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"There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader." - Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
The Atkinson Professional Accounting Association (APAA) is a student-run organization that serves to encourage leadership, excellence, and professionalism in York University business students. The association will provide a place for students to find the information required to pursue their Accounting related interests.
Section A. The name of the organization shall be known as the Atkinson Professional Accounting Association (APAA).
Section B. The objectives of APAA are as follows:
The President and Vice-Presidents will be the sole interpreters of this constitution and will be responsible for making all club members aware of its content and ramifications. The Constitution shall be read with reference to and fully in compliance with the Constitutional Guidelines, as set out by York University.
The Executive Council shall be comprised of a President, Vice-President Finance, Vice-President Operations, and Vice-President Communications. The Operations Committee is comprised of a minimum of 5 directors and/or ambassadors (Junior and Senior ICAO Ambassador, CMA Ambassador, CGA Ambassador, and an Operations Director). The External Ambassadors will have to accept the responsibility of representing their respective professional organizations which are delegated to them by the President, Vice-President-Finance and Vice-President Operations. The Communications Committee is comprised of a Media Director, Publishing Director, Marketing Director, and Communications Director. The Communications Directors will have to accept the responsibility of completing their respective tasks delegated to them by the Vice-President Communications.
Only the President and the three Vice-Presidents have voting privileges and all carry equal weight in decision-making pertaining to matters involving sponsorships, finances, and dismissals and anything deemed to be sensitive in nature. Their voting power represents two votes.
The council in its entirety has voting privileges on relative matters and their voting power represents one vote.
The President has veto in the following circumstances:
All members, Executive, Volunteer and General, must behave in a professional, respectful, mature, and responsible manner when dealing with club duties. They must act in accordance with the rules of York University and in the best interest of the club. Additional temporary duties not mentioned may be appointed to members to help with special projects. All memberships, Executive, Volunteer and General, are applicable for the term of one year, usually running from June 1 to May 31 of the following year.
Should a vacancy occur in the Executive Council, a general member will be selected by the President and Vice-Presidents, to fill the vacancy. Should a suitable candidate for the position not be found, the duties of the position as listed below will be dispersed throughout the remaining council members.
Executive members must be selected in accordance with Article V, Election Procedures. All Executive members may place a request for a formal club meeting to the President, who is the one that will call the meeting.
Volunteers may be recruited on a temporary and/or on an as needed basis whenever the President sees fit.
General members have access to participate in events hosted by the club for free, or for a members only fee when applicable. As well, they have the ability to request an alteration in the constitution, as presented in writing to the President. General members do not have voting power.
The Chief Returning Officer (CRO) is an Associate of Council, and is selected by the President and three Vice-Presidents. Their duty is to chair the election and count votes.
The council selection will be based on an application and interview process.
Section A. The term of office shall be one year, beginning on May 1 and ending on April 30.
Section B.
Section C. All members of the association may apply for any position on the Executive Council. However, this does not include the position of President. To apply for the position of President, a member must have served on the Executive Council the previous year. Current Executive Council members may apply for any position for the following academic year provided he/she will still be affiliated with York University.
A conflict of interest exists when a member’s personal or financial interest conflicts with the duties and responsibilities of their position and the obligations they owe to their organization.
Should a conflict of interest arise for any Executive or Volunteer members, members may be removed from office if they are unable to perform their job. The matter will be brought before the Executive Council. The President will preside over the meeting unless it is the President who is on trial. In that case, the Vice-President Finance will preside over the meeting. A silent hand count can be taken only if at least two-thirds of the Executive council members are in attendance. The officer will be removed immediately if two-thirds of the members in attendance vote for the impeachment. If the President is impeached, the Vice-President Finance will assume the Presidency and will appoint a new Vice-President for the remainder of the academic year.
The Executive Council will operate on a “three-strike” rule where each successive strike leads to censure, suspension or impeachment of an Executive Council or Volunteer Team member. It will be the responsibility of the Executive Council members to hear allegations and dictate the appropriate sanction. In extreme situations the Executive Council may, by way of democratic vote, choose to automatically suspend or impeach a member if there is a two-thirds majority vote to do so.
As outlined in Article IV, Membership, it is the responsibility of each Executive Council and Volunteer Team member to fulfill their required duties with the best interest of the club in mind. If said duties are not fulfilled, and minimal concern is shown by that member, previously stated disciplinary action may take effect.
Vacancies will be dealt with as outlined in Article IV, Membership.
Conflict of Interest procedures may also be followed as outlined in Article VI, Conflict of Interest.
The President and Vice-President Finance share responsibility as the joint signing authority and authority related to all financial transactions. Furthermore, both the President and Vice-President Finance must sign any cheque or transaction agreement involving the Association to validate it.
The responsibility for creating the budget and financial reports, approving the budget, and maintaining the financial records of the organization is that of the Vice-President Finance.
Membership fees shall be collected from the General Members per academic school year (September to August). This fee must be paid at the time of enrollment or membership is not valid. The fee amount shall be set at a reasonable price by the President and Vice-President Finance, as calculated based on projected costs for the academic year events.
If the organization becomes inactive or fold, the remaining funds in the account will be donated to a charity chosen by the outgoing executive council.
The association does not currently have any external affiliations and/or jurisdictional relationships.
The APAA Vice-President Finance is the designated Custodian of the Constitution.
The Association’s Vice-President Finance alongside the President is the designated Custodian of the Constitution.
It can be amended at any time as follows:
This constitution shall be enforced upon ratification by three-quarters of the voting body, and upon approval of this constitution by the Clubs Registration Committee and the Centre of Student Community & Leadership Development.