Question: Prior Years President and missing money

Last year we had a few incidents of missing money. Our PTA president for that year had “lost” an approximate of $500.00. When confronted about the missing money he/she said that it was given to someone to put it in the safe or that he/she has no clue what had happened to the money. Another incident that occurred is the membership payments made by parents either with cash or checks which none of it was deposited into the bank account and dues to State, National and County were never paid for that year. All the forms, checks and cash are missing and cannot be located according to them. This year he/she is the First VP, I am the President this year. Unfortunately, with all this information coming out I am very weary of having he/she on the board and let alone entrusting he/she to run the school store. What would best way in having them resign the VP position?

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi anonymous,
While it certainly sounds like something's not right with the finances, it would also not be right to make this person resign unless it's clear he or she was involved in financial improprieties. It seems like you need an independent person to come in and review the books to determine what has happened and, if it does emerge that there is proof of missing money, then you need to alert the authorities.

In the meantime, understand your uneasiness. It's ok to be careful with this person. It is a good idea, regardless of circumstances, to have two adults run the school store. We recommend that two volunteers always be involved in counting money.

These two articles have helpful tips about procedures you can implement to help avoid future problems:

Handling Cash: 6 Simple Steps

5 Smart Financial Controls

Hang in there,

Rose C.