What is a Nonprofit Treasurer? (Overview, Roles, and Responsibilities)

In most nonprofit governance models, the treasurer is responsible for the following.

Generate Financial Reports

Aside from managing the day-to-day activities of the nonprofit organization’s finances, the treasurer prepares and generates timely, accurate, and reliable financial reports at the end of the organization’s fiscal period. They then deliver these reports to the relevant parties, including the finance committee, board members, executive director, and other C-suite level executives. 

This timely and reliable financial information proves crucial for sound and informed financial decision-making. Without this information, tracking the organization’s financial health would be impossible. Producing these accurate reports requires flawless bookkeeping and accounting. Commercial accounting software like QuickBooks may come in handy at this stage, especially for medium and large nonprofit organizations. 

Regardless of the size of your nonprofit, financial reports may include budget documents, balance sheets, cash flow statements, annual reports, statements of financial positions, and footnote disclosures. From paying and recording the organization’s bills and reconciling bank statements to managing cash flows and keeping debt records, treasurers oversee all the financial activities of the organization in order to generate accurate and reliable reports.

Create an Operating Budget

The treasurer determines an operating budget based on the organization’s fiscal year. As chair of the finance committee, the treasurer cooperates with the executive director, board members, and other program heads to create the overall budget, as well as budgets for specific programs or tasks. 

While preparing budgets, keep in mind the board of directors relies on the budget to inform the organization’s objectives and make strategic decisions. Regardless of the budget size, the board must ensure it upholds the organization’s financial health and is sustainable for the nonprofit. 

Operating budgets may include overhead budgets, labor costs, and administrative expenses. The treasurer presents all the budgets to board members for authorization and approval. As nonprofit treasurer, you must prepare to effectively answer all questions related to the budgets.

Finally, make sure you track/monitor the budget performance by regularly comparing the actual expenses with the budgeted expenditure, and the actual income with the projected revenue. 

Provide Strategic Planning and Direction

The treasurer takes an active role in the organization’s strategic planning and direction. As the treasurer, you have to formulate a short- and long-term financial plan. This may involve reviewing and enforcing new financial policies and procedures in the organization. For example, you can review the list of people who have access to the organization’s funds or can authorize spending. 

Strategic planning and direction, specifically on the organization’s finances, requires advising the board and management on the possible threats and opportunities for the nonprofit, as well as the organization’s fundraising, public relations, and grant writing efforts. 

As the treasurer, you should also counsel the board on how investment decisions, tax obligations, legal requirements, and existing financial developments affect the organization’s future financial plans.