Except for Corporate Clubs, which follow the hosting organization accounting and procurement rules, all other club types that manage any funds (regardless of whether they come through fees or other sources) have to have a treasurer in charge of the basic bookkeeping.
The Treasurer should be fully acquainted with the Rules for Club Finances and has the following tasks:
Gatekeeper of club funds
As a treasurer, you're the gatekeeper to the club funds. Spending cannot take place without the combined approval of the President and the Treasurer. Effectively, you hold veto power over spendings that you honestly believe infringes on what the members have voted in terms of overall budget or the rules for club finances.
If the Treasurer and the President disagree on whether particular spending meets the approved budget, they may take the spending in front of the club membership for a vote.
On the other hand, if the disagreement is on whether the use of funds complies with the general rules for club finances, they may elevate a question to the country's Ambassador or the Foundation's headquarters.
Financial Bookkeeping and Reporting
A second responsibility of the treasurer is keeping proper bookkeeping of all fund movements. There are two things you need to comply with:
- The local laws.
- The Foundation's bookkeeping reporting requirements.
Usually, this second part will be the easiest, as the reporting requirements are relatively simple and do not require any special tooling. Additionally, you can use the online tools we provide for that reporting.
Ideally, all bookkeeping should be done when a payment is received or made so that all interested members can see the status of the club's finances. However, if that proves not to be possible for some reason, you need to make sure to upload both the itemized and the aggregate information at least once every six months.
Other Responsibilities
Finally, as a Treasurer, you need also to:
- Answer the financial questions of members and guests. Of course, members are entitled to much more detailed information than guests.
- Collect the Club fees and other sources of funds into a single account.
- Reimburses officers' authorized expenses
- Interacts with the treasurers of other clubs to ensure compliance with the Financial Rules when shared events such as conventions or contests need to be financed.
- Controls and executes the payments authorized by the President for the purchase of goods and services.