The start of a new year is an ideal time to conduct a compliance check of your political action committee (PAC). While the eight action items below should be part of your ongoing PAC procedures, we recommend a focused review of these items annually:
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Calendar 2018 filing deadlines. See our updated Reporting Deadlines chart for this information.
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Check your Federal Statement of Organization form and/or Ohio Designation of Treasurer form. Is all of the information still current?
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Are your PAC bylaws or other governing documents up to date? Are they being followed?
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Are there any new employees helping with PAC activities this year? Have they been fully trained on their duties, and do they understand the goals of the PAC?
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If you have a PAC board, have they been apprised of PAC activities throughout the year? Are new members properly trained on the PAC’s mission and operations?
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Check your solicitation materials. Do they have the proper disclaimers?
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Best practices call for a check and balance system, where two individuals authorize disbursements over a certain amount. Did that occur on all relevant 2017 transactions?
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And perhaps most importantly, be sure someone other than the person responsible for day-to-day PAC activities reconciles PAC reports with your bank statement.