Reimbursement for Speakers at DOC Symposia at National ACS Meetings

  • Academic speakers are eligible for reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses, which will depend upon the amount of funds raised by the symposium organizer. For example, a typical reimbursement for an academic speaker would include:
    • All Reimbursements must be into the Treasurer within 30 days of the end of the Meeting.
    • Travel – Non-refundable round trip economy airfare to the meeting. Ground transportation to and from airports, but not within the city. Airport parking, mileage (using the IRS Business Mileage Rate for car travel) and tolls. Mileage and tolls must not exceed $500 unless previously authorized.
    • Registration – ACS members are expected to take advantage of early registration if applicable. Please note that a cheaper one-day registration is available if the speaker will only be at the meeting for the day of the symposium. Foreign non-members are also eligible for the higher fees.
    • Accommodation – Two night’s stay in a hotel (please choose one from the ACS list, if possible).
    • Miscellaneous – Other reasonable expenses (taxi, tolls, etc.), but not meals, during the trip.
    • Reimbursements will be made by mailed checks unless otherwise requested. For foreign speakers wire transfers can be made, but our cost ($45) will be deducted from the amount reimbursed.
  • Industrial speakers are typically not eligible for reimbursement, however in some unusual circumstances, some limited reimbursement may be allowable.
  • Speakers working for the government or a non-profit institution are eligible for reimbursement.
  • Reimbursement amount outside the guidelines is at the discretion of the session organizer and Division Treasurer.
  • Total amount eligible for reimbursement for a single session is up to $4,000.
  • The symposium organizer may also take the symposium speakers out to a luncheon or dinner during the ACS meeting if there is sufficient funding. Since case reports to the donors of expenditures are often required, these should not exceed $150 per person or $1,250 per symposium session. The Division’s Executive Committee should approve amounts in excess of these guidelines in advance.
  • Symposium organizers are eligible for reimbursement within the above guidelines.

The speaker will

  1. For each talk given within a symposium sponsored by ORGN, create a single PDF file that has the DOC Reimbursement Form (DOC) as page 1 and relevant receipts are included on subsequent pages. Note: a home address is strongly preferred, and an email address is required.
  2. Name the file using the speaker’s name like this: lastname_firstname_$xx.xx.pdf where $xx.xx is the amount to be reimbursed.
  3. Submit the PDF file using the Online Submission Form. The use of this form should help the symposium organizers gather the relevant reimbursement information electronically without mistakes. It also allows the program chairs to evaluate how the process is proceeding.

The symposium organizer/session Chair will

  1. Any funds that are raised by the organizer are technically donated to the DOC, which formally funds the symposia at the National Meetings. Symposium organizers should manage the overall expenses for their symposium on behalf of the DOC, so please be sure to let the speakers understand the guidelines before the symposium to avoid misunderstandings.
  2. As an organizer, it is your responsibility to determine the distribution of available funds.This is critical when there are not enough funds to pay all of the expenses encumbered by invited speakers. In this case, you must indicate to the DOC Treasurer the level of partial reimbursements to be accorded to each speaker.
  3. Collect a pdf file from each speaker (which will come to you as link in an email message that also has the relevant info in it).
  4. Review each speakers PDF file and make sure that it has a) the completed DOC reimbursement page as page 1, b) the relevant receipts, and c) is named as prescribed above: lastname_firstname_$xx.xx.pdf.
  5. Review the requested amount for each submission for its appropriateness.
  6. Review the receipts are appropriate in the PDF file.
  7. Compile the relevant data into an excel spreadsheet using the Excel File Template for submitting requests from symposia speakers.
  8. Name the Excel file “DOC_Symposia_reimbursement_[Spring or Fall]_20xx.xls”.
  9. Compose a brief email to the Program Chair that has the Excel file and 1 PDF file per person to be reimbursed.
  10. Note: all speaker reimbursements for a specific symposium need to be made in a single request – secondary requests may not be reimbursed.
  11. All Reimbursements must be into the Treasurer within 30 days of the end of the Meeting.

Program Chair

  1. Reviews the excel documents looking for duplicate submissions and/or speakers multiple sessions.
  2. Transfers the PDF files and the Excel Documents to the to the Treasurer .