csgrhg56 Posted June 10, 2012 at 06:46 AM Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 06:46 AM Our quilt guild's Board votes to approve the monthly Treasurer's report. Someone told me recently, this vote was not in accordance to Roberts Rules. Our By-Laws state that "the Treasurer shall keep accurate records of all funds of the organization and shall make a monthly, written, itemized report, to be posted on the guild bulletin board in the lobby of the meeting area, accessible to members and reflecting income and expnditures." The Board has always voted to approve the report before it's posted. Are we wrong? Our financial records are reviewed annually by an auditor but not monthly. The By-Laws also state "the books may also be audited at the request of the Board or any member in good standing with just cause." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted June 10, 2012 at 10:32 AM Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 10:32 AM There is no call or RONR requirement to "approve" the treasurer's monthly report at all. p. 479After all, how do the board members know that the report is correct? By "approving" it they are buying a pig in a poke; meanwhile the treasurer might be on his way to South America....It is the auditor's job to check the reports, particularly the annual report, for accuracy. The auditor's report does get adopted, not "approved". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted June 10, 2012 at 11:11 AM Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 11:11 AM . . . any member in good standing with just cause."And while you're at it you might want to make sure everyone's on the same page when it comes to defining "good standing" and "just cause". The latter is often in the eye of the beholder (in other words, it's essentially meaningless and might be more properly written as "just because"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csgrhg56 Posted June 10, 2012 at 02:58 PM Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 02:58 PM Thank you. Looks like what we were doing was not wrong, just unnecessary. We thought the Board should "approve" anything that gets posted at monthly general meetings. From now on we'll" review" the treasurer's report (which the treasurer presents in person, so she can't slip off to South Amierica.)We have defined "good standing" elsewhere in our By-Laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted June 10, 2012 at 03:04 PM Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 03:04 PM Thank you. Looks like what we were doing was not wrong, just unnecessary....'No action of acceptance by the assembly is required -- or proper -- on a financial report of the treasurer unless it is of sufficient importance, as an annual report, to be referred to auditors.' (RONR 11th ed. p. 479 ll. 5-8, emphasis added) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csgrhg56 Posted June 10, 2012 at 07:40 PM Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 07:40 PM How is voting to approve the Treasurer's report "improper?" What our Board did was neither immoral, unethical, or illegal, just unnecessary. Please explain how it was "improper." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted June 10, 2012 at 08:21 PM Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 at 08:21 PM Trina's quote from Rober'ts Rules refers to procedurally proper.From a practical standpoint it's decidedly unwise for an assembly to go on record saying this is how much we have in our account, and this is what we took in an spent this month when the report is unaudited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tctheatc Posted June 11, 2012 at 02:26 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 02:26 PM How is voting to approve the Treasurer's report "improper?" What our Board did was neither immoral, unethical, or illegal, just unnecessary. Please explain how it was "improper."Because by approving it you are attesting to its accuracy, an accuracy that has not been verified by an audit or something similar. Therefore it is procedurally improper, according to RONR, to approve it. Nobody is saying that the alternative is that you are doing something nefarious, although that is what you seem to be inferring from the use of the term "(im)proper". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted June 11, 2012 at 02:26 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 02:26 PM How is voting to approve the Treasurer's report "improper?" What our Board did was neither immoral, unethical, or illegal, just unnecessary. Please explain how it was "improper."No, it was not immoral, unethical, or (presumably) illegal, but it certainly was improper. Ask yourself why you would vote to approve a financial report that had not been properly audited. Suppose fraud were detected later, and you were on record as agreeing with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest csgrhg Posted June 19, 2012 at 03:43 PM Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 at 03:43 PM Many thanks for the clarification. I "get it" now. We won't vote to approve the report in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thank you Posted February 20, 2018 at 12:51 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 12:51 PM I've gotten a lot of pushback from various boards I've served on when I suggested that we no longer approve unaudited treasurer reports however instead vote to accept it or make a note in the minutes showing that has been received. So thank you for adding to the credibility of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted February 20, 2018 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 01:50 PM 54 minutes ago, Guest Thank you said: I've gotten a lot of pushback from various boards I've served on when I suggested that we no longer approve unaudited treasurer reports however instead vote to accept it or make a note in the minutes showing that has been received. So thank you for adding to the credibility of this. You actually should not even vote to accept it. The chair sit simply thinks the treasurer for his report and then moves on to the next item of business. However, the president may say something to the effect of. "Thank you Mr. Treasurer. Your report will be placed on file". You do not approve it. You do not accept it. You merely place it on file without voting on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Who's Coming to Dinner Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:56 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 02:56 PM On 6/11/2012 at 7:26 AM, Gary Novosielski said: No, it was not immoral, unethical, or (presumably) illegal, but it certainly was improper. Gads, think of the uproar that might ensue had RONR described such a thing as "inappropriate." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted February 20, 2018 at 04:03 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 at 04:03 PM And all this time I thought Trina, Mr. Mountcastle and tc all returned in one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted February 21, 2018 at 06:43 PM Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 at 06:43 PM On 2/20/2018 at 7:51 AM, Guest Thank you said: I've gotten a lot of pushback from various boards I've served on when I suggested that we no longer approve unaudited treasurer reports however instead vote to accept it or make a note in the minutes showing that has been received. So thank you for adding to the credibility of this. You appear to be responding to a several year old question. Or perhaps you are a visitor from the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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