it would also help if I spell checked!!!!
Good thing I am not the secretary this year! :confused: [img]tongue.gif[/img]

On my last post- the exaple I gave you got messed up in the posting

Hospitality-
Total Budgetted $500.00
Total available as of this date- $450.00
Total expenditures (since last report) $50.00
Total remaining- $400.00

Most treasurer reports (in our area at least)
start with the budget- then post the activity in that budget area ewach month.
Example-
Date of Report- Jun 1, 2005

Hospitality Budget Available to date
$500.00 $450.00
Expenditure(since last report) Remaining
$50.00 $400.00

You can do this type of thing on a spreadsheet and it looks a lot better.
In short- do this for every line item on your budget- if no activity write N/A
Bottom line of the budget is amount remianing total-(whole budget).

I have found this is very easy to read, and understand. I also color code to help people know how much is available in THEIR area.
(but some people might find that over kill).
Most people don't want to know how many checks were written that month (although I do keep an anecdotal log of that for myself) . That all gets turned in with my books at te end of the year audit.

The one thing that I would suggest is don't start creating elaborate reports just because there aren't any currently in place.

While I believe a treasurer should be prepared with information and be willing to share anything regarding the PTO books, most people don't care to see line item register entries or detailed reports.

I became our PTO treasurer in November and had the same question regarding what I need to provide at our meetings. No one seemed to have a specific answer, so I just went with a copy of our current budget and where we currently stood with it. That seemed to suffice. Most meetings, no one asks for Treasurer type info.

On occasion, I do get an email from a board member/chairperson asking where we stand on a particular budget item such as how much do we have left for Hospitality. And, I am more than willing to provide them with as much detail as they need. However, the general PTO population probably doesn't need nor want to know that during a board or general meeting.

Now, that being said, I do realize that different groups may want different information and maybe your group is asking for more detailed reports. So, maybe better reports are warranted in this case. But, don't feel like you have to do it just because it isn't currently being done.

Just my $0.02.

[ 05-25-2005, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: Goalie220 ]

The treasurer I worked with used Quicken. If anyone wanted to see where a check was spent or where she'd take them to her office and bring it up. For meetings just a short summary was given and really all that was needed. Parents, students, and staff work hard for that money and also there was some special accounts so hearing the amount of deposits and where the money was spent gave a sense of satisfaction of a job well done. But you don't want so much detail that everyone will fall asleep.

I think of the monthly Treasurer's Report as a tool for financial decision-making. Though Robert's Rules of Order recommends a standard design, I don't think is does squat to support decision making. RRO's report just lists the disbursements (checks written) and the deposits for the month, with an updated balance. Ok, that shows what transactions took place, but you can't interepret the meaning of those transactions from that report. How does that help the PTO plan or make decisions?

Our treasurer makes two reports each month. The RRO style (The Transaction Report) goes only to the officers so they can see the in's and the out's of the account. The other report goes to everyone at our monthly meeting, and the treasurer reviews if for the crowd. This is the Performance to Budget report.

We set up a comprehensive budget at the start of the school year with about 10 income categories and 20 expense categories. We set a budget for each category and approve it at our first meeting. This becomes our financial guide for the year. It's also extrememly useful because as long as an expenditure is within budget, we don't need to vote on indivudual spending requests as the year goes on.

Throughout the year, the treasurer posts every transaction (check or deposit) against one or more category. Then, each month, we can calculate how well we're doing for each category. The report we use is an excel layout, based on info we post to Quicken. This report can show things like: did we make budget on our fall fundrasier? does staff appreciation have enough money left over to cater the spring luncheon? the popcorn committee got the supplies donated this year so their $100 budget could be reallocated to some other category, how much money is leftover from the field day budget? and so on. It's far more useful information for leading your PTO than just a list of transactions.

As a member of the PTO, you should not be made to feel uncomfortable asking for the type of information you seek. The treasurer is the custodian of the money - she doesn't own it. Fact is, though, that people feel threatened by someone--especially a "newbie"-- asking for more info when the old way has always been fine before. That's basically how I became treasurer - I figured I better put up or shut up.

I will email you a copy of our excel report if you send a message to gcforhanATjunoDOTcom.