club question

bsu12345 · #1 01-29-2013, 08:52 AM

I have a question for you all.... I am a part of a club and we are going through some hard times and people are not getting along and people's true colors are showing. I was wondering what a treasurers responsibility is as far as book keeping goes. should there be records or not? am I out of like to ask to see the books and all incoming and outgoing money? I am not trying to make anyone mad but in other types of clubs I know this can be a big deal so I was wondering what you all thought or if any of you are treasurers how do you do it?

also there has only been one person in charge of money with no one seeing the funds or account for years, no assistant treasurer or anything

thank you for your time and I'm not trying to argue or make anyone mad, I am just trying to understand

Mabuku1 · #2 01-29-2013, 08:55 AM

the treasurer needs to have a detailed book keeping regimen. they should be available for any member to view. if they don't keep records of money there is going to be a huge deal made about it everytime. money is money.

SteezeOG · #3 01-29-2013, 08:56 AM

One person handling all the money for years with no oversight or accountability......yeah I'd look into that. Usually if you start to wonder if money is going elsewhere it's already too late and it has been for a while now.

Mabuku1 · #4 01-29-2013, 08:58 AM

at the club meeting there should be a motion to remove treasurer from position and duties, an someone would have to second your motion. it gets really complicated if the organization is really a legit organization. if its just a group of guys then, it is probably going to get ugly fast.

BionicRib · #5 01-29-2013, 09:03 AM

^agreed, It should be updated immediately and available for everyone to see. This is one of the reasons I am not involved with a few of the clubs in my area. Also IMO I think the clubs should involve more than just their "elected" (and I use that term loosely) officials when it comes to deciding what to do with money coming in/going out. When everything is updated and open for "everyone" to see, things run much smoother. I've heard horror stories about people pinching here and there (makes me sick but people get weird around money sometimes) If the records are public, that doesn't happen/ and it also kills any suspicion of that happening.

sloppydisc · #6 01-29-2013, 09:08 AM

Gee, I can't understand why I have ever joined a club.

DavidSauls · #7 01-29-2013, 09:20 AM

Funny, I served as club treasurer for 8 years, and could never get anyone interested in looking at the books. But they were always open if anyone cared to.

It's very true that someone should be looking over the treasurer's shoulder, but the club's size and structure has something to do with this. When our club was a handful of people handling only a small amount of money, it didn't matter a great deal. As we grew to handling a lot of money and filing taxes, checks and balances were in order.

JRW III · #8 01-29-2013, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsu12345

I was wondering what a treasurers responsibility is as far as book keeping goes. should there be records or not?

He should keep records of all the inflows and outflows. In addition, he should have some form of reporting, depending on the size of the club financial statements or simple financial summaries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsu12345

Am I out of like to ask to see the books and all incoming and outgoing money?

If you are a member of the club and not a Officer of the club, I would lean towards yes. As a member you should be able to see the financials statements or a financial summary. But it would probably be out of line for a Treasurer to be subjected to any member seeing the full books at anytime.

With that beign said, if a member has concerns, it should be brought up to the Board/Officers. Then the Board/Officers can look into it and see what needs to be done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsu12345

also there has only been one person in charge of money with no one seeing the funds or account for years, no assistant treasurer or anything

This is bad policy. There should be checks and balances. The Treasurer should have some form of financial reporting to the Board/Officers. With small clubs, and few volunteers, it can be difficult to have assistant treasurers and a full set of checks & balances, but there should always be a review regardless of the size of the club.

BogeyNoMore · #9 01-29-2013, 09:52 AM

1) Every Treasurer in any organization should keep a record of all income and all expenditures - that's what being a Treasurer is all about.
2) Every member of the club has a stake and should be able to see where the money's going.
3) Any Treasurer who isn't willing to work with that kind of transparency shouldn't be a Treasurer.

I don't even have a problem with the Treasurer/other officers being compenstated in some small/reasonable way for their efforts if the club is large enough such that running things genuinely takes significant time on their part - but that too should be on the books for all to see.
I'm not saying the everyone can bug them demanding to see the #'s anytime they want, but they should be made available on the club website or local board on a monthly or quarterly basis for people's convenience.
I don't see why that should be a big issue if they aren't lining their pockets somehow. All they'd really need is to set up a simple spread sheet and record everything - then publish it every so often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidSauls

Funny, I served as club treasurer for 8 years, and could never get anyone interested in looking at the books. But they were always open if anyone cared to.

It's very true that someone should be looking over the treasurer's shoulder, but the club's size and structure has something to do with this. When our club was a handful of people handling only a small amount of money, it didn't matter a great deal. As we grew to handling a lot of money and filing taxes, checks and balances were in order.

^ most likely because things were running smooth, and people could observe (tangibly) where the money was going (e.g. the could see baskets being replaced, or were getting club stamped discs, shirts, events, etc). As long as they can see where the money is going, and it things don't seem like it's being squandered or pocketted, most people probably won't want to sse the #'s or review the books.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRW III

With that beign said, if a member has concerns, it should be brought up to the Board/Officers. Then the Board/Officers can look into it and see what needs to be done.

What if they're all on the take and in kahootz (sp?) with each other?

Just publish the financials for all to see every month or quarter and that should appease everyone.
Then the only thing to debate is "Why'd we spend $$ on that?"

JRW III · #10 01-29-2013, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogeyNoMore

What if they're all on the take and in kahootz (sp?) with each other?

That would be a different problem. But you would still start with bringing it to the Board/Officers first. Then, based on their response, you may need other action.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogeyNoMore

Just publish the financials for all to see every month or quarter and that should appease everyone.

Agreed.