Should the role of treasurer be abolished?
At the Honorary Treasurers Forum in June, speaker and charity accountant, Hilary Seaward, suggested the role of honorary treasurer should be abolished as it stops other trustees from taking on responsibility for their charity’s finances.*
She said that she has met many trustees who are not the treasurer who feel no responsibility to involve themselves with their charity’s finances as they believe it is not their role.
Seaward suggested ways to involve trustees in charity accounting, including asking them to take it in turns to do the role of treasurer or asking all trustees to sign off the charity’s balance sheet.
Whilst I agree with Hilary Seaward that all trustees should be fully aware of their charity’s financial position and performance, I do not think that the role of treasurer should be abolished. Without a specific individual dedicated to overseeing financial performance, it would be all too easy for matters to be overlooked and a lack of attention to detail could lead to the development of serious financial issues.
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*Source: civilsociety.co.uk