The Roles and Responsibilities of Secretary and Treasurer by Marie J. Amerson & Ginny Backscheider

Being a Secretary

Marie Amerson, AER Board Secretary (2004-2008) Position of Secretary is key to an organization’s success. Position requires a commitment of time, organizational abilities, and enthusiasm. Though you don’t really have to be superwoman, as slide suggests, always be OPEN to the challenge. Marie Amerson, AER Board Secretary (2004-2008)

Being a Secretary - Roles & Responsibilities Who are you? Member of the organization Member of a chapter and division Member of the Board of Directors Member of the Executive Committee ... and the person responsible for the formal records or your organization Secretary needs: good writing, note-taking, summarizing, and public-speaking skills; some knowledge of parliamentary procedure familiar with the organization and the topics under discussion

Being a Secretary - Roles & Responsibilities Serve as member of the Board of Directors Attend meetings of membership and Board of Directors and participate in discussions Embrace a larger role as a chapter and division leader and keep constituents informed Be prepared to call the meeting to order if president/chair and the president-elect/chair-elect are not present Take responsibility for records of the organization, seeing they are properly maintained

Being a Secretary - Roles & Responsibilities Maintain official register of members & directors Prepare minutes of membership and Board of Directors meetings Disseminate minutes to Board of Directors Ensure minutes of previous meetings are properly reviewed, corrected as necessary, and officially approved by the Board of Directors as the formal record of the organization See that minutes are properly maintained and archived

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Consult Robert’s Rules of Order Maintain an official register of members and directors (name, contact info, membership info) Maintain all committee reports and other official records of the organization

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Consider using one binder to hold official documents and organizational information Consider using a second binder to keep: Official listing of Board of Directors, contact info, date of election, terms of service, etc. The minutes of all meetings along with accompanying documents, categorized according to type and chronological order Store all pages in chronological order and number consecutively to ensure the records are kept complete. Information in the binders is part of the organization’s official legal records; must be kept and not destroyed. Alternative - scan and save documents within a protocol established for long-term retention of electronic files.

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Minutes are a record of what was DONE by the group; it is not a verbatim record of what was SAID by the members. Any discussion recorded should be objective summary with no editorializing or personal opinions

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Minutes should show: name of the organization or group (chapter, division, Board, membership) kind of meeting being held (regular or slated, special) logistics - date, starting time, location roster of those present or absent, name of presiding officer, and recorder of the minutes

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Minutes should show: status of minutes from previous meeting (read and approved, approved with corrections, etc) all main motions acted upon (with wording as adopted or disposed of) and the disposition secondary motions where needed for clarity of minutes points of order and appeals time of adjournment

Being a Secretary Prior to meeting Coordinate with presiding officer to prepare an order of business Send out notice of the meeting Determine how the minutes will be recorded Prepare templates for minutes, motions tracking, and motions submittals The Board determines the degree of openness and transparency of organizational information; decides how much detail is necessary to reflect they have exercised due diligence. Make sure policies exist including whether the meeting may be electronically recorded and how personal data is kept private. Electronic recording itself is not the official record; transcription and/or minutes created from the meeting are the official record. Minutes template will standardize the minute content, aid in retrieving information, and help reduce error. Other templates will help Secretary organize notes from the meeting to facilitate accurate preparation of the minutes.

Being a Secretary During the meeting Sit in a position where you can hear all members so you keep an accurate record Record attendance as people assemble and/or pass around a roster for signatures Tag agenda items to use for identifying or indexing notes and/or minutes with items on the agenda Obtain notes/reports from individuals giving lengthy or official reports to the assembly

Being a Secretary During the meeting Disseminate copies of the Motions form to the assembly or stack in an accessible area Complete motion tracker template and collect Motions forms as the meeting progresses Depending on Board policy, the minutes may/may not include: the names of persons who moved and seconded how the vote is recorded (by count, by roll call, etc.) Motions form is for Secretary’s use and not intended to be part of the official record; it ensures the Secretary accurately records the motions. Use colored paper so the form stands out from other documents in your stack Motions belong to the group and are not “owned” by the mover nor the seconder; identifying names specific to motions and votes can demonstrate members are doing due diligence OR could politicize the process.

Being a Secretary During the meeting Keep notes and record actions of the assembly to condense into minutes after the meeting List any unfinished business to add to the next meeting’s agenda Record the time of adjournment

Being a Secretary After the meeting Upon Board approval of previous meeting’s minutes, sign, date, and file those minutes in the official record of the organization Write up the latest minutes while the meeting is still fresh Have the presiding officer review the draft minutes to ensure accuracy Distribute the minutes to the assembly soon after the meeting and include a reminder of actions they committed to do “Soon after” may be specified by Board policy

Being a Secretary Other notes At the next meeting, present the minutes for official approval Only corrections to the minutes are made; there is no debate on the content Minutes for Closed Door or Executive Sessions are brief and any written minutes are confidential

Being a Secretary -Strategies & Tips Mi·nute Noun A period of time equal to sixty seconds or a sixtieth of an hour. A summarized record of the proceedings at a meeting. Verb Record or note (the proceedings of a meeting or a specified item among such proceedings). Synonyms Record - protocol - report Record as much detail as determined necessary by the Board - not too much or too little - to document due diligence by the assembly.

Being a Secretary As noted earlier, role of Secretary is important and involves a lot of work, but with preparation and organization, it can be as much fun as having a bird in the hand.

Being a Treasurer

Ginny Backscheider Past AER Ohio Chapter Treasurer Past AER Board Treasurer Current Administration Division Secretary/Treasurer

The Treasurer Takes Care of the

Main Duties of Treasurer Bank Account Chapter Budget Audit Financial Report for AER IRS Filing

Manual for Chapter Treasurer

Past Financial Records are Important

Obtaining a New Bank Account New Signature Cards Check Signers

Deposits Deposits: Rebates, Fees Other Expenses: All checks written, approved by Board Reconcile each month: Quicken, Excel, MONEY, or ledger

Written Treasurer’s Report Prepare for each Board meeting Use financial software program to track funds Financial ledger written report Information available in Treasurer’s Manual Use format Board requires

Report to Membership Given annually Format decided by Board

Legal Issues for Chapters

Chapter Tax-Exemptions and IRS Filings Chapters are listed under AER’s Group Exemption “umbrella” only for the purpose of being a tax-exempt organization. May 2010: IRS began revoking tax-exempt status for U.S. organizations who did not file annual returns for last 3 years. If chapter’s tax-exempt status was revoked, chapters are no longer exempt from federal income tax and lose eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.

Chapter Tax-Exemptions and IRS Filings The effective date of revocation is the original filing due date of the 3rd annual Form 990 return that was required to be filed, but was not filed. To apply for re-instatement of tax-exempt status, U.S. chapters must file IRS Form 1023 and pay the income taxes applicable to the period of time during which the chapter was not tax-exempt.

Chapter Tax-Exemptions and IRS Filings Re-filing fee of $100, $400 or $850. AER recommendation: Hire lawyer or accountant to help file Form 1023.

Chapter Insurance General Liability Insurance Association Professional Liability Insurance (D&O) Event Cancellation Insurance

Hotel Insurance Requirements Most hotel contracts require group to have general liability insurance (bodily injury/property damage) May require certificate of coverage

Fundraising Issues Check state regulations Keep excellent financial records “Contributions” not “sales”

Division Treasurer Division budgets are part of AER’s overall budget Expenses approved by Board of Directors Submit budget requests on time Work with central office to determine cost estimates for specific projects. Conference years: Awards, meal functions, scholarships Communication is key!

Questions?!?!