It’s Your First PTA Meeting of the Year. What do you do?

Following is a transcript of this episode of the Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast.

Welcome to the Two-Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast. I am your host Cyndi Meuchel with MoneyMinder where we’re hoping to make your life as a volunteer way easier.

Alexis writes: I’m nervous about my first board meeting. Can you explain what I should expect? And what’s expected of me as the treasurer?

First board meetings can be a little intimidating. But don’t worry, typically the President has served in other roles on the board prior to becoming president and has experience in guiding these meetings. I’d encourage you to start by reaching out to that person and asking what they will be expecting of you so you can prepare. That way, when it’s your turn to present, you don’t feel like you’re a deer caught in the headlights.

As the treasurer of your organization, you’ll want to bring at least one printed copy of your budget and the treasurer’s report for the past month. It’s also good practice to email these to the board members prior to the meeting so they can review them. It’s not a bad idea to also have a treasurer’s report with you that spans the entire past year.

The first meeting sometimes requires that you approve the budget for the year. So be ready to talk about the budget and each line item on it. In addition, bring your checkbook and bank statements. You may need to write checks during the meeting. You might consider asking a volunteer to do a mini audit for the past month, thus the need for the bank statements. You can check out the resources page on our website for information on how to do this.

Generally, your oral report is going to provide a summary of the bank balances and what happened in the prior month. You should also mention any big expenditures that are coming up in the next month or two. And don’t worry. If you don’t have the answer to a question that comes up, it’s always OK to let someone know that you’ll need to research that and get back to them.

That’s it for today! Be sure to click the subscribe button to get new episodes automatically. And if you have a question, email it to me at [email protected] so I can address it down the road. My name is Cyndi Meuchel and this is your Two-Minute (or a little bit longer) Treasurer’s Tip for today.