Must HOA Treasurer Be Certified?

A recent article in Quorum magazine published by Community Association Institute (CAI) stated, "In addition, the recent changes to Virginia law requiring the treasurer to be certified through a CAI training program, argue strongly for contracting out the treasurer's functions."

Is this correct? Must an HOA's treasurer be certified in some way? If so, how?

Can anyone provide additional information on this subject and/or reference applicable VA Code on this topic? Thanks!

I did find HOUSE BILL NO. 423 that will allow the CIC Board to establish certification programs but ONLY for those who are compensated for providing services to a COA or HOA.

I'll have to read the article to see what the article is referring to.

Hi Kelly:

This is what I found in the Planned Community statutes:

§ 55-514.2. Deposit of funds; fidelity bond.

A. All funds deposited with a managing agent shall be handled in a fiduciary capacity and shall be kept in a fiduciary trust account in a federally insured financial institution separate from other assets of the managing agent. The funds shall be the property of the association and shall be segregated for each account in the records of the managing agent in a manner that permits the funds to be identified on an individual association basis.

B. Any association collecting assessments for common expenses shall obtain and maintain a blanket fidelity bond or employee dishonesty insurance policy insuring the association against losses resulting from theft or dishonesty committed by the officers, directors, or persons employed by the association, or committed by any managing agent or employees of the managing agent. Such bond or insurance policy shall provide coverage in an amount equal to the lesser of $1 million or the amount of the reserve balances of the association plus one-fourth of the aggregate annual assessment income of such association. The minimum coverage amount shall be $10,000. The board of directors or managing agent may obtain such bond or insurance on behalf of the association.

The statutes at this time just mention fidelity bond. If you are Condominium let me know and I can check those statutes, but they will probably state something similar.

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies! Sorry I didn't reference the article name, etc. but it can be found in CAI's February 2012 Quorum, titled "Self-Managed Maybe" by Dave Watts. Indeed, the previous sentence mentions the treasurer would "be paid a modest stipend."

So accordingly, I believe the distinguishing factor for certification is for those HOA treasurers who are receiving compensation in some way, not those who are serving on a volunteer basis.

I appreciate the feedback that clarified the distinction. Sometimes reading material can be misinterpreted or ambiguous and your comments really helped. Again, many thanks.