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 The Econome General, or Bursar General, administers the goods of the centre of the Institute and manages its resources. He reports directly to Brother Superior. The current Bursar General is Br. Jordi Oller. He is assisted by an Accountant, Br. Marcel Martin.
ACCORDING TO THE CODE OF CANON LAW
"In each institute, and in each province ruled by a major Superior, there is to be a financial administrator, distinct from the major Superior and constituted in accordance with the institute's own law. The financial administrator is to administer the goods under the direction of the respective Superior. Even in local communities a financial administrator, distinct from the local Superior, is in so far as possible to be constituted.» Can. 636, §1
"At the time and in the manner determined in the institute's own law, the financial administrator and others with financial responsibilities are to render an account of their administration to the competent authority. " Can. 636, § 2
ACCORDING TO THE RULE
Although the function of the Bursar General is not well described in the Rule, there is mention of it in the description of the general services of the Institute.
APPOINTMENT OF THE BURSAR GENERAL
In practice, the Brother Bursar General is responsible, under the direction of the Superior General, for the ordinary and of the extraordinary administration of the temporal goods of the central government of the Institute. He is at the disposal of the Superior General, of his Council and of Districts.
The post of Bursar General includes the following responsibilities: management, verification, help and advice, training and information.
MANAGEMENT
 He administers the goods of the central government.
He plans and submits the annual budget of the central government to the Superior General and his Council for examination, discussion and approval.
He administers the various funds of the Center of the Institute.
He administers the investments of the central government.
He organizes the accounting department of the Generalate and prepares the annual budget.
He convenes and presides over the International Economic Council.
He plans the special budgets for the purchase of important equipment and the renovation of the buildings of the Generalate.
VERIFICATION
He keeps a check on the budget of the current year with the assistance of the International Economic Council.
He checks periodically the results obtained by the agents responsible for the management of our investments.
He checks the audit reports sent each year by Districts.
ADVICE
He serves as the main adviser of the Superior General in economic and financial matters.
Periodically he prepares for the Superior General and his Council propositions regarding on the following items:
- the limits of the economic power of Visitors and their Councils;
- the annual rate of contribution of Districts to the central government of the Institute.
He studies requests, presented by the Districts, for expenditure on construction, the purchase of properties, the sale of land or buildings. He gives his opinion before the vote of the General Council.
He may be delegated by the Superior General or his Council to undertake a special journey to advise or help Districts facing difficulties, or he may delegate, with the authorization of the Brother Superior, another Brother for the same purpose.
He helps Districts in the management of their investments when called upon to do so.
TRAINING
He sees to the training of future District Bursars.
He organizes sessions in accounting where necessary for the young Districts, and tries to establish standardized systems of bookkeeping.
He organizes regional meetings for District Bursars, and possibly meetings for the District Bursars of the whole Institute.
When he gives talks or writes, he tries to be an "educator in financial matters" for the Brothers. He encourages them to share their goods as brothers.
INFORMATION
He keeps the Superior General and his Council periodically informed about the financial situation of the central government.
He prepares a financial report for the General Chapter, covering the period elapsed since the previous Chapter.
Every year, he sends to Visitors and District Bursars information on the financial situation of the central government and the auditors' report.
In order to understand local situations better, he visits different sectors according to their needs and circumstances.
He files away carefully all the contracts, the notarized documents and other documents relating to the administration of the temporal goods of the Institute.
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