The responsibilities of financial officers are specified in the association bylaws and are also established in California State PTA policies and procedures. Additional information can be found in the Finance and Job Descriptions chapters of the Toolkit. The Toolkit can be found on the PTA website, www.capta.org.
The treasurer, financial secretary and financial reviewer are generally considered the financial officers. The president, secretary and vice presidents/chairs also have specific financial responsibilities. Every PTA board member has a fiduciary responsibility to:
- Protect the assets of the organization. These assets include cash, assets, volunteers and the PTA’s reputation.
- Ensure compliance with all laws. These include federal and state laws as well as the policies and procedures of the PTA.
- Ensure the assets are used to meet the needs of the children and members served by the PTA.
- Ensure continuity of the association by preserving assets for the future and not encumbering future boards.
- Ensure the association remains transparent – all the members are given the opportunity to participate in decision making and to view financial reports.
- Ensure the association is carrying out the purposes of PTA. These include increasing family engagement, advocacy and increasing communications between home and school. Fundraising is not a purpose of PTA, but PTAs may fundraise to provide PTA programs. Councils and districts have an additional purpose, which is to train and support local associations and their officers.
PTA officers/chairmen need to understand why they are doing the things they are doing and be committed to doing them correctly and completely.
