According to Robert’s Rules, it’s customary for the treasurer to handle all payment and receipt of funds and for the secretary to maintain the membership roll. Is there an ethical reason why these two responsibilities are kept separate, or would it be all right for a treasurer to double as a keeper of membership records, leaving correspondence, minute-taking, etc. to the secretary?
The separation of duties is to prevent one person from having sole control over both the membership funds and membership records.
In practice that has not prevented organizations from having problems (such as embezzlement of those funds), and some organizations, especially small ones, tend to combine the two duties into a single office, Secretary-Treasurer.
Thanks. Follow-up question: It seems like the president doesn’t exactly have a lot to do except run meetings and appoint committees. What else could/should a president be doing, especially in a small organization?
He should be active in promoting the club, help raise funds, and plan and organize events and tournaments. Being a CFO for over twenty years, separating cash functions and having a number of controls keeps honest people honest, but those that are determined to steal or defraud will always find a way. Diligence over the years often can give way to apathy, which allows bad things to creep in. In small clubs, a vital President and core members can keep a small club alive in rough times, and they are the real backbone of the Federation.
Well, the years that I was President of the Lincoln Chess Club, I was usually the first one there every Thursday to help set up, the last one to leave after putting everything away, I greeted newcomers and made sure they had someone to play chess with, I organized club tournaments and other events, helped with mailings, etc.
There are organizations where the President mostly recruits others to do all those things, this was not one of them.
The President should keep en eye on the other officers, especially the Treasurer.
Unfortunately the Treasurer of a club I was a member of several years ago “borrowed” some of the club’s funds. Had the President kept a closer eye on things, by verifying all banking transactions, he might have discovered it sooner, or prevented it by having the second set of eyes on things.