The Treasurer is the union officer responsible for the financial administration of Local funds, here is an example of completed receipts and cheques. Here are other documents that provide suggestions and guidelines on:
- how to set up an account book for the Local (account book - excel)
- how to make a monthly financial statement for your regular monthly meeting (monthly statement - excel)
- a sample of an annual financial statement (annual statement - excel)
All Locals under Component jurisdiction are required to provide the Component with a financial statement at least once a year. Directly Chartered Locals must provide the National President with an audited statement of receipts and expenditures annually.
Budget
Locals can also plan budgets and have these available at the Annual General Meeting. The practice of having a budget has several advantages:
- It distributes monies according to the planned activities of the Local and budgets for big expenditures like sending observers to Triennial Conventions or bargaining committees.
- It makes it easier for a Local to justify increases in Local dues.
- It gives a mandate to the Local to abide by the priorities established through the budget by the membership at the Annual General Meeting.
As a Treasurer, you may want to consider suggesting to the Executive to present a budget at the next Annual Meeting. This will not only make your task easier at the Membership Meeting, but it will also help the membership understand clearly where their money is going. Last but not least, it will help the Executive throughout the year as the membership’s priorities are established in part by how much money they are allocating to various activities.
Computer Print‑Out
As Treasurer you also need to be familiar with the computer print‑out received every month at the Local office. The computer print‑out lists all the members of the Local and indicates, among other things, the various deductions made for each member. It is your responsibility as Treasurer of the Local to check the information on the printout and to inform your Component of any changes required.
The computer print‑out has several uses and is an invaluable source of information for many committees in the Local.
Membership Committee
The computer printout indicates the name and pay list numbers of members. This enables you to locate the member and also indicates his/her status as a member or Rand deductee (R).
Collective Bargaining Committee
The computer print‑out indicates by means of a code the occupational group of each member. This information becomes essential during negotiations balloting and during a strike.
Statistics
In general, the computer print‑out provides the Local with some necessary statistical information such as the number of members in the Local including employees who have not joined the union (Rands) as well as the total dues paid to the Local, to the Component and to the Alliance by the members of the Local.