Council and Region Treasurers

Council and Region Background

Ten of Utah's regions are large enough to be divided into councils. Each council has a council president, treasurer, and other board members to train and assist the local PTAs. Councils work with the region boards to oversee the local PTAs in their area. In the ten regions where there are no councils, the region director and board fill the role.  The regions with Councils are: Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 17, 20 and 21.

The Council Treasurer

The council treasurer can and should be the first person whom a local treasurer contacts with questions about financial issues. If additional information or help is needed, the local treasurer can then be referred to the region director (or region treasurer, if applicable) and then, if necessary, to the Utah PTA Treasurer.

Frequent communication between local treasurers and council treasurers will help facilitate appropriate accounting practices and avoid misunderstandings and problems. Training of local treasurers by council treasurers should occur throughout the year.

If there are no councils in your region, the Region Board will fill the role of council directly. 

Training

To help local PTAs be financially sound, the council PTA is responsible to oversee financial practices, reporting and training of local PTAs. The council treasurer plays a crucial role in this process.

He should be thoroughly familiar with the information in the following resources: Œ

• Utah PTA Treasurer Handbook (see page link below)
• Finance section of the annual Utah PTA President Handbook 
• Treasurer page of the Utah PTA website (utahpta.org/treasurer) Œ
• National PTA’s PTA finance section of the local Leader Kit at ptakit.org (a free website account will be required to access)

A good practice is to allocate a portion of each council meeting to training on financial topics.  The financial timeline can direct the training needed for upcoming deadlines.  Local Reports 1, 2 and 3 also ask what training topics are needed and could be a good resource as to what training is needed at any given time.  

Transistion Time

According to the bylaws, the transition period occurs between the election of the incoming officers and June 30.

Both the outgoing and the incoming officers are responsible for an effective and efficient transition between fiscal years at both the local and council level. The local and council outgoing officers will have begun the process and the local and council incoming officers will collect the year-end financial statements and audit reports. The council outgoing officers will assist local PTAs in determining what IRS filings are required and in completing the forms. The council incoming officers will make sure that filings have been submitted as applicable.  The local incoming officers will be responsible to turn in all reports to the incoming council officers, specifically the treasurer or through Memberhub. 

End of the Year Reports

The on-going involvement of the council and region in overseeing the financial practices and reporting of the local PTA will prove invaluable as the end of the fiscal year approaches. The addition of some proactive, handson participation in the transition will help ensure a smooth hand-off from the outgoing officers to the incoming officers.

The council/region is responsible to facilitate this transition

Each council, under the direction of the region director, can decide how best to help facilitate the process within its council.

Among the possibilities are any or all of the following: Œ

• Hold transition training for both outgoing and incoming presidents and treasurers in all local PTAs in the council (or region) in April or May. Œ
• Send email reminders and/or make phone calls to outgoing presidents and treasurers in April or May to make sure that auditors, or auditing committees, are being selected and to inform the outgoing and incoming officers about the transition process. Œ
• Schedule small group meetings, with both outgoing and incoming presidents and treasurers, in each local PTA prior to the closing of the books and/or after the conclusion of the Annual Financial Reconciliation (AFR).
• Send email reminders and/or make phone calls to outgoing and incoming presidents and treasurers around June 30 to answer questions and make sure the transition is in process.

The school calendar should be carefully considered to help set the appropriate time frame for transition meetings; those councils with PTAs at year-round schools should be particularly aware of calendaring needs.

Remember: Œ

• The books can be closed as soon as the business of the year is concluded but must be closed no later than June 30. No new transactions can occur after the books are closed. Œ
• The incoming officers will take custody of the checkbook and begin making transactions no earlier than July 1. Œ
• The year-end financial statement and the AFR (Annual Financial Reconciliation) report must be submitted to the new executive committee and through MemberHub no later than August 1.

In reviewing Year-end Financial Reconciliations and AFR reports, the council should check the following: Œ

• The period covered is July 1 through June 30. Œ
• Beginning and ending balances on financial statement and AFR report are in agreement. Œ
• Beginning balances agree to the ending balances in the prior year. Œ
• The receipts amount reflects “gross” receipts—prior to payment of any related expenses. Œ
• The AFR report is appropriately dated and signed. (Inquiries as to the qualifications of an auditor are appropriate.)

The council might also want to review the AFR procedures performed to verify that the AFR process was appropriate. (A recommended procedures checklist can be found in the Utah PTA President Handbook and additional information is located in the Treasurer Handbook.) Determination of which IRS filing is required of the local PTA is appropriate at this time as well.

Council/Region Compilation Summary of Year-End Reports

The Council/Region Summary of Year-End Financial Reports (found below) is completed by the council/region to verify that local PTAs are in compliance with PTA policy in reguards to the year-end reports.  This report should be completed by the Council and turned into the region by due date.  Region will then do a compilation of all the councils and then turn that into the Utah PTA Treasurer by the due date. 

Reporting at the Beginning of the Fiscal Year 

According to the bylaws, the requirements for local PTAs to maintain their status as “units in good standing” with Utah PTA is to submit the following:

• An approved annual budget
• Minutes of the general membership meeting where that budget was approved 
• Signature pages of two forms  1. “Ethics/Conflict of Interest Policy” and 2. “Basic Fiscal Management Procedures.”
• A board list
• Proof of insurance coverage  

The Council/Region Beginning Year Report is completed by the council/region to verify that the local PTA is in compliance with PTA policy.  This report should be completed by the Council and turned into the region by due date.  Region will then do a compilation of all the councils and then turn that into the Utah PTA Treasurer by the due date.