A lot of people have asked if you need to be an accountant to be a school council treasurer. The simple answer is no. Having an accounting background can be helpful, but it is not necessary. Here is everything you need to know and more about how to be an effective school council treasurer.
Qualities:
- Desire to serve the students, the council, the school and the board
- Understanding the role of the school council
- Basic computer skills such as Excel, Quicken or similar would be helpful for preparing financial statements and budget
- Strong organizational skills
- Good at keeping files
- Appreciate the value of a balanced budget
- Understand the need for a good paper trail i.e. Invoices, cheque requests etc.
- Enjoy working with numbers
- Willing to be responsible for school finances
Responsibilities:
- Work with council to prepare the annual budget
- Process and record all financial transactions on behalf of the council
- Prepare a monthly financial report and present at each meeting
- Remind council members to adhere to the budget when considering new ideas
- Complete any financial documents required by the council, school, board or Ministry
- Reconcile all accounts
Typical Tasks:
- Count money received by the council (along with one other member)
- Prepare bank deposits
- Complete cheque requests as required
- Adhere to financial control policies of the school board
- Prepare monthly financial reports
- Prepare annual financial reports
- Participate in all executive and council discussions and voting
It really helps when the person who held the job previously will give you some good guidance. There are lots of resources on the Parents Engaged in Education website. If you can’t find the information in one of our blogs/articles be sure to reach out to other parent council members via our parent engagement forum.
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