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WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE PROVINCIAL BURSAR?
A common question asked (partly because of the age pro le of the members
of religious institutes and partly because no one enjoys the nance side!) is, do we need a provincial bursar and, if so, what is their role? The response often given by the writer to this question is “Would you expect a company to have a nance director?” The answer is “yes”. A provincial bursar is the nance director or treasurer of the religious institute charity. Every religious institute charity needs one!
While these days much of the day-to-day work of the bursary can and probably is carried out by lay staff, there is a need to ensure that wherever possible a member of the institute is appointed provincial bursar. The bursar will be privy to con dential and sensitive information and so it is important that he or she is trusted by the members of the institute. Ideally, the bursar should be a trustee as every decision taken by trustees will ultimately have a nancial implication. If the bursar is not a trustee, it is suggested that the bursar should be in attendance at trustees’ meetings.
The responsibility of trustees for the running of the charity is joint and several but the role of the bursar is to take the lead on behalf of the trustees in ensuring that the charity is well managed nancially. The bursar will normally have responsibility for all areas of nance under the direction of the trustees, even
if some are delegated to others such as book-keepers, payroll clerks, property specialists and so on – many of whom may be lay people.
The responsibility includes:
The maintenance of the charity’s books of account and arranging for the preparation of the annual statutory accounts and their audit or independent examination
Liaising with bankers and overseeing the management of the charity’s bank accounts and banking arrangements
Liaising with investment managers and overseeing the performance of the charity’s investments and its investment policy
Ensuring that there is an effective system of internal control, including authorisation of expenditure, cheque/electronic banking signatories and the limits that may apply, oversight and authorisation of payroll, etc.
Preparing an annual budget of income and expenditure and of capital expenditure
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