Another area of good governance that I find community groups often struggle with is good financial management. All too often the poor Treasurer is left to manage everything and the rest of the committee breathe a sigh of relief that they don’t have to do it!
But it really is the responsibility of all committee members to ensure the organisation’s good financial management. It is important that you understand what your Treasurer is doing and that you support them to do their role.
If you don’t understand the reports that are being presented by your Treasurer, ask for an explanation. And make sure you are checking those reports against the bank statements to ensure they reflect what is actually going on.
Recently I was made aware of some great resources to help both Treasurers and committee members to better understand and fulfil their financial responsibilities and accountabilities.
‘Damn Good Advice for Treasurers: Twenty-five questions a not-for-profit Treasurer needs to ask’ is a publication created by Our Community. As the title suggests, it highlights 25 key points a Treasurer should work through to ensure they do their role properly – Number 1 being ‘How did I get stuck with this mess?’ You can get a free copy of this document via www.ourcommunity.com.au.
‘Ten things every Board member should ask their Treasurer’ was a presentation delivered at Our Community’s 2014 Board Builder conference. Copies of this presentation can also be obtained for free via www.ourcommunity.com.au.
I have heard some terrible stories recently about financial mismanagement within community groups so make the most of resources like these and don’t let your group become another statistic!
You can download this Blog Post as a tip sheet by clicking here:Tip Sheet_ More Useful Resources for Your Group May 2, 2017
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