Prospective purchasers and lenders to cooperatives and condominiums utilize both the annual budget and financial statements as the basis for their perception of your property’s financial health.
In the era of COVID-19 the seasonal publication of those documents creates a situation where the ability to rely on them is quite different now. You see, these documents will now need to chronicle how things have changed, which is why you should take a closer look at your financials during COVID-19.
With the stay at home order and the reboot of the usual time frame to publish an annual financial statement many properties have just now, or will soon, published their 2019 financial statements. This means that the shortest interval for annually updated documents will be nine months if we return to the usual timing of publication. We suggest that boards prepare certain information about their property’s COVID-19 effects to be at the ready for those who will inquire. However, the annual operating budget is a document that can be more easily updated to demonstrate the effects of COVID-19 to those needing financial information.
Effects on Your Operating Budget
On the financial statement side of the COVID effect on finances is the amount of property reserves. In the past, reserve funds were generally viewed from a distance with a range of ideas on the topics from accepting what is there to structured plans for future capital costs that are planned to be needed. While there have always been questions as to what the reserve fund balance is, now during the period between financial statements these will be more common and will have urgency added. The concerns include how much was required to be utilized to get through the crisis to pay bills; were the added costs of COVID-19 dealt with in the budget; how the shutdown impacted commercial tenants’ ability to pay rent; and what was the mix of the population of unit owners who suffered severe enough personal financial issues that they can’t pay their monthly charges.
Any updated operating budget information will demonstrate plans to solve the latter two questions, but only potentially painful financial actions by the board can offset the funds used for the crisis and the added COVID costs. Your board needs to consider the aspects of the reserve fund that are not only important in the near term, but also for the future. Only by having complete knowledge of what has occurred can you expect to keep your reserve funds appropriately replenished and be ready to present a viable financial recuperation plan from this event. The need to take a closer look at the finances of your property during the COVID-19 pandemic and work with your auditor on how the finances will look when the next financial statements are published is paramount.
Extra Working Capital Versus Restricted Cash
Cash on a cooperative or condominium financial statement has always been king, but now this is more important than ever. While cash always had a positive association of being available for emergencies there now needs to be an enhanced level of amounts, not just for that but also for the usual reserve fund for future capital projects that everyone looks for. The better option is to have two funds, one for major repairs and replacements and a “working capital” excess fund for emergencies. The amounts sought will tend need to be roughly twice the amounts in the past, we are now suggesting $4,000 per unit and a bare minimum amount of $200,000. If your accounts have been depleted planning now to attempt to recover lost ground can be vital to creating the best possible post COVID financial statement.
Using Restricted Cash to Fund Operations
We mentioned having cash for emergencies earlier and another aspect of this is determining how much was been needed during the Spring and potentially how much will be needed in the second wave of shutdowns. This leads us to ask how much the deficit (maybe deficits if there are multiple waves) was, how much cash was utilized, and might it have been cash restricted for capital projects. You will need to know if the cash was designated in order to avoid income tax consequences to unit owners, and if so that use needs to be accounted for as a ’loan’ from reserves and a plan needs to be adopted to return those funds to the restricted fund. Appropriate planning for the inevitable questions and tracing the funds that might have previously been designated for capital projects is of utmost importance.
How to Make Your Financial Statement Presentation Picture Perfect!
Working together with property management and the auditor can help you create the best possible financial documents. We urge you to get started with the 2021 operating budget process NOW. Many of the operating budget models utilized by property managers include a current year projection as well as the future operating budget. Having that information available can be quite helpful to quell concerns in the off-season of financial documents your property produces.
By starting this summer as opposed to the usual timing in late Fall you can have the financial information ready for those who need it. You also can communicate any future substantial increases to unit owners well in advance or if working capital is needed, implement a COVID increase or assessment in a proactive as opposed to reactive manner.
Obviously no one wants to pay more, and many simply are not able to, but in this situation, knowledge is power, and people need to know. Only by fully understanding how funds were needed can you ever hope to best window dress the reserves that your next financial statement will present. Covering both financial aspects before their usual timing allows you to enhance the financial situation of your property.
The Czar Beer team is dedicated to providing timely, accurate information on all aspects of COVID-10 that affect our clients. However, as this is all developing quickly we are here to offer support in any way we can. You can email us at info@czarbeer.com or call 212 397 2970 with any questions you may have.