treasurer's report?

When presenting a treasurer’s report what would you recommend? Our previous treasurer simply read the profit & loss statement. As the new treasurer I feel it is important to keep the membership apprised of the delinquent assessments by including in the report the total amount in the rears along with the total number of units (I would not list names or unit #s), # of units with demand letters, liens and foreclosurers. Also report the checking account balance and checks written for the month and last monies in the reserve account. Is this over kill and should I do as the last treasurer and only read the profit and lose statement? After giving the report is the report given to the Secretary? I’d love to hear what other treasurers include in their reports.
Thanks

I think the Board needs to see a year-to-date Revenue/Expenses compared to the budgeted amounts for each budget line item.

Balance sheet also showing all all other funds i.e. Reserve, Emergency, etc.

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All the other stuff (check ledger, etc.) can be gone over by the Finance Committee at their meetings.

MichaelDe, our membership’s questions regarding outstanding assessments has gone unanswered, and is the reason I want to give a more in-depth report. Your report is exactly what I was looking for…. thanks. By the way do you turn in your report to the Sec?

MissyS

I favor more formality than indicated in the various replies. First, the treasurer should ensure that accounting conforms to general accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For owners associations, the controlling accounting standard is the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide for Common Interest Realty Associations.

The monthly financial reports should be the usual and customary financial statements: statement of financial position (balance sheet), statement of activities (profit and loss), and statement of cash flows. If fund accounting is used (highly recommended), the reserves and other restricted funds will be included with both balances and activities shown. Most of the items described by MicheleD are line items in one or more of the financial statements. The statements would normally shown for current month and year to date, with comparisons to budget and prior year.

Other indicators, tailored to the specifics of the association, are often very helpful. Graphical presentations of information are also very helpful. Without the formality described above, there is a tendency for unfavorable information to not be reported.

As SusanW1 states, the report is received by the Secretary and filed. A motion is not required. My view is that the general membership should never be asked to approve a report — even an audit — since they lack the knowledge and expertise to evaluate the correctness of the report. The auditor certifies the correctness subject to stated limitations.

Prad - the audit that is used to certify the Treasurer's report and is presented at the annual meeting is performed by a CPA or a Bookeeper, or a group doing an audit review.

You have used the word "audit" to mean "going over the financial transactions" in another post or "looking over the books or ledger."

A good "audit of the transaction" may start from the checkbook (the expenditure), then work backwards to the bidding process, signed contracts, insurance/worker's comp requirements, and then to the motion that established the work in the first place.

Does anyone have a template that they could share with me? Will be doing my first report and have been searching for a template or excel sheet that I could plug in #'s easily. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Don,

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Our monthly report is part of our management report, so all the board members had a copy. As treasurer, I'd prepare a summary of the numbers and pass that around, but speak about various highlights. We treated delinquencies the way you do and our report also included notes from the attorney or property manager regarding decisions the board needed to make, such as file a lien or make an appearance in bankruptcy court, so I would mention those accounts (numbers only) review the note and then we'd take a vote.

I suggest a simple budget vs actuals report on a regular basis. I would also do a yearly review of the reserve account.

I would NOT at anytime discuss delinquency in per unit detail. A general we were owed $100 this month and only received $90 would be fine. Calling out individual units can get tense and create massive resentment between units.