The treasurer reports to a meeting of the trustees/committee that there has not been time to produce any accounts or financial report for the meeting:
- The committee consider that they cannot exercise their full responsibilities for the financial management of the hall and agrees measures to ensure accounts are brought before a further meeting of the trustees within 14 days
- The meeting considers that the hall finances are in good order and that a review is not really essential anyway
- The treasurer is asked to promise that accounts and/or a report will be available for the next meeting
It is so easy when dealing with volunteers in posts to take the 'soft' option! How can you put pressure on a volunteer treasurer who freely gives their time and expertise for nothing? Surely, if there is plenty of money in the bank option 2 is fine? If option 2 is a bit slack in your view then option 3 would be fine?
Sadly no. The trustees have an absolute and essential role to keep the finances of their charity/hall under close review. This should be done at EVERY meeting as a matter of course and this should not be negotiable!
What no one knows in this situation is whether there is an underlying problem with the finances or the treasurer is in control of the situation. This situation should start alarm bells ringing straight away. It is not necessarily that the treasurer has something to hide but I wonder how many fraud cases have started with a series of excuses for not producing accounts and then the next thing anyone knows the treasurer is in the Bahamas! More likely, this may be an indication the treasurer cannot cope due to other commitments or may be health issues or some other factor. To let this go can be the start of a down hill unstoppable slide and the committee need to act quickly to find out if there really is a problem that needs addressing. Option 1 it has to be for everyone's sake, including the treasurer.