Treasurer

The area treasurer’s job is critical to the committee’s work. Because of the added responsibility of handling money associated with service as treasurer, it’s especially important that area committees select their treasurers with care. If the committee selects someone who is not capable of handling the job, then the committee is at least partly responsible if money is stolen, area expenses are not paid, or funds aren’t properly accounted for. It's recommended that areas elect people to this position who are financially secure, good at managing their personal finances, inspire the trust of the committee, and have substantial clean time. Experience in business, accounting, bookkeeping, or as a successful group treasurer is also very helpful. The treasurer receives contributions from the groups, administers the area’s checking account, pays the rent for the committee’s meeting hall, reimburses officers and subcommittee chairs for their budgeted expenses, keeps careful records of all transactions, and reports on the financial condition of the area committee at each of its meetings. As the administrator of the area’s unified general fund, the treasurer is also responsible to prepare an annual budget2 for the area committee. The Treasurer’s Handbook, available from the World Service Office, contains a more detailed description of the treasurer’s job and most of the forms treasurers need for keeping their records. Cash transactions can create a number of problems for ASC treasurers. Having large quantities of currency can make an area treasurer particularly vulnerable to robbery. Handling large undocumented sums of cash may also leave the treasurer open to unwarranted accusations of theft, or may even provide an unnecessary temptation. That’s why we encourage groups to make their ASC contributions in the form of checks or money orders payable to the area service committee whenever possible. When treasurers receive cash contributions for their areas, they should always make out receipts to the contributors immediately, keeping copies for themselves with their official records. Wide experience also strongly suggests that, to help prevent theft, area committees should only use two-signature checks to pay their bills. In order for a check to be valid, it should be signed by the treasurer and another ASC administrative officer. These cautions are offered to protect the treasurer from controversy as well as to protect area funds. Discussions of other considerations relating to both the treasurer’s responsibilities and area finances appear later in this chapter. Readers can find more on general NA funding issues, including security and accountability, in the essay on Concept Eleven appearing in the chapter on the Twelve Concepts for NA Service earlier in this guide.