Question: Hiring a treasurer?

My PTO is struggling with finding—and keeping—a treasurer who can keep up with and fulfill the requirements of the job. We’re thinking about providing some sort of stipend or even hiring a bookkeeper. Do you know of any groups that have run into similar problems and what they have done about it?

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Advice from PTO Today

Elly writes:

Before you hand over your books (or your cash!) to a professional bookkeeper, Elly thinks you should try recruiting a treasurer from within one last time. While it’s true the role carries a lot of responsibility, keep in mind that it’s not rocket science. And because the duties change very little from year to year, it’s also rather straightforward. In fact, all it really takes is someone with good organizational skills who can add and subtract accurately.

The key to a person’s success as treasurer (or any other job) lies within your organization itself. If your group has clearly defined and documented the treasurer’s duties and implemented sound financial controls, no one coming into the job should have to wing it. Even better, arrange for her to learn the ropes under the guidance and direction of a veteran leader.

And check out PTO Today’s Treasurer resources page. The PTO Manager finance management software makes it easy to keep financial records organized, and the Treasurer’s Toolkit has helpful forms, documents, and step-by-step instructions.

Find out whether potential candidates share common concerns. A big one is that it’ll take more time than any one person can commit. If that’s the case, why not suggest job-sharing? Cotreasurers can switch off performing certain tasks or even just split them up from the start. One person might make deposits while the other handles reimbursement requests, for example.

If you still have no luck, Elly suggests asking your superintendent about contracting with the district’s bookkeeper or finance officer for help with the books. But if you do end up arranging for help from a professional bookkeeping service, don’t “hire” the bookkeeper as an employee of your group; instead, pay this person as an independent contractor, much like you would a cultural performer at a PTO event.