Independent Body

The Independent Body is charged with overseeing that any decisions made by the UCSA board are according to the rules laid out in the policy manual and statutes. To that end, it deals with all appeals from members and committees. The purpose of the appeals function of the IB is to be on-call in case a UCSA member (that’s all of us students at UCU!) or one of the UCSA committees has a problem, conflict, or disagreement and is not satisfied with the decision or resolution provided by the UCSA Board. The IB is not an enemy, nor an ally of the UCSA Board by any means whatsoever. Rather, they are a group of people who can provide a second, binding, and final opinion on certain matters. Moreover, the IB can be asked to mediate in conflicts that do not come to an appeal, but that have proven hard to solve by the parties themselves.

Additionally, several members of the IB are part of the UCSA auditing team, which is responsible for checking the UCSA finances twice a year. Lastly, the IB counts votes during General Assemblies.

If you would like to contact the Independent Body, send an e-mail to:ucu.ucsa.independent@uu.nl.

Auditing Team

The Auditing Team (AT) is a statutory body tasked with, as the name implies, the financial audit of the UCSA. The members of the AT are drawn among students and members of the Independent Body, the latter usually taking a leading role in AT’s activities. The AT perfoms an audit twice a year, at the beginning of each semester. This audit is usually conducted in two parts: one for all UCSA finances except bar, and one part focusing on bar finances only. The audit procedure consists in checking financial files (both receipts as well as computer files), bank accounts and cash books. The AT checks all the documents for unaccounted expenses (i.e. expenditures lacking appropriate documentation), expenses exceeding the allocated budget, unreasonable expenses (e.g. of a personal nature) and any other financial misdoings (especially those of a systematic character). Moreover, the AT keeps an eye on the bookkeeping in general, making sure the system used is transparent and professional.

The AT is obliged to produce a report and present it at the General Assembly, together with a general recommendation, either negative or positive. The GA then decides whether the finances of the UCSA are to be approved through majority voting (voting is not statutorily obliged at the half-year audit, though!).

The AT is a crucial body within the UCSA, as it allows members to obtain an unbiased overview of UCSA financial management. Its collegial nature, mixed composition as well as the fact that it is open to all members of the UCSA makes the audit process transparent and independent.

Advisory Council

Information will follow soon!