Page 36 - The EDGE Spring 2022

Protecting Booster Club and PTO Finances

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

funds — but because stories about theft or
embezzlement at public entities are catnip for
journalists (including student journalists). This
can potentially create a public relations problem $
Booster Club
for the school or district.

With this in mind, the following are & PTO
recommended practices for clubs and PTOs:

• Implementing safeguards to restrict access to Checks &
Balances
organizational assets, accounts, and records.
• Having one individual be responsible for
recording transactions and another be
responsible for reconciling them. clubs succeed. For example, you can establish a

• Creating asset inventory practices, including clear scope of district vs. organizational duties,
a system of checks and balances. so there is no potential confusion about who
is responsible for what. You can also provide
• Scrupulously avoiding potential or actual training, written guidelines and other resources
conflict-of-interest situations in any purchases to make sure the organization has the proper
or business dealings.
procedures in place, and that everyone is
• Continually monitoring for suspicious knowledgeable about them.
activities such as missing funds or inventory,
altered or missing documentation, or payments Sound policies won’t matter much if key parties
to unknown vendors. are unaware of them or are not implementing
them correctly. And you can oversee and
Booster clubs and PTOs will often work with monitor organizational activities to make sure
cash, which creates special risks and therefore everything is on track.
requires special safeguards. For example, when
cash is to be used, there should be cash receipt Lending a hand like this will help maximize the
controls such as numbered tickets or other group’s chances for success. That, in turn, will
documentation, strong inventory monitoring, etc. ultimately benefit your district and its students.
Two people should be involved in cash counting
and should record results on forms that include David Dodenhoff is a Senior Consultant. The article was prepared
date and signature lines for both parties. in conjunction with Tosca Henry, The Tosca Law Firm, PLC.
Starting and ending cash must be reconciled, For more information contact the Trust at: the-trust@the-trust.org
and procedures should be in place to address
discrepancies. Chain of custody procedures for
cash should be established until the money is
deposited in the organization’s bank account,
which should occur as quickly as possible.

Finally, don’t forget that as a district or school
administrator, you can help PTOs and booster

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36 THE EDGE SPRING 2022