FAQ

IAAP is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c) (6) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code which reads:

"Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate board, or board of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players) not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."

You will also find more detailed information in the Finance section of the IAAP Leader’s Guide as well as the document "Spending Your Chapter’s  or Division’s Money." 

The U.S. Department of Labor identifies Bonding as:

". . an insurance agreement guaranteeing repayment for financial loss caused to the covered organization by the act or failure to act of a third person. Bonding is used to protect the financial operations of companies . . . . bonding is intended to protect . . . from losses caused by acts of fraud or dishonesty by officers, employees, or other representatives."

International Standing Rule 5 requires the office of treasurer to be bonded. It is recommended that every elected officer who handles funds or other property (money markets, trusts, etc.) be bonded. This should occur before any new officer handles the division or chapter funds. They should be bonded for an amount based upon the funds handled by their predecessors during the last fiscal year. It is not necessary to reapply for the bond when a change in officer(s) occurs. The position is covered not the individual.

There is a $100* fee per function and would normally be used for a division annual meeting or event. To request coverage for a specific event, please provide the accounting department at headquarters (acctg@iaap-hq.org) with the following information:

Function Name and Location

Function Date

Number of attendees

Events to be held at function

Additional Insured (if any)

Contact person’s name, address and telephone number

*Fee subject to change

No, it is best to use a combination of materials to prepare for the CAP exam. The college texts used to write the exams are listed as the bibliography in the Exam Guide. There are also review materials from Metcalf Educational Services.

Application packets for the May exams are due in our office by February 15.
Application packets for the November exams are due in our office by August 15.
Late applications are accepted to the end of that month (Feb and Aug); however, an additional fee applies.

IAAP members pay $200 each time they take the CAP exam; nonmembers pay $375.
Nonmembers are automatically given a one-year membership in IAAP.

IAAP members pay $125 each time they take the Organizational Management specialty exam; nonmembers pay $175.

CAP holders need to recertify every five years to keep their rating active. Currently recertification is achieved by earning 60 points every five years. The 60 points are in the areas of Continuing Education (that’s seminars you attend), Other Certifications (that’s mainly technology certifications), and Leadership (that’s serving as an Officer or Chairing a committee). There are specific regulations with each of these categories.

Many CAP holders use the 50-Minute Books or Options Training Program. Each provides two recertification points for every book completed.

There is also the Options Technology Program. CAP holders earn six recertification points per application level completed. The Options Technology Program also ties into the CAP holders Technology Applications specialty.

Courses you take through companies like National Seminars, with content that relates back to the CAP exam outline, can also be used for your recertification. As can a lot of technology programs through companies like New Horizons.

There are two Options Training Programs:

• Options Office Skills – A training program developed by IAAP for office professionals with four skill levels, each level containing twelve 50-Minute books. The program can be used as an independent study or for group training. Individuals complete workbook assignments and submit them to the Education department for review. If acceptable, an e-certificate will be issued and the individual will receive 2 recertification points per book. There is no time limit for completion.
  
  
• Options Tech – A technology training program available from IAAP for two operating systems and six Microsoft applications. Each module contains a training manual, e-learning activities, a data disk, and MS Certification test prep. Some modules contain two skill levels (basic and advanced), others have three (basic, intermediate, and advanced). Applications modules are available in 2007 and 2010 versions. System requirements are described on the Options Tech web site; the actual software and operating systems must be installed on your computer. Assignments are submitted to the Education department for review and an e-certificate is issued if they are acceptable. Each book is eligible for 6 recertification points. There is no time limit for completion. Each applications module has been rated for its value in preparing one to take the MS certification exam and has scored a 4.9 or higher on a 5.0 scale.

No. You will receive the certificates by e-mail. You keep them and submit them to the Certification department as part of your entire recertification portfolio when you are recertifying. There is a spreadsheet available online to help you track your points.

Here are some valuable suggestions for getting company support for IAAP-sponsored conferences:

• Indicate your interest in professional development long before you ask to attend an IAAP conference. Sign up for any training events offered by your company; opt for self-study, online, and classroom courses; be enthused about the chapter programs; and be willing to invest in your own continuing education. If you don’t think you are worth the investment, neither will your exec. It starts with you!
• Look for problems in the department or company and devise solutions. Tie those solutions to workshops and classes offered at IAAP conferences. Show how your company will recoup the money that’s being spent on your education/training by proving a good ROI. Put a dollar amount to any monetary savings, factor in saving of time and resources as well. Don’t forget to include 1:1 discussions with vendors at the EFAM Expo.
• Build attendance into your annual performance review. With your exec, identify skill gaps and how filling these gaps will enhance your contributions to your employer. Be ready with a copy of the conference brochure and the workshops you are interested in attending. Identify the ones that will get you the skill development you need.  Reiterate how these new skills will benefit the company.
• Prove that the cost of attending is worth your employer’s money. Compare it to the cost of a three-hour college course, the cost of public seminars when you compare hours of training you’ll receive at IAAP events taking into account any associated expenses for local events like mileage, lunch, and parking. Point out the advanced level of the IAAP classes and the fact that they are designed especially for career-minded administrative professionals. IAAP knows what admins want and need to succeed in the workplace.
• Promise that you will bring the information back and train other admins in the department or company. That stretches the value of the training dollar spent to send you to the event.
• Promote the value of networking with admins throughout the world. Give your exec some examples of problems where your company could have used the input of an admin with specialized experience or skills. This might include: international travel and recommended hotels for when your exec travels overseas; how-to technology tips that save time and money and improve the work output; tales of how other companies or industries have dealt with difficult or uncommon circumstances; and so on.
• Downplay the fun part and up sell the education part of the event. While it’s nice to have a good time and visit a new city, it’s not something that motivates your employer. He wants to know what’s in it for him.
• Make sure that after every chapter and division IAAP event you attend, you return positive and enthusiastic about the experience…even if it didn’t always meet your expectations. Share your handouts and any information gleaned with the staff.

IAAP allows a one month grace period at the end of the membership. So, for example, if the paid through date on your membership is 10/31/2012, you would need to renew by 11/30/2012 to avoid a reinstatement fee. However, there is no grace period on your member login, so if you go past your paid through date you will need to contact membership to renew.

The Web Community's Document Library is a great resource for finding documents related to your chapter/division or documents from IAAP headquarters, but knowing how to use it properly is important to finding what you're looking for.

Please follow the guide below to learn how to search the Document Library. If you have additional questions, please email Ben McClanahan, IAAP Internet Communications Coordinator.

Before you search

If you're simply looking for a document from headquarters, you should look in the IAAP International Library first before attempting to search for the document. The library's folder view makes finding documents by department (I.E. Membership, Certification, etc.) easy.

To access the IAAP International Library, click on the link in the Resources dropdown menu:

In the example below, if you're looking for a document relating to the Certification department, you simply highlight the folder and double click on the title of the document you would like to access.

Searching the Library

1) To search the document library, select "Search library" from the "Resources" dropdown menu.

2) Use the search fields provided to construct your search query.

Note: Searching by Document ID was phased out of the search functionality in Jan. 2011.

It is important when submitting your search query to filter your results, either by tag, library or file type. This will increase the quality of your search results and minimize the number of results you need to browse through.

(Note: IAAP also maintains a “Frequently Requested Documents” page, in case you’re looking for something many members might be after.)

As an example, let's say you wanted to find a form to transfer your membership from one chapter to another.

The search terms you might enter would include, "transfer membership form."

When you click the search button, your results will be returned.

But first, let's take a look at how many results we would get for this query if we did NOT filter by library. As you can see, the search returned over 1,000 results, which would make it fairly difficult to find the document you are looking for.

However, the same search query using the IAAP International Library filter returns only 175 results, and the top 3 results are very relevant (the document you would need for this example is actually third on the list).