Question: Where is the money?

I am the new president of our PTG. All last year while I was secretary, we had issues getting the treasurer to pay bills, the bill for the open house dinner (cafeteria), the event was in Oct, didn't get paid till feb. Other bills were paid in the same untimely manner. She never brought an actual bank statement to any meetings and about every third month she'd bring a home comp generated spreadsheet with the numbers plugged in. When she didn't have a report it was because her comp. was down (three times in a year). We recently ordered a large piece of playground equip. We eeded a check, like three weeks ago and had the hardest time getting it, when she finally brought it to the school she asked them to hold it till Mon. I was frustrated and went to the bank, got my name on the account and a copy of June's statement. We should have about 16K in the account, it is looking more like 3K. There are several ATM withdraws at $300-$400 each time just in June...PTG doesn't do anything in June! What are my next steps,,,,keep in mind I'd rather not confront her maybe just to ask if there is another account?? I don't know, and now my name is on the account too, what should I do???

Asked by lorimae1

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
Step 1 is to audit your books. You could have a committee do it, but in this case you should probably hire a CPA. This should be a standard procedure ever year anyway, and in this case their are irregularities so you absolutely need to do it. It seems obvious that your treasurer has been taking money, so she will resist this, but you have to be strong. Keep in mind that people have given your group money to help the school and the kids, and the treasurer has taken it for her own benefit. When you do find that there has been theft of money, you should report it to the police. Don't sweep it under the rug -- if you do, there's nothing to prevent this person from going to another organization like the scouts, for example, and doing the same thing. You also need to institute several financial controls, including having someone other than the treasurer receive the bank statement every month. When you tell the parents in your school about the theft, let them know what steps you've taken to prevent it in the future. I have three articles I urge you to read: Preventing Theft from the PTO, 5 Smart Financial Controls, and Annual Audit: How and Why. I'm sorry you find yourself in this position. Best wishes, and please let us know how things turn out.

Community Advice

lorimae1 writes:
Well, Here is an update. We have had an audit, it's not totally complete, and they said they may never come up with a number that is solid. There was such poor documentation and record keeping that is making that difficult. However, upon meeting with the former treasurer, the person in question, She admitted to taking moey, and has given back a bunch of it. $15,7000. to date! Not sure what we do now, I think that we need to give the info over to the Sheriff and then the DA, and let them see if there is a "case" The eveidence is splotchy because of the poor record keeping, and documentation, that it would be hard to get a conviction. I do think however that should the group, our PTG choose not to go forward, we may be violating some kind of law about knowing there was a crime and not reporting it, that may cause trouble for us in the future...That part is not entirely clear, that was advice from a judge in Mass, Maine laws are different I am sure. Anyway, that is where we are now. She is remorseful, she has made some resitution, but is it enough??

Advice from PTO Today

Rockne writes:
I would get legal authorites involved. You can do that with compassion and you can make choices later about how you want to proceeed -- but you are not financial investogators and you're not experienced in asking right questions and looking in right places. I believe you have a responsibility first to making sure you get all of the money back that rightfully should be benefitting your school. And only a professional can make that happen. I also believe that prosecution for this kind of thing is warranted, but that's a different call and I at least understand when that is avoided. Contacting the authorities does not mean eventual prosecution. Two different steps. Tim

Community Advice

lorimae1 writes:
Thank you for all of your help and support in the issue. Soon after my last post, we did indeed hand all documents/evidence/ everything to our local sheriff's dept. They are handling it now and it is out of our hands. I have been told upon the detective meeting her and she admitting to him her theft, she was charged with theft. I am so proud of our group and the was we handled this matter. Everyone was very compassionate and professional, always keeping in mind the children involved. I am hoping for a wonderful year for our school and PTG, we are energized and ready to get our events and FUN on! Thanks again

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
Thanks for the update, and I'm glad to hear you're emerging from this in such a positive way. It's a tough situation, but it sounds like you confronted it head on and things worked out. Good luck with the year ahead!

Community Advice

lorimae1 writes:
Well, I am writing to keep you all updated. We are still in the legal process of this. She has been charged and indicted, after confessing to the crime. It is a class B felony theft with unauthorized taking in the amount of (gulp) $27,000. It seems like a lot but she was treasurer for 3 years, and we bring in about $10K a year, not to mention what was in there when she took her position. Also keep in mind that there wasn't very many purchases in the past. Well, we have been spending money like crazy. She has paid back over $15K and we have made many changes to our bylaws and structure. It has not been easy in a small town to keep this quiet, and a few of us on the board have been victims of phone calls and other means of harassment. She is scheduled for a July court date. We thought this would be long over by now, but it has almost been a year since we figured it out and set out on this path. What a bumpy bumpy road! Thanks for sticking it out here with me.