sufficient to enter all transactions in an analysis cash book or in separate cash receipts and cash payments journal and then prepare a statement of receipts and payments from it. In a larger club complete ledger accounts will be opened from the nature of the transactions, a cash receipts Journal, a Cash Payments Journal and a General Journal will normally be used. It is essential that a complete list of members will be kept on which will be recorded that membership fees are paid. Accounting Procedures The accounting procedures to be followed: 1. Documents must be issued or obtained for the various transactions. Receipts must be issued for all cash receipts, for membership fees a receipt issued separately to each member. The amounts deposited must correspond with the receipts issued, for payments the necessary purchase vouchers must be submitted and each payment should be authorised by two persons if a current account is kept two persons usually the secretary and the chairman. When only a savings account is kept as is often the case, the withdrawal slip must be signed jointly by two authorised persons. 2. The documents the transactions are entered in the appropriate journals. These journals will entail the following, the Cash Receipts Journal, the Cash Payments Journal and the General Journal. Sometimes a petty Cash Journal is also used. As the transactions of a club are usually not so voluminous the journals are closed off annually at the end of the accounting period. 3. The journals posting is done to the ledger, accounts are cast and pencil footings written in. A trial balance is extracted to test the posting and arithmetical correctness of the work. At the end of the accounting period the necessary journal entries are made for the adjustments and posted. A post adjustment trial balance is prepared. 4. The closing journal entries are made and posted, in the case of clubs posting is done to an income and expenditure account in which the surplus or deficit is calculated and posted. Income and expenditure account is closed off to the accumulated fund account instead of the capital account. A post closing trial balance is extracted. The financial statements are drawn up. Depending on the size of the club and the volume of the transactions, the above mentioned procedures are often departed from as a short cut can be followed to attain the final result to report to the members. Instead of working according to a complete system of book keeping with all the ledger accounts as described in the paragraph on accounting procedures, clubs often write up only Cash Receipts and Payments Journals or an analysis cash book and then prepare the financial statements for the members from the information found in them. First of all it is necessary to note how an analysis cashbook is adapted for recording the transactions of clubs. In analysis cash book the bank account is kept in the cash book itself. Suitable analysis columns are used to enter the various receipts and expenses and the total of each column is found. At clubs the cash book is closed off only at the end of the year, from the Cash Book a summary of the receipts and payments can be made for the year. Zola Mathe is the writer and a researcher for more information go to http://www.allwiseinformation.com/Banking_Information_online.html share your ideas to us. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zola_Mathe banking - An Analysis of Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Valley National Bancorp (VLY) is a conservative bank with a strong position in northern New Jersey and a presence in Manhattan. The bank, founded in 1927, has about $12 billion in assets. Valley has consistently earned extraordinary returns on assets and equity. Over the last twenty years, Valley has averaged a 1.74% return on assets and a 21.12% return on equity. Valley's worst two-year performance occurred in 1990 and 1991. During that period, Valley's return on equity dropped as low as 14.54% and its ROA dropped as low as 1.29%. Even in Valley's worst year (1991), the company still managed to roughly match the average long-term performance of most of its peers. In other words, Valley's worst year was a close to typical year for many other banks. It was at this low-point in 1991 that the board of directors decided not to increase the cash dividend. That was the only year in the last 37 that Valley did not increase its dividend. The company has 79 consecutive years of profitable operations. That's over 300 quarters (Valley has yet to post a quarterly loss). More importantly, Valley has a record of earning great returns on both assets and equity over long periods of time. So, what's the company's secret? Location Northern New Jersey is about the best place in the world to situate a bank. This isn't hyperbole; if there's a better location, I've yet to hear of it. As you know, American banks are unusually profitable. The market is large and highly fragmented. So, naturally the best place to situate a bank would be in the United States. But, why north Jersey in particular? In a September 20th, 2001 interview with The Wall Street Transcript, Valley's chairman, Gerald Lipkin, explained why northern New Jersey is such an attractive market: "Northern New Jersey is the single most densely populated area on earth. There are more people per square mile in northern New Jersey than there are in India, China, Japan or anyplace else. We have the highest median family income in the United States in that area. So, we serve a very densely populated and affluent area, which is not dominated by any single industry." Focus Valley maintains a narrow focus both in terms of geography and services. The company's offices are kept within one hour of the bank's headquarters in Wayne, NJ. In the same interview, Mr. Lipkin explained why this geographic concentration is important: "We like to make it very convenient for our client base to meet with senior management as well as the other members of our staff." Valley focuses on relationship banking. The company has residency requirements for its directors. The majority of directors are to live within 100 miles of the corporate headquarters. Furthermore, each board member is required to use Valley for both business and personal accounts. Theoretically, these two requirements ensure board members are familiar with the bank's services and are best able to understand the needs of local businesses. Discipline Valley has a history of highly disciplined lending. Charge-offs are immaterial. Current reserves are adequate to cover many years of future charge-offs with little difficulty. The company's asset quality ratios and loan to value ratios both indicate Valley has a more conservative approach to lending than many of its peers. Undoubtedly, the local economy is helpful in this regard. Valley does not need to make questionable loans, because there is an abundance of opportunity in the local area. It is possible for the bank to remain fairly selective without forfeiting growth entirely. For instance, despite having $12 billion in assets, Valley only has about a 6% market share in northern New Jersey. Management Banking, like insurance, is a business where a particularly good or particularly poor management can greatly affect long-term results. The current Chairman, President, and CEO, Gerald Lipkin, has served for just over thirty years now. His record is unblemished. Of course, the real responsibility for avoiding mistakes lies with others in the organization. There are few businesses where individual employees can do as much harm as they can within a bank. Valley's past record and the level of experience of its top managers suggests investors should encounter very few unpleasant surprises resulting from human error. Mr. Lipkin made his management philosophy quite clear with his concluding remarks in the aforementioned 2001 interview with The Wall Street Transcript: "We never bet the ranch - we never put the bank in harms way on any single issue that could really harm it. Lending money is a risk taking business. So, obviously we at times have problems, situations with individual loans, but we try to avoid concentrations that could create major problems." Valuation Valley National Bancorp is a solid, well-run bank operating in a geographic area with excellent economics. The company's physical footprint and its existing relationships give it a narrow moat in a highly profitable (and increasingly competitive) region. Unfortunately, the company is trading at more than three times book. Three times book is a lot to pay for any bank. Valley's future growth will likely be somewhat restrained by the company's conservative approach. Therefore, dividends are going to make up a significant portion of an investor's total returns. Conclusion Valley is a good bank. It has a real moat, albeit a narrow one. Competition is increasing within Valley's territory. However, the company has been able to compete successfully with new entrants (who tend to take on far less profitable business). The stock isn't cheap today, but there is one wrinkle worth keeping in mind. Valley is more dependent upon interest rate spreads than most banks. If the yield curve was to become significantly steeper, Valley would reap outsized rewards. The current dividend yield on a share of Valley National Bancorp is a little less than 3.5%. Considering the company's limited growth prospects, this is an unattractive yield. If, during a period of general uncertainty within the banking industry, shares of VLY were to trade closer to two times book, investors would have an opportunity to make a long-term commitment in a quality bank. Copyright 2006 Geoff Gannon