Misuse of money

[scoutldr]

Well, scorpionace, I may be full of bull. But it seems like every time you post, we get just another piece of the puzzle revealed. If you had given us the whole story in your first post, my advice would have been: You ain't gonna win this one and you're never gonna be happy with this troop, and they're not gonna change any time soon. Just take your boy and move on.

[scorpionace]

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

[Hal_Crawford]

Wow! That suddenly turned ugly. Oh, well.

[scoutldr]

So much for the "cool head". I think I see now what the problem is.

[emb021]

FWIW, I am not sure what the BSA says about troop finances. As a parliamentarian, this is what I understand is recommended for most similiar groups.

 

* the treasurer should submit to the group a financial statement each month. This statement should note the opening & closing balance for the month, any income (and the source), any expenses (and the reason). These monthly statements should be given to the secretary and also kept by the treasurer (for the audit).

 

* an annual audit of the books should be conducted by 3-4 members of the organization. The monthly statements produced by the treasurer, along with any bankstatements should be reviewed. This is done to ensure that everything was done properly. This should be done before a new treasurer takes over, or the treasurer starts a new term.

 

* ANY expenditure of funds should only be done by approval of the organization. Even if the treasurer receives a bill that should be paid, it should be brought before the group and voted on. This ensure that NOTHING is paid unless its approved.

 

The SM is not a member of the troop committee, and should have no involvement in this. The treasurer should not also be the Committee Chair, and probably should not be releated to the CC (ie, no husband/wife in these positions).

 

Hope that helps.

[AnniePoo]

Our treasurer has to write a LOT of checks for things like reimbursement to leaders for supplies, etc., payment for fees, etc. It would be extremely difficult if we required committee approval prior to her sending out payment for these types of things. Thus, we discuss major expenses, proposed expenditures that are out of the ordinary, etc. at committee meetings. However, the treasurer is required to keep extremely good records, and provides info about our accounts typically monthly. We also meet to go over the budget once a year in the summer to review the prior year and put together a tentative budget for the next year.

 

Every pack seems to handle their accounts differently, but all should be keeping excellent records and have the account/expenditure information be transparent to the committee.

[fleetfootedfox]

I agree with AnniePoo.

 

After new boys join a unit, does anybody bring it to a vote whether or not to pay their fees to council? Seems kind of pointless to have to vote when you know you really have no choice.

 

How do churches do it? Does the treasurer have to get approval from the church's vestry or board of deacons (or whoever runs the church) before paying the electric bill each month? I doubt it.

[DeanRx]

You can easily identify any "standing fees" that the committee would like to give the treasurer the authority to pay without a vote. Examples - recharter, BSA fee for new joins, Boys Life, rental on a storage shed (if your unit has one), badges / awards for monthly unit meetings, etc...

 

No need to put every little expense to a vote - as long as there are receipts for the $ spent.

 

However, its a good idea to have these in a written policy so there are no surprises and the person doing the books knows when they can cut the check and when they should ask the committee about it.

 

Additionally, many banks will allow you to set a max amount that a single signer can write for. Example - any check in the amount of over $1000 must be signed by a minimum of two people that are listed as signers on the account. This stops big draws being made without at least TWO folks knowing about it and stops any ONE signer from draining the account and jumping town (not that it would ever happen, but who knows). Check with your unit's banking institution about a limit on signle signer checks if you have a unit with lots of funds.