Many people handle money for the NSS. Foremost, the office staff provides membership support, pays bills and runs the NSS bookstore. They are responsible for day-to-day accounting. In addition, each convention manages its own finances, as does the NCRC and each NCRC region. The Junior Speleological Society (JSS), Mammoth Cave Restoration Project (MCRP), and Fine Arts Salon (FAS) also maintain separate records. Lastly, the NSS Accounting Manager tracks and manages the Society's investments. These separate financial centers do not make use of the office accounting system, and must be manually incorporated into the annual financial reports.
Monitoring and overseeing all of these diverse operations is a complex task. The NSS Fiscal Policy provides consistency and uniformity between multiple reporting centers, enforces generally accepted accounting principles, and encourages fiscal responsibility.
The NSS has an endowment of about three million dollars, allocated among forty-some restricted funds. Many of the these funds have been set up by the Board of Governors, while others have been created as the result of designated donations. All of these funds have been established to reserve and grow capital for specific purposes, and each has its own unique terms and conditions of use. These funds are described in the NSS Board Manual.