Financial management

The administration of a syndicate of co-owners requires financial expertise, which is vital for the proper functioning of the co-ownership (condominium). In collaboration with the board of directors, the condo manager ensures budgetary balance and financial management which includes budget preparation, account management, and the distribution of common expenses (condo fees); he also plays an essential role in treasury management handling bank transactions, investments in contingency and self-insurance funds as well as bill payments. Additionally, the manager is responsible for managing debtor and creditor accounts; these tasks are essential to ensure smooth and transparent financial management within the immovable.

Accounting

One of the manager's tasks is to keep up to date the accounting of the syndicate of co-owners; thus, he could be called upon to:

• keep the accounting books up to date;
• prepare the forecast annual budget for each financial period;
• prepare the operating budget;
• produce the bank reconciliations;
• prepare a cash flow report on the income and the expenses of the co-ownership;
• prepare, on behalf of the syndicate, the necessary documents requested by the notaries and by the real estate brokers during real estate transactions;
• transmit annually the corporation income tax returns;
• establish the allocation keys for general or particular common expenses as well as the contribution to the contingency fund;
• manage each co-owner’s account, that is to say the contribution to the contingency fund and to the self-Insurance fund;
• transmit, when the syndicate is an employer, the report to the Labour standards, equity, health and safety Commission (Commission des normes de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) (CNESST).

Cash flow management

As part of its managerial tasks, the manager may be required to:

• deposit money collected into a separate bank account opened in the syndicate's name;
• manage the bank accounts and the day-to-day operations of the syndicate;
• manage the investments of the contingency fund;
• pay the co-ownership's bills;
• ensure the payment of the salaries to the co-ownership's employees;
• pay, when the syndicate is an employer, the contributions to the Labour standards, equity, health and safety Commission (Commission des normes de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) (CNESST);
• make, when the syndicate is an employer, the deductions at source of the taxes and of the contributions to the various public plans such as the Quebec pension plan (Régime des rentes du Québec) (RRQ), the Quebec parental insurance plan (Régime québécois d'assurance parentale) (RQAP) and the employment insurance premiums.

Management of the expenses

As part of its tasks related to the management of the expenses, the manager may need to:

• proceed to the allocation of expenses between the different co-owners;
• prepare and send notices of assessment, that is to say the requests for payment of the common expenses (condo fees) to the co-owners;
• oversee the collection of the common expenses;
• manage the accounts payables and the accounts receivables;
• send reminder letters for the payment of amounts owed to the syndicate.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW!​ The financial management of a co-ownership is a delicate and often a complex task; it requires rigorous accounting and therefore, it is in the directors' best interest to retain the services of a financially competent manager.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND: A manager must have a wide range of technical skills with a great deal of experience; he must have extensive knowledge of the operation of an accounting service, an understanding of the various software packages available on the market, a great experience in terms of efficiency as well as excellent communication skills.

WARNING! Some management companies intermingle within the same account the money belonging to many syndicates of co-owners' for which they work; this practice could be harmful to the syndicate’s financial assets and so, it's important to ensure that the manager doesn't advocate this method as it could result in extremely serious financial losses.

Back to the sub-factsheet: Functions of the manager