“Is Sam Higgs the Right Guy for AUS VP Finance?”

webmaster Updates

10:04 AM, April 9

The Office

Dear Fellow Arts Students,

There are no major updates in the Finance portfolio since my last blog post–we are mainly working on closing up the previous fiscal year.

I was looking through my files and came across my campaign poster from when I ran for this position.

campaign jpeg

…good times (click on the picture for a larger view). Let’s take a quick look at my promises and see if I followed through:

  • Completion of an audit in the fall: we got our audited financial statements, but this did not happen until the end of February.
  • Using finances to help people with initiatives–not slow them down: The intention was to use the Finance portfolio to encourage and push forward events and new initiatives. Admittedly I did not make much happen with this. However, I did encourage student groups to apply for FMC funding when they otherwise wouldn’t have, and this did help fund some great events. The other message behind this campaign promise was that I wanted to cut down on bureaucratic practices. I can proudly say that cheque requisition turnover was much faster this year (although this was largely due to the hiring of an office assistant). I worked with departmental executives in a very frank and straightforward manner, and tried my best to accommodate special requests. Many departmental executives have given me positive feedback.
  • Cost effectiveness–find ways to decrease expenses yet maintain revenues (applying to promotions and events): My heart was in the right place. The goals was to determine whether certain expenses were worth incurring. For instance, is it worth it to print posters when advertising event? However, I made very little impact in terms of this promise.

A more detailed reflection on my term will come in due time. Overall I think I did a good job this year, and I see my failure to live up to my campaign promises as educational. Our perceptions of what these positions will be like before we enter them may not be very accurate. Some goals that seem realistic end up being difficult to accomplish. Conversely, some of our greatest accomplishments are things which we could not have planned for or foreseen.

Wishing you all the best,

Sam.


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