Your Voice, Your Solution for training a treasurer

At 9:51AM on 4 April 2011, James E. (Jim) Lessenger wrote: When I took over the Club books two months ago, I found two separate checking accounts: One for Club expenses and one for charitable expenses. The problem is that it duplicates efforts and expense, thus increasing overhead. Is it absolutely necessary to have two separate checking accounts or can I consolidate it all into one account and manage the different functions through Quicken?

At 10:43AM on 21 July 2010, CP Chew Ban-Seng, Rotary E-Club of 3310 wrote: I agree with Leslie Cowan's comments - you do not need to be a financial wizard... just make sure one is meticulous and do the entry regularly. Sometimes when you have a CPA as Treasurer, we make the assumptions that everything is okay... only to find out much later that everything is not okay... :-( In our case, our Club's accounts need to be sent for professional auditing. So, proper recordings in a simple spreadsheet are better than double entries which can confuse non-accountants (or CPA)... :-)

At 9:06AM on 23 March 2009, Dan Allen wrote: After reading the comments that have already been given, I will address some issues that I did not find mentioned. And these apply to the new President and new or current Secretary as well as the Treasurer. (A). Every club (in the US) is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)4 organization and is required to file a form 990 with the IRS each year in November. The type of 990 to file depends on the amount of money involved and $25,000 is the magic number. This is seldom discussed in my area, but RI has been sending notices recently. (B). While training at our district assembly I cover one area that is outside the "mechanics" of the functions of a Treasurer, Secretary, or President. And that is : 1. Work at ams length. You don't comingle Rotary money with your money. You don't put Rotary money into your account with the purpose of moving it later when you get to your depost book etc.... I don't even participate in drawings that I have control of. 2. Do due diligence: As one mentioned earlier, pay attention to detail. Pay attention to access. You have a lot of information about your members and there is a thing call Rights of Privacy. Don't use the "To" function or the "CC" function for mass emails. Use the "Bcc" function to protext their information. Back up your data if digital or make copies if on paper, and put them somewhere away from your work area. 3. Work in a glass house: Every member should have the right to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. Have your work audited on a regular basis. If not by an accountant then at least by a tem of members .....NOT selected by you (See number 1) . Possibly the board or part of the board. Confucius say: "Best way to block punch is not be around it !!!!!" So be proactive and deligent in your work and you will creat an atmosphere of trust that will carry you through mistakes and fumbels .....and believe me, there are mistakes and fumbels even from the best of us.

At 10:53AM on 23 March 2009, David Tai wrote: A Treasurer without Financial experience or knowledge should however possess good managerial skills and the physical accounting function can be outsourced.

At 10:55AM on 23 March 2009, MohanaChandran wrote: Seek the advice & guidence from the Past Treasurer(s) to handle the club account. The treasurer is accountable to the club members for the management of all funds, even though his financial background is poor. President & Secretary must help the treasurer in preparing the accounts.

At 9:19AM on 19 March 2009, Glenn Spradling wrote: The "Treasurers Report" is more than the total in the checking account. Each report must reflect the monthly, year to date, and projected income, expenses, and reserves by line item. If your treasurer does not understand this they need to be trained before they start the job. If not you may have money in the bank yet already have it spent and in the hole.

At 9:27AM on 17 March 2009, RTN. SYED AZMATULLAH RC: CHENNAI PHOENIX RD: 3230 wrote: Rotary favours leadership development and change. If, at the last minute, the club has to select a treasurer who does not have a financial background, the practical solution is that the incumbent should attend any training available, learn by turning the pages of previous records and seek guidance from past treasurers. After all, he is not left alone solving problems but helped by the club as a team.

At 9:29AM on 17 March 2009, Daniel Spencer wrote: I would suggest RI look to the Club Treasurer's Curriculum put togehter by RI Finance Committee member and PDG Greg Podd from Arizona. This should be adopted and included in the District Assembly Curriculum for Club Treasurer's. It not only would be good for new Club Treasurer's, but also would be an asset for current Treasurer's who may not have had any formal training and might need a refresher or new ideas.

At 9:25AM on 16 March 2009, Jeanette Burgess wrote: The best thing that clubs can do is get an electronic accounting program and have it set up by a professional which can be passed on to the next treasurer each year. This is the major obstacle that I have encountered - refusal to learn the system and they go back to manual systems. Make up a spreadsheet and print it out, which can be filled in by the Attendance Office to track all receipts on the night. This makes the recording process so much easier. All finds must be banked in full and cheques written out for each expense so that there is a detailed record. Keep a lever arch file with all documents and then the auditor should be able to do his/her job easily. The key is to be able to track all receipts and payments. A good system put in place makes it much easier when an inexperienced person has to take over. We have to remember that we are accountable to the public for the management of all funds raised.

At 9:23AM on 16 March 2009, Kishabhau Godbole, Past Governor wrote: The club trainer should give him the required training as prescribed in the District Assembly Training Manual. He can also get help from District Trainer or District Governor. The new treasurer must meet his Club's imm. Past treasures and see the books of accounts maintained by them. Meet the President / Secretary to ask them their expectations from him.

At 9:07AM on 5 March 2009, Duane Sterling wrote: Send your new treasurer-to-be to the district SETS (Secretary-Elect Training Seminar). What, your district doesn't have one? In Missouri we have the Show Me PETS and SETS, a multi-district two day meeting where we train not only the president-elects but also the secretary-elects. The SE goes through two days of training that now includes training on computer programs that makes their treaturer life much easier. See the following web site: http://www.showmerotary.org/

At 9:34AM on 3 March 2009, Dean Kennedy wrote: Appoint a mentor! In a smaller club like ours (32 members) at least 7 of our members are past Treasurers of the club -- that's nearly a quarter of the club who could perform in this role. Task-wise, it's pretty straight forward and just requires a small amount of regular time to keep sorted out ... there's always help at the District level too (District Treasurer or the District Assembly if there's time) or from other surrounding clubs if you have a "cluster". In our club, this scenario has actually occurred in recent years -- not for the Treasurer, but for Secretary -- and I got the gig at the last minute. It didn't really need a lot of preparation -- although I did have plenty of experience outside of Rotary in this role. With a little support from the Club President it all went well.

At 9:25AM on 3 March 2009, Ashish Makhija wrote: It is all in the mind. Handling finances of a Rotary Club primarily means operating a bank account where inflows and outflows must be clearly recorded. A separate statement of members' dues and payments received can be prepared easily. At the end of each month, the new treasurer must prepare a statement of inflow and statement of outflow. Let the new treasurer not get into the maze of debits and credits. Simplest form of transactional statements can be prepared. Budget can be prepared looking at last year's budget. The treasurer, wherever feels handicap, should seek help from past treasurers, senior rotarians and members who are finance professionals.

At 10:14AM on 2 March 2009, Leslie Cowan wrote: 1. Reassurance: the best treasurers are often people without financial background! What is needed is a meticulous care for detail and a bit of logical thinking. 2. If in a country where computers are commonplace, set him/her up with a simple spreadsheet which does not aim to simulate an analysis book, but one where every transaction is entered with a transaction code (which makes for easy analysis over any period using autofilter or similar technique); explain carefully how it works and train in its use. 3. Instil the maxim "do it NOW". Treasurers who get in a muddle are usually those who accumulate transactions for several weeks and then try to bulk entries rather than doing the entries as the transactions occur. 4. Reconcile with bank statements at the end of every month and don't stop until any discrepancy has been sorted out. 5. Based on transaction records, accounts can be presented in a number of different ways; choose to do it in a way which gives maximum disclosure and complete transparency to club members and others. We have nothing to hide!

At 10:12AM on 2 March 2009, John McKenna wrote: The basic structure should be in place. If it is not then your Club should create the structure before the inexperienced person is allowed to take office. This basic structure can be created by reviewing the history of the past Treasurer. How to handle Club funds, create a budget, pay Club bills. If it is a new Club then it is the responsibility of the sponsoring club to create this basic structure. Treasurer is not a person - It is a system of processes. The training of the person selected is not material to the success of the office.