I have a suggestion.... prepare a typed letter stating that as of September 1, 2000 Mrs. Jane Doe (your wife) has taken over the financial responsibility of the Happy Day School PTO. Mrs. Jane Doe is released from any responsibility of the financial records prior to that date. Have the board members sign it. That way if a problem ever does arise, your wife will be protected (as long as the problem deals with the past). At our PTO the new treasuer does not even touch the financial books before an audit is performed. We have a simple, standard form we use and the audit is performed by members of the PTO. Once the audit is complete, the old treasurer, the new treasurer, the President and the audit committee all sign the report. That way everybody is clear where one stopped and the new treasurer started. Good Luck. Better to be safe than sorry.
[This message has been edited by Kaylee (edited 10-18-2000).]
I am the treasurer of our K-1 PTO and I have set up several tools to help me. I use Quicken software on my PC to keep the checkbook inorder. It is extremely easy to use once you get your accounts set up. I also created (revised) 4 forms that I insist are used to manage funds: a Reimbursement Request, Deposit Notice (for incoming money), Check Request (to pay for things that aren't really a reimbursement like assemblies), and Cash Box Request (if we need cash on hand for an event). Each form has a place for key info and I keep all of them. I inherited well organized books, but the previous budget didn't balance so the monthly reports never matched the checkbook balance. The first thing I did was to start over with how much money we really had and create a budget that balanced for the new school year. The membership had to approve that budget and every expenditure we make needs to be within that plan. So far, so good. Good luck!
Thank you, Chrystal!! i will check eith our business manager to see. We have not checked into an audit yet. We were talking about paying for it...none of us thought about the b.m. fam42g..let us know how things are going. bye! :>
Boy do I understand what you guys are going through! Our books had never had a real audit. Everything was a mess. What we did was close out our old bank account and change banks to seperate the old way of doing things to a new improved way. We also added to our by-laws that an audit must be done at the end of every fiscal year (July 31). We are fortunate that our school districts business manager has volunteered to audit our books for free. If you start out fresh things should go much better than trying to find where money went...just put in place a more accountable way of doing things for the future...good luck:)
Hello fam42g! I was in your wife's shoes two years ago. I know exactly what you both are going through. I did try over and over to find those funds but was unable. I stopped looking for what wasn't there and concentrated on the money that WAS there. Your wife should not be held accountable for what took place before she was in office. No one has done that to me and I hope that they don't. What I have found out is that every year or so you can have some one come in and audit the PTO funds. As long as she is sure to keep up with all receipts and purchases that are made everything should be fine. I wanted to ask--is there a checking account for the pto? If so, who has the authority to sign on the checks? Also, do other members use personal checks or cash to pay for things and then the pto needs to reimburse? We do from time to time and we always make sure there is a reciept. Thanks for listening and I hope this helps you!
this new school year my wife has been appointed treasurer for our pto (pre-k to 2)upon handing the books over to her she was 'notified" that "the past history (financial)was questionable...however that was the past!" what accountability practices are mandated to protect funds...do individual states oversee organiztions such as pto's?
