Treasurer’sChest:RoleDescription
foraCharity’sTreasurer
SomeDirectorsofacharityareknownas‘Officers’andhavespecialresponsibilities.Theseusually
includethechair,treasurer,secretaryandinsomecasesotherdesignatedofficers.
Inadditiontofulfillingtheresponsibilitiesofadirector,eachOfficerhasotherresponsibilitiesthatare
usuallydefinedingovernancedocumentsorbylaws.
GeneralresponsibilitiesoftheTreasurer
Thetreasurerwilloverseethefinancialmatters ofthecharityinlinewithgoodpracticeandin
accordancewiththegoverningdocumentandlegalrequirementsandreporttotheboardofdirectorsat
regularintervalsaboutthefinancialhealthoftheorganization.
Thetreasurerwillensurethateffectivefinancialmeasures,controlsandproceduresareputinplace,and
areappropriateforthecharity.
Despitetheadditionalresponsibilitythetreasurerhasinoverseeingthefinancialmattersofthecharity,
alldirectorscontinuetobejointlyandseverallyresponsible,andthereforeliable, fortheadministration
ofthecharity
Tothisend,theTreasurershouldreport onthecurrentfinancialpositionofthecharityateachBoard
meetingandthisshouldberecordedintheminutes.Thereportshouldincludeanupdateonfunds
receivedandspentsincethelastreport.IftheTreasurerisunabletoattendacommitteemeeting,a
writtenreportshouldbesenttotheChairatleastoneortwodaysbeforethemeeting.Allfinancial
decisionstakenshould berecordedintheminutesofthemeeting.
Liaisonwithstaffresponsibleforthefinancialmanagementofthecharity
AnimportantfirststepforaTreasureristoliaisewithstaffresponsibleforthefinancialmanagementof
thecharity.Mostsmallandruralchari tieshavealimitedstaffcomplimentwhichoftendoesnotinclude
aFinanceDirector.
TheTreasureranddesignatedstaffneedtodiscussproceduresfortheday‐to‐dayaccountingand
financialpracticestoensureclarityabouttheirroles,responsibilitiesandcommunicationpractices.As
anOfficeroftheboard,theTreasurerhasadesignatedroleinoverseeingthefinancialmattersofthe
boardandensuringotherdirectorsareadequatelyinformedoffinancialrelatedissuestoensuregood
decision‐making.
TheTreasurermustfindwaystobalancetheirneedtohaveadequateinformationandinvolvementto
fulfillthisresponsibility,knowingthatthattheywillnotbedirectlyinvolvedintheday‐to‐dayoperations
andrecordkeeping.
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