Budget & Financial Records

Treasurer's Responsibilities

The volunteer treasurer is responsible for chapter financial transactions and record keeping. Additionally, the chapter treasurer maintains all the financial records and reports required for chapter financial activities and by the state and federal governments. For more details, download a copy of the Chapter Resource Manaual (located in the "Supporting Documents" section on this page to the left).

The treasurer reports the financial status of the chapter to the chapter Board of Directors and the membership via the Treasurer's Report. Additionally, the treasurer is responsible for filing the Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service when required. If the chapter has elected to participate in the group exemption with AORN national, the treasurer should be sure AORN national has been notified of the current officers by June 15 of each year so the IRS can be notified of the change at the end of the fiscal year and to be sure the current president will receive the rebate checks.

Chapter Financial Records

The treasury files should contain the following:

copy of bylaws and policies with authorization of disbursements sections highlighted
copy of the budget adopted by the chapter
receipt book to acknowledge money received
check book to disburse funds as authorized
treasurer's accounting books (i.e. bank statements, deposit slips, cancelled checks)
up-to-date roster of chapter members
tax records (including tax exempt number)
federal identification number
fund-raising records
auditor's report
inventory of goods in stock (i.e. recipe books)

Tax records and federal identification number should be kept in the chapter files indefinitely. Financial records should also be kept indefinitely. If the Treasurer's report is included in the chapter minutes or newsletter, these items are in the permanent chapter files and this will suffice. Separate financial records, bank statement, annual reports should be kept with the Treasurer's files for three years.

Budget Planning and Development
Budget planning is an essential part of chapter management. A budget should be prepared and adopted by the Board of Directors before the beginning of each fiscal year. The budget should include the revenue the chapter expects to earn and the expenses it expects to incur.

The steps in preparing a budget should coincide with the Strategic Thinking Process:

1. Review the mission statement of the organization.

The Board members should ask themselves what are the specific objectives they wish to accomplish during the next year. They should review the objectives identified in the Strategic Plan, decide which activities need funding on an ongoing basis, and evaluate the funding for new activities.

2. Decide how much each chapter activity will cost.

It is important to get input from the committee chairman about estimated budget requirements for the coming year. For new programs, an estimate of the cost should be submitted.

3. Decide how much money the chapter can raise.

Input from the Ways and Means Committee is useful here. Consider any one-time-only contributions from industry and other sources of income.

4. Compare expense to revenue.

Usually the two do not match and some judgment must be made about which activities will be funded. This is a crucial point in budget planning. The Board of Directors should be involved because it may impact the objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan.

5. Revise the expenses and revenues based on what activities will be funded to produce a final budget and refined Srategic Plan.

The final budget must be approved by the Board of Directors of the chapter. When the Board approves the budget, it is accepting the responsibility to raise the projected funds and oversee the projected expenditures during the next year.

If you need assistance with your chapter's treasurey, please contact the AORN Chapter Relations Coordinator at 800-755-2676, Ext. 222.