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Time for some changes at Ames

Show me the money! Any crook can fix the books for this year. What about last year? Where is the surplus 20k? Follow the money people, this has been going on for years, you want the past records. They will have to explain where all the money has been going. Follow the money and you will get answers, might not like the answers.
 
The members would need to form an audit comittee outside of the BOD. .

My understanding is an internal audit of the books, not a DOR or IRS audit.

you guys will probably need to retain an outside accountant to help with this. These clubs are largely a cash business and so looking at the books won't tell all the cash that went immediately into people's pocket and never flowed through to the club. Accountants can give you a ballpark figure of this through some basic forensic accounting(and I stress "basic" because it gets very expensive to go beyond). The chances that the club has a couple of folks with this background and willing to form an internal audit committee are slim.
 
What it has resolved is my decision not to join Ames, even though it's close to my new home and has all the facilities I want.

I'm in the same boat as bill....
I want to join, as the club is literally 3 minutes from my driveway, but all this talk is concerning.



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It's such a sad situation at Ames. I loved that club while I was there, and still miss it and the members. I hope Jim and the rest of you can get these issues resolved before something even worse happens. Good luck to you all!
 
The members need only 1 demand "Show me the Money" at least 3 years worth of books. Sad situation that should have been avoided, they don't seem to care where the money they gave went. Really sad.
 
Show up at the meeting and make Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard answer "Where has the money gone?" Not just this year but the last 3 years! At least 3 years of for books audit are needed. If they will not give up the books to the members then maybe DA or Secretary of State need to be called in. I would love to see these held acountable, if not prosecuted!
 
Got my boots on, the sh!t should be deep tonight. What kind of lies are they serving for dinner? Just remember 8 THOUSAND DOLLARS in "food costs" when you eat those frozen meatballs and day old pie. I hope the members have dropped a pair and stand up to those 2 bastids!
 
I wonder if all attendees were "served" with "lawyer letters" upon entering the clubhouse for the meeting, threatening legal action if they said a word about what went on there?
 
They probably said that any user who was found to post here would be kicked from the club. What else is new. When we left, they mentioned that they were angry over the posts I made on here.
 
They probably said that any user who was found to post here would be kicked from the club. What else is new. When we left, they mentioned that they were angry over the posts I made on here.

I got threatened with a lawsuit for "defamation of the club" for posting 2 pictures of the outdoor range here and asking why the grass had been allowed to grow that high. Had they merely contacted me and asked me to remove them I would have done so, but the threat led me to delete the thread (it had been dead for 3 months anyway) and advise Tim NOT to send me a bill/renewal notice (and Tim responded saying "I was a valued member of the club" and asking me to reconsider) and that was the last time I stepped foot on the property.
 
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Defamation isn't that when you lie?...
Heck wouldn't they need a outside auditor to prove members where lying in court?
Sounds like if they brought the members to court they'd lose ...
 
I got threatened with a lawsuit for "defamation of the club" for posting 2 pictures of the outdoor range here and asking why the grass had been allowed to grow that high. Had they merely contacted me and asked me to remove them I would have done so, but the threat led me to delete the thread (it had been dead for 3 months anyway) and advise Tim NOT to send me a bill/renewal notice (and Tim responded saying "I was a valued member of the club" and asking me to reconsider) and that was the last time I stepped foot on the property.

Sounds like a great bunch of guys there.
 
My father had belonged to ames for 25 years but neither of us go there anymore. It is sad how bad that club got hopefully someone fixes it because it really is a big club area wise.
 
Bill, just to put it in perspective (although I knew what you meant). It's just a couple of officers that make that club a "problem". The members are fine and the facilities are pretty decent as well.

Yes, my comment was only in regard to the behavior of the officers (I've heard other horror stories off-line as well). The ranges are great, and I plan to join once things change.
 
Defamation isn't that when you lie?...
Actually, the guy made a common mistake. Defamation is when you say something. Libel is in writing (such as a website or newspaper) and it does have to be a false statement, whether you're aware you're lying or not, that damages someone's reputation.

What kind of facilities does Ames have? What's the outdoor fields? 50 yards, 100 yards, 200, 300?
 
I wonder if all attendees were "served" with "lawyer letters" upon entering the clubhouse for the meeting, threatening legal action if they said a word about what went on there?

I really hope this is not true, it would be beyond pathetic if they are issuing legal threats to their members. You let some daylight shine on those financials and answer peoples questions, that is how the thread goes away; not gagging your own members. I am sure the members are very nice but maybe this club is beyond repair.
 
The IRS "7 years" is the lookback period for tax audits not involving suspected fraud. It is very common for businesses to have audits performed on an annual basis.

And, the standards of relevance for audits are GAAP as established by the FASB, not the IRS statute of limitations.
Businesses like ours don't have our books audited every year - but they are "reviewed" which is a less-comprehensive but still independent accounting.
 
Businesses like ours don't have our books audited every year - but they are "reviewed" which is a less-comprehensive but still independent accounting.

There have been some changes in accounting standards in recent years raising the bar for calling a review an actual audit. Some very legit businesses chose to continue with the old style look-over under the new nomenclature ("review") rather than spend the extra $$/effort for a full audit.

Libel is in writing (such as a website or newspaper) and it does have to be a false statement

MA libel law is unusual in that truth is not an absolute defense when malice on the part of the person committing the alleged liable can be proven. (MGL Ch 231 Sec 92)
 
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