amyx4 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 If anyone has BTDT I'm looking for advice. I'm the chair of a group I belong to and I just got an anonymous tip to check the books. So I did. I don't see anything amiss as far as deposit and withdrawals. The books are super neat and organized. However, there's been a small amount of cash this year that I honestly don't know if it was recorded correctly. My dh says to let it go that maybe the tipster has an ax to grind. There was an event this spring with about $300 in cash. I counted it multiple times in front of another adult (not the treasurer). The treasurer was supposed to bring a deposit slip to the event but didn't. Later in the day she picked up the envelope of cash from my house. I did not count it again in front of her (huge mistake) and just passed her the envelope. When she gets to the back to her house she tells me it's short. So I replace the money with my own money. The treasurer has missed all the board mts this school year and when in attendance at large groups events she has not presented any bank records. We had another person volunteer to be treasurer in March and she just turned over the books to him this weekend. After the board send multiple emails trying to facilitate this transfer. She always too busy to meet with him. Summer would be the groups slows season, so not many bank transactions. Dh keeps saying to let it go but she's the treasurer with another larger organization with a much larger budget. I live in a super small town and I don't want to make false statements. What could I have missed in the books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Did $300 cash get deposited to the account after you replaced the money that she said was short? If so, you have no case because you didn't count the money in front of her. If there was any theft by the treasurer it would have been from you - in telling you that some money was missing if it wasn't. (There is a possibility the money really was short and someone took some money while it was in your possession.) If $300 was deposited then I would let it go and I would be grateful that you have a new treasurer who hopefully is more transparent in her job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I agree with Jean. Unless the tipster can be more specific, I'd let it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 If she was still your org's treasurer, I would insist on an audit. Since she's not, I don't think there's anything you can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 The rules need to be changed going forward. If an officer is consistently missing board meetings and not handling paperwork correctly, that needs to be addressed at the time. It should be clearly stated in the bylaws that, if certain things do or do not occur, that person is no longer an officer. The president, with support of other board members, needs to be on top of this. I'm not sure what you mean when you say she was supposed to bring a deposit slip to the event but didn't - do you just mean that she was supposed to bring it so it could be filled out right then and there? That really would not solve the problem of having a record of the amount of money. It doesn't help to have two people count the money unless they make a written record of it right then and there: money counted by (names printed out), this is the amount, signed and dated. This is not a substitute for counting the money in front of her when handing it over, but it at least creates a written record. Having this written record will not stop her from saying the money is short (and indeed it will not stop the money from being short, she may have been right) but it does discourage people from being careless or dishonest, and it creates a paper trail that will help the board make decisions if these things keep occurring. Along the same lines, a written record should have been created when she said money was missing. This can be as simple as sending an email to the person, copied to president: I'm sorry the money count came up short; I should have counted it with you before you left. Like we discussed, I am going to drop off the $40 to you this afternoon. I will say that, in the groups that I am in, we would not have expected you to replace the money with your own funds. We would have documented the shortage and reminded everyone to follow proper protocol in future. Document, document, document. The president needs to be on top of these things as they happen, and needs to have the mojo to address them. If any officer fails to attend meetings or follow protocols, you need to follow the steps (that should already be in place) to make them NOT an officer anymore. Anyone not willing to do this should not be on the board of a . on-profit, because being a board member comes with legal responsibilities AND liabilities. When you incorporate as a non-profit, when you are on the board of a non-profit, you are expected to know the rules and expected to follow them. It is not something to play around with, and I always urge people to think twice before gaining non-profit status for their group. Then I urge them to think a third and fourth time. The smartest advice I was ever given in the working world was, "It's not the people you fire that cause you problems; it's the people you should fire and don't." This holds true in the volunteer world as well. And yes, I've had the lovely experience of firing both paid staff and volunteers, lol. I would do nothing about this person in particular myself, and I would not repeat the anonymous tip. What I might do is point out that protocol has not been followed, and that the board might want to authorize an audit. Or at least ask a knowledgeable person for advice on whether an audit is needed. Other than that, it's not fair to feed rumors, so I wouldn't be 'warning' the other group. Fix the problem going forward in your own group. If the other group handles a significant amount of money, I should certainly hope they have protocols in place. If you have a United Way in your area, they often do training sessions for other non-profits. You might look into setting one of these up, and inviting other groups to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyx4 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Thanks for the help. Yes, I'll look into the United Way. Yes, the plan was to fill out a deposit slip and I was going to go to the bank after the event. Since I don't usually handle the money and she's been AWOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 The smartest advice I was ever given in the working world was, "It's not the people you fire that cause you problems; it's the people you should fire and don't." This holds true in the volunteer world as well. And yes, I've had the lovely experience of firing both paid staff and volunteers, lol. I would do nothing about this person in particular myself, and I would not repeat the anonymous tip. What I might do is point out that protocol has not been followed, and that the board might want to authorize an audit. Or at least ask a knowledgeable person for advice on whether an audit is needed. Other than that, it's not fair to feed rumors, so I wouldn't be 'warning' the other group. Fix the problem going forward in your own group. If the other group handles a significant amount of money, I should certainly hope they have protocols in place. If you have a United Way in your area, they often do training sessions for other non-profits. You might look into setting one of these up, and inviting other groups to participate. Regardless of the non-profit group, the finances need to be run in a responsible, transparent manner. I don't care who is in charge of the finances, it has to be done properly. I've seen some horrifying things including two cases where constant sloppiness meant that there was no way to know if things were being done properly or not. In both cases, there were no formal procedures or checks-and-balances. And I've heard the stories of a friend of mine who was on the board of a homeschool group where the finances got merged with the treasurer's personal funds, and then when her husband left her, he cleaned out all of the accounts and left town! I've periodically seen local seminars also run by the Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Office for non-profits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 One thing that has helped in several groups I've been a part of is having two co-treasurers WHO ARE NOT RELATED TO EACH OTHER. Additionally, we always count money, and document the count in writing before anyone ever leaves the activity with it. All checks must have to signatures, even for small amounts, even if it is a pain to make it happen when checks need to be written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I am the treasurer of a homeschool co-op and have found Carol Topp, "The Homeschool CPA," to be an invaluable resource. She has authored several books that you can buy in eBook or kindle format for $4-5. Her website is http://homeschoolcpa.com/. Even if this isn't a homeschool group, per se, her book Money Management in a Homeschool Organization would be well worth the $4 price tag for some specific financial protocols to put into place going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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