Download Being a Secretary

The Roles and
Responsibilities of
Secretary and Treasurer
by
Marie J. Amerson
&
Ginny Backscheider
Being a Secretary
Marie Amerson, AER Board Secretary
(2004-2008)
Being a Secretary Roles & Responsibilities
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Who are you?
Member of the organization
Member of a chapter and division
Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
... and the person responsible for the
formal records or your organization
Being a Secretary Roles & Responsibilities
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Serve as member of the Board of Directors
Attend meetings of membership and Board of Directors
and participate in discussions
Embrace a larger role as a chapter and division leader
and keep constituents informed
Be prepared to call the meeting to order if
president/chair and the president-elect/chair-elect are
not present
Take responsibility for records of the organization,
seeing they are properly maintained
Being a Secretary Roles & Responsibilities
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Maintain official register of members & directors
Prepare minutes of membership and Board of
Directors meetings
Disseminate minutes to Board of Directors
Ensure minutes of previous meetings are properly
reviewed, corrected as necessary, and officially
approved by the Board of Directors as the formal
record of the organization
See that minutes are properly maintained and
archived
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
• Consult Robert’s Rules of Order
• Maintain an official register of members
and directors (name, contact info,
membership info)
• Maintain all committee reports and
other official records of the organization
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
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Consider using one binder to hold official
documents and organizational information
Consider using a second binder to keep:
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Official listing of Board of Directors, contact
info, date of election, terms of service, etc.
The minutes of all meetings along with
accompanying documents, categorized
according to type and chronological order
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
• Minutes are a record of what was
DONE by the group; it is not a verbatim
record of what was SAID by the
members.
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
Minutes should show:
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name of the organization or group (chapter,
division, Board, membership)
kind of meeting being held (regular or slated,
special)
logistics - date, starting time, location
roster of those present or absent, name of
presiding officer, and recorder of the minutes
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
Minutes should show:
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status of minutes from previous meeting (read and
approved, approved with corrections, etc)
all main motions acted upon (with wording as
adopted or disposed of) and the disposition
secondary motions where needed for clarity of
minutes
points of order and appeals
time of adjournment
Being a Secretary
Prior to meeting
• Coordinate with presiding officer to
prepare an order of business
• Send out notice of the meeting
• Determine how the minutes will be
recorded
• Prepare templates for minutes, motions
tracking, and motions submittals
Being a Secretary
During the meeting
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Sit in a position where you can hear all members
so you keep an accurate record
Record attendance as people assemble and/or
pass around a roster for signatures
Tag agenda items to use for identifying or
indexing notes and/or minutes with items on the
agenda
Obtain notes/reports from individuals giving
lengthy or official reports to the assembly
Being a Secretary
During the meeting
• Disseminate copies of the Motions form to the
assembly or stack in an accessible area
• Complete motion tracker template and collect
Motions forms as the meeting progresses
• Depending on Board policy, the minutes
may/may not include:
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the names of persons who moved and seconded
how the vote is recorded (by count, by roll call, etc.)
Being a Secretary
During the meeting
• Keep notes and record actions of the
assembly to condense into minutes
after the meeting
• List any unfinished business to add to
the next meeting’s agenda
• Record the time of adjournment
Being a Secretary
After the meeting
• Upon Board approval of previous meeting’s
minutes, sign, date, and file those minutes in the
official record of the organization
• Write up the latest minutes while the meeting is
still fresh
• Have the presiding officer review the draft
minutes to ensure accuracy
• Distribute the minutes to the assembly soon
after the meeting and include a reminder of
actions they committed to do
Being a Secretary
Other notes
•At the next meeting, present the minutes
for official approval
•Only corrections to the minutes are
made; there is no debate on the content
•Minutes for Closed Door or Executive
Sessions are brief and any written
minutes are confidential
Being a Secretary Strategies & Tips
Mi·nute
• Noun
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1.
A period of time equal to sixty seconds or a sixtieth of an hour.
2.
A summarized record of the proceedings at a meeting.
Verb
Record or note (the proceedings of a meeting or a specified item
among such proceedings).
Synonyms
Record - protocol - report
Being a
Secretary
Being a Treasurer
Ginny Backscheider
Past AER Ohio Chapter Treasurer
Past AER Board Treasurer
Current Administration Division Secretary/Treasurer
The Treasurer Takes
Care of the
Main Duties of
Treasurer
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Bank Account
Chapter Budget
Audit
Financial Report for AER
IRS Filing
Manual for Chapter
Treasurer
Past Financial
Records are Important
Obtaining a New Bank
Account
• New Signature Cards
• Check Signers
Deposits
• Deposits: Rebates, Fees Other
• Expenses: All checks written, approved by
Board
• Reconcile each month: Quicken, Excel,
MONEY, or ledger
Written Treasurer’s
Report
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Prepare for each Board meeting
Use financial software program to track funds
Financial ledger written report
Information available in Treasurer’s Manual
Use format Board requires
Report to
Membership
• Given annually
• Format decided by Board
Legal Issues for
Chapters
Chapter TaxExemptions and IRS
Filings
Chapters are listed under AER’s Group Exemption “umbrella”
only for the purpose of being a tax-exempt organization.
May 2010: IRS began revoking tax-exempt status for U.S.
organizations who did not file annual returns for last 3 years.
If chapter’s tax-exempt status was revoked, chapters are no
longer exempt from federal income tax and lose eligibility to
receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.
Chapter TaxExemptions and IRS
Filings
The effective date of revocation is the original filing
due date of the 3rd annual Form 990 return that
was required to be filed, but was not filed.
To apply for re-instatement of tax-exempt status,
U.S. chapters must file IRS Form 1023 and pay the
income taxes applicable to the period of time
during which the chapter was not tax-exempt.
Chapter TaxExemptions and IRS
Filings
Re-filing fee of $100, $400 or $850.
AER recommendation: Hire lawyer or
accountant to help file Form 1023.
Chapter Insurance
• General Liability Insurance
• Association Professional Liability Insurance
(D&O)
• Event Cancellation Insurance
Hotel Insurance
Requirements
• Most hotel contracts require group to have
general liability insurance (bodily
injury/property damage)
• May require certificate of coverage
Fundraising Issues
• Check state regulations
• Keep excellent financial records
• “Contributions” not “sales”
Division Treasurer
• Division budgets are part of AER’s overall
budget
• Expenses approved by Board of Directors
• Submit budget requests on time
• Work with central office to determine cost
estimates for specific projects.
• Conference years: Awards, meal functions,
scholarships
• Communication is key!
Questions?!?!