Solar and Sustainable Energy Society of Canada Inc.

SESCI Treasurer Job Description

1. Is a member of the Board
2. Manages finances of the organization
3. Administrates fiscal matters of the organization
4. Provides annual budget to the board for members' approval
5. Ensures development and board review of financial policies and procedures

Roles:

Maintain knowledge of the organization and personal commitment to its goals and objectives; Understand financial accounting for nonprofit organizations; Serve as financial officer of the organization and as chairperson of the finance committee; Manage, with the finance committee, the board's review of and action related to the board's financial responsibilities; Work with the chief executive and the chief financial officer to ensure that appropriate financial reports are made available to the board on a timely basis; Assist the chief executive or the chief financial officer in preparing the annual budget and presenting the budget to the board for approval; Review the annual audit and answers board members' questions about the audit.

Competencies

• Have an understanding of financial accounting for nonprofit organizations.
• Ability to serve as the officer of the organization most directly responsible for its financial affairs and accounting as well as its internal and external financial reporting.
• Capacity to chair a finance committee.
• Ability to ensure fulfillment of the board's financial responsibilities, such as ensuring that appropriate financial reports (audit and annual report RC) are filed and available to the board in a timely manner.
• Ability to ensure that a review with the executive director and/or executive officers/director projected income and expenses is performed
• Ability to assist with preparing and presenting the annual operational budget for full board review and approval.
• Ability to review with the executive director and chief financial officer all financial policies and procedures (including internal controls and investments) and ensure their compliance with federal and local requirements.
• Ability to review the annual audit and ensure that board members' questions are addressed; ensure that any adverse audit findings are addressed promptly.
• Willingness to work with the executive director/president, to bring to the attention of the full board financial issues in need of resolution.
• Aptitude to have candid conversations with the executive director and auditors regarding any potential problems or areas of deficiencies.

Treasurer Job Description

The treasurer, as the financial officer and advisor, is entrusted with the tasks of maintaining the organization’s financial records, and with the receiving, holding and disbursing of funds. The treasurer's job is extremely important. The treasurer's records leave permanent, legible documentation for future treasurers to follow, and his or her diligent financial management improves the earnings and savings habits of fellow members simultaneously maximizing the organization's financial resources.

Responsibilities

• Participates in discussion and action on all of the organization’s business that involves financial transactions or affects the organization's financial position
• Assesses the financial implications of actions proposed by the organization Executive Committee
• Anticipates financial problems requiring the attention of the organization Executive Committee and raise such issues as needed
• Receives, holds and safeguards all organization and/or Society funds
• Disburses such funds only to conduct approved organization business, unless the Board of Directors directs otherwise
• Establishes a Budget Committee to help him prepare budgets. Compares actual income and expenses to budgeted amounts, monthly
• Prepares monthly financial reports for presentation to the regular Board Meetings and to the Executive Committee and membership
• Records all transactions and reconcile all bank statements
• Completes and submits an Annual Financial Report to the person inn charge of Membership and to Executive Committee
• Coordinate annual audits through the audit committee; use an independent auditing firm if the organization has a substantial - more than $10,000 - average bank balance
   

Reports for which Treasurer is responsible: 

Getting the Job Done as the Treasurer: Tips and Details

• On your first day as Treasurer, go to the bank with the former treasurer to transfer signing rights and responsibilities by completing new signature cards.
• Review this list of responsibilities such that the Treasurer’s role is clearly understood by the new person assigned as Treasurer for the following year
• Visit the on-line Banking website and demonstrate process for downloading bank statements and transaction data
• Remember that SESCI is a nonprofit organization, which means it is tax exempt as per Revenue Canada guidelines. SESCI's tax-exempt status will be lost if the money it receives is used to benefit any individual member. Therefore, no money should be used with the intent of helping a certain individuals, members, board members to personally profit
• Involve as many people as you can on your Budget Committee. You'll benefit from their input, train people for taking over your job and be able to delegate effectively for the utmost success
• Make reporting easier by creating a "paper trail" for every expense of the organization. File everything, from original receipts to expense reports to copies of checks
• Report on the financial health of the organization at every organization meeting and after every audit Deposit all income into the organization bank account as soon after receipt as possible Be sure to collect and file receipts for all expenditures
• When spending money, live by two rules: pay by check and use two signatures (for setting up bank accounts, too). See "Money: When You Spend It," later.
• Have the SESCI Audit Committee assess the books quarterly, making certain your final records are available within 15 days of the close of each quarter.
• Work to match the organization’s expenses to its income while allowing the organization adequate (but not excessive) savings to fall back on. Stick to this approach and you will help your members feel confident that their organization is serving them well and is in capable hands
• The organization is encouraged to gain revenue through fundraising activities then to utilize these proceeds to finance the development of high-quality events, information, learning opportunities, and other benefits for its members, as well as on recruitment activities that will help the organization grow. As mentioned above, the Treasurer's goal should be to expend on its current and potential members, almost as much as it receives in income.

How to Get Money

Organizations such as SESCI have a number of funding sources, from sales of advertising space in the newsletter, to attendance fees at their events, to fundraising activities, to supplemental per-member funding from SESCI Offices.

SESCI Headquarters supplements organization income by issuing funding authorization (check or wire transfers) to the treasurer quarterly. Included with second quarter funding is a base payment, which should be described in a SESCI Governance document.

Funding from SESCI Headquarters is contingent upon the organization's fulfillment of a number of requirements, including:

• The organization filing its annual Financial Report, Officer Listing Form and Organization Effectiveness Guide
• Organization representation at SESCI Professional Development Conference (or more).The amount of funding is contingent upon the size of the organization's membership.

Please place these funds - and any received at organization meetings or events, or from advertising - in the organization bank account immediately, always recording the income and its source.

Where to Keep Money

The organization should have a checking account and it is incumbent upon the treasurer to maintain a balance large enough to operate the organization for at least six months. All excess funds should be deposited in a money market or savings account. Both of these bank accounts should be held within the same bank, making the transfer of funds from one account to the other - or from the old to the new treasurer - easy and convenient.

When to Spend Money

You should, as a rule, collect and file receipts and invoices for all purchases. If, for some reason, receipts are unavailable, be sure to record all transactions and note their purposes and amounts.

When disbursing money, be sure you have proper documentation (invoices) and that you have all necessary approvals. Issue checks whenever possible, using the organization's petty cash reserves only for incidental expenses.

All check cashing and bank account transactions should require two signatures - the treasurer's and the chair's (or chair-elect's).

When recording organization expenditures, be very specific. For example, if you receive cash at a SESCI event X, record it as "event X income." If you use that cash to pay the facility where the event was held, obtain a receipt and record the expenditure as a "event expense." These specific details will help you prepare your monthly reports and future budgets.

Always create a "paper trail." This is easy if you use a "Request for Payment" or expense form that must be filled out each time a check is written. The form should include the person/organization to whom the payment is being made, the reason for the disbursement, the date of the expense, and the amount. There should be a place for three signatures: the person requesting the payment, the chair (or chair-elect) and the treasurer.

As a rule, original receipts should be attached to the "Request For Payment" before it is presented to the treasurer for disbursement of funds. This method makes record-keeping and monthly and annual reporting easier for the treasurer.

Budgets: Total Income/Total Expense

Budgeting allows you and other organization officials to determine what you want to accomplish - and what you can accomplish - in the coming year. Prepare your budget with input from all organization officials. It is generally expected that you will begin with the previous year's budget, making changes and adjustments as needed. If your organization has never had a formal annual budget, begin by listing all of your expected income. Include projected advertising revenue and event/conference income, money you expect to collect during fundraising events, etc., and anticipated payments from SESCI Headquarters. Next, go through the checkbook or previous treasurer's reports and list each expense in an appropriate category (Membership, Recruitment, Newsletter/Bulletin, etc.). Your list should be comprehensive and include:

- Newsletter: A major organization expense, the major portions of which are printing and postage costs Miscellaneous postage: Generally, this remains the same from year to year

- Estimated travel expenses: Generally, both airfare and automobile travel expenses increase each year to allow for a contingency

- Organization business and social activities: Include the costs of dinners, audio-visual rentals, speaker fees, speaker travel, meeting room rental, ticket printing, outing fees, etc.

It's also a good idea to ask other officers for estimates of their committee expenses.

A good budget will show total income and total expenses as equal, with a cushion for some contingency savings.

Charitable Donations: Documenting, Recording And Reporting Per Revenue Canada Requirements

Organizations making cash or in-kind donations are guided by the Member Unit Donations rules per the Bylaws or Revenue Canada Requirements.

Nonprofit organizations must provide donors of $250 or more with an acknowledgement that will enable them to receive a charitable contribution deduction when calculating their tax payments.

The acknowledgement must include:

- The amount of cash and a description (but not the value) of any property other than cash contributed,

- Whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the property donated,

- A description and good-faith estimate of the value of any goods or services provided by the organization in exchange for the contribution, if applicable (see Quid Pro Quo contributions, below).

Quid Pro Quo Contributions: SESCI must provide a written disclosure statement to each donor of a quid pro quo contribution in excess of $75. A quid pro quo contribution is a payment made to a charity by a donor partly as a contribution and partly for goods or services provided by the charity.

For example, if a member donates $100 for a fund-raising dinner dance, and receives a dinner valued at $40, the member has made a quid pro quo contribution.

In this example, the charitable contribution portion of the payment is $60. Even though the part of the payment available for deduction does not exceed $75, a disclosure statement must be filed because the donor's actual payment (quid pro quo contribution) exceeds $75.

In this case, the required written disclosure statement must:

Inform the donor that the amount of the contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed by the donor over the value of goods or services provided by the charity, and

Provide the donor with a good -faith estimate of the value of the goods or services that the donor received.

If the organization includes this information when it solicits the donation, it will not be necessary to provide another statement when the contribution is actually received.

Exercise care in preparing and issuing these statements. Knowingly providing a false written substantiation to a donor may be subject to Revenue Canada penalties. It may be considered aiding and abetting an understatement of tax liability.

Auditing: Procedures, Practices And Tips

The purpose of an audit is to examine and verify the accounting of the organization's funds and to make certain that the books are in good order for the incoming treasurer. While SESCI Headquarters may periodically audit organization financial records, audits are generally the responsibility of each organization and/or its agents.

SESCI urges the treasurer to audit its own financial records at least once a year; quarterly audits are recommended. If SESCI has established and followed procedures for the receipt and disbursement of funds - and documentation of such - the process will be relatively simple.

If, in the course of your audit, you find that documentation is missing or that proper care has not been taken to minimize the potential misuse of organization funds, your Audit Committee should recommend procedures to correct any deficiencies in the system.

Conducting an Audit:

Reviewing general cash, cash disbursements & cash receipts is easy if you (and the Organization Audit Committee) follow this checklist.

1. General Cash–

• Obtain December 31 Bank Statement and Reconciliation and: Review it for any unusual or significant reconciliation issues
• Reconcile the balance on the books with the organization chequebook; ensure that they agree
• Trace items listed as deposits-in-transit and outstanding checks on to the January bank statement, noting that they were recorded by the bank in the early part of January
• Trace outstanding deposits and checks to the cash receipts and disbursements journals, noting they were recorded in the proper period
• Review petty cash disbursements and reimbursements. The dollar amounts should be relatively small and reimbursements to the petty cash fund should approximate amounts actually disbursed.
• Ensure adequate documentation is available to support all disbursements
• Obtain the cash disbursements and cash receipts journals, and review for completeness and timeliness of recording activity

2. Cash Disbursements

• Obtain the canceled checks for the entire year and: Examine payee and amount
• If any "unusual" payees are noted (i.e., cash or treasurer), examine supporting documentation such as receipts or invoices to clarify the integrity of the transaction
• Examine endorsements to ensure they are the same as the payee. Closely review any second endorsements
• Review numerical sequence of checks and account for any missing checks
• Do a quality check to match date, payee, check number and amount to information recorded in the cash disbursements journal (check register)
• Compare total cash disbursements per journal to expenses reported on your organization's Annual Financial Report, confirming that the amounts are reasonable

3. Cash Receipts

• Refer to the SESCI’s balance included on the statement
• Trace the quarterly funding amounts to the bank statement for the applicable months, noting that there were timely deposits
• If the deposit contains several items, match the SESCI dues to the copy of the deposit slip and then match the total per the deposit slip to the bank statement
• Review the activity statements, noting the following:
  • Confirm that the number of people indicated as being present at an event appears reasonable. For instance, if there were approximately 300 people at a meeting, but only 200 are recorded on the statement, it should be investigated further.
  • Note whether event expenses are reasonable
• Trace deposits from event statements to the applicable month's bank statement and cash receipts journal
  • Obtain copies of the published newsletter and select several advertisements. Obtain the advertiser file and:
  • Ascertain that the charges are proper for the type of ad, length of time run, etc.
• Trace the customer's payment to the cash receipts journal and to the bank statement: Compare total receipts per cash receipts journal to total income reported on your organization's Annual Financial Report, to confirm that the amounts are reasonable

Specific SESCI Responsibilities

• When a new member fills the treasurer’s position, responsible for training the new member on the roles and responsibilities for this position.
• Maintain on-line banking access for obtaining monthly record of balance sheet and transactions. Print PDF files of above records and place into e-files to be available for monthly meetings.
• Conduct annual audit review for the next year. This experience is very worthwhile in understanding the accounting system. The confusion is usually a result of the carryover transactions from the previous year and year ending months.
• Ensure budget process is well understood by the incoming treasurer. Set up a budget for the coming year, including funds for fundraising, operating expenses, newsletters publishing, events planning, etc.
• Ensure National (membership) funding process is well understood by the incoming (future) treasurer.

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