Tips from the Treasurer
These are tips for financial officers including the treasurer, financial secretary, auditor, etc.
~By Shereen Walter, Fourth District PTA Treasurer
Here are a few reminders for unit treasurers:
Have you sent a check for your insurance premiums through PTA channels?
“Channels” are from unit to council, council to district, and district to state. Do not send your check directly to California State PTA or the insurance carrier. Insurance premiums are due from councils to Fourth District PTA by Jan. 17. Units should check with their councils regarding council due dates. Insurance premiums for the period covering January 5, 2008 to January 4, 2009 are $110 for councils and $190 for units
Have you turned in your Workers’ Compensation Annual Payroll Report?
Every unit, council and district PTA must complete this form. If you have no employees, write “none” across the form, sign and date it, and turn it in through PTA channels.
Was your tax return completed and mailed by November 15?
If not, it is not too late to get your financial information to a qualified tax preparer with knowledge of 501 (c)(3) charitable organizations and get your unit or council tax return filed!
Have you paid your convention housing deposit?
Convention housing deposits are the responsibility of each unit or council. Reserve rooms for the number of delegates you estimate will be attending from your PTA. Be sure to cancel any unneeded rooms by the specified date to avoid any charges.
Have you submitted your financial records to the auditor for the mid-year audit?
Send two copies of your adopted audit to your council, if you are a unit, or to Fourth District PTA, if you are a council. The financial officers and president should meet to discuss any recommended corrections or problems.
Have you reviewed your budget? Do you need to make any changes to your budget?
Have your fundraisers made enough to cover your planned programs? Can you cut back on further planned fundraisers? Are there additional programs your unit wishes to provide? January is a great time for your executive board to meet and evaluate these issues.
As printed in the Dec/Jan 2008 issue of "Orange Leaves".
Motions Needed at Each Meeting
By Cyndee Ely, Fourth District PTA Financial Secretary
As a financial officer of the PTA, have you ever wondered if you are making the correct motions or if you should be making any motions at all?
Actually, there are two motions that need to be made at every meeting of the executive board and again at the association meetings. The first is a motion "to allow payment of ordinary and necessary bills during the period from the meeting you are at and the next regularly scheduled meeting, not to exceed budget.” Youquote this sentence by inserting the correct dates. This motion allows the treasurer to pay the bills as they come in, as long as amounts don't go over budget and the events have been approved as being a part of your PTA program.
The second motion is to ratify the bills/checks that you have already written. The treasurer should have a printed list of all checks that have been written since the last meeting. The list should show who was paid, what the payment was for, the amount, the check number and the date.The motion is this: "I move to ratify paid bills, check numberto check number Y, in the total amount of $000.00.”
These motions will ensure that all members are aware of the bills coming up, what has been spent, and who still needs to be paid.
The treasurer's report and the financial secretary's report are filed for audit; no motions are made regarding those reports.
If you print your reports on both sides of the paper, be sure to give two copies to the recording secretary, as they have to be glued into the minute book for permanent records.
As printed in the November 2007 issue of "Orange Leaves".
Safeguarding Your PTA Funds
By Shereen Walter, Fourth District PTA Treasurer
Most of us know that every PTA check should be signed by two people, that all incoming money should be counted by two people (one of whom should be your treasurer or financial secretary), and that volunteers should never take money home to count it.
Here are some additional ways to safeguard your PTA funds:
-
Keep track of the funds you expect to receive from automatic store donations, box top programs and similar sources, and note when you expect to receive them. Make sure they have been deposited into your PTA’s account.
- Make sure you receive your cancelled checks from the bank. The auditor should verify that there are two signers on every check.
- Someone besides your treasurer should review all bank statements. It’s a good idea to take a quick look at the check endorsements to make certain that the correct person cashed the check.
What are some signs of possible mismanagement?
- Lack of receipts and/or treasurer’s reports
- Missing bank statements or canceled checks
- Payments made in cash rather than by check
- Missed meetings
- Unanswered phone calls or e-mails
If mismanagement of funds is suspected, refer to the financial section of the California State PTA Toolkit regarding the correct procedures to follow. Contact your council or district president immediately and keep him or her informed.
As printed in the October 2007 issue of "Orange Leaves".
Getting Started
By now, financial officers (treasurer, financial secretary, and auditor) should have attended a training workshop and should have a lot of information on how to begin their jobs.
It is also important for the financial officers to read through the Finance Section of the California State PTA Toolkit (available online at www.capta.org). Another source of excellent information is National PTA’s Money Matters.
The school year has started and you have done, or are working on, the following items:
- Obtain all financial records and materials from your predecessor.
- Change the signature cards for your PTA’s bank account to reflect the new signers, as authorized by your bylaws and elections.
- Hold a budget committee meeting and carefully plan a proposed budget to serve as a financial guide for the year.
- Present the proposed budget to the executive board for approval.
- At the first association meeting of the year, present the proposed budget for adoption.
As the year continues, it is important to remember the following:
- Issue a receipt for all monies received by your PTA. If there is no financial secretary, promptly deposit funds in the PTA bank account.
- The budget is not an authorization to pay bills. Bills must be presented to the association or the executive board for approval before payment, or ratified according to procedures in the unit bylaws.
- Send your payments of membership dues through PTA channels (units to councils, councils to Fourth District PTA). Dues must be submitted monthly thereafter. The unit only retains the unit portion of membership dues and must submit the council, district, State and National portions through PTA channels.
- Be certain that two people count all PTA monies and both sign the cash verification form.
- Every PTA check must have two signers.
As printed in the September 2007 issue of "Orange Leaves". |
