Charity Treasurer's Handbook: An introduction to voluntary sector finance and accountingBy Gareth G Morgan (Directory of Social Change, 2002, ISBN 1 900360 89 6 £9.95 [£12.79 inc p&p*]) As we put the last financial year to bed, and enter the brave new world of 2002-3, what better time to review a delightful little book that introduces the niceties of finance management in the charitable sector for those without formal accountancy training, or those whose knowledge of finance is from the private sector. If you know your SOAL from your SOFA and are confident about SORP, then you can probably pass on this one, but for the rest of us here is a clear accessible guide that provides an overview of the issues involved, and should be invaluable to arts managers, Local Authority and RAB / future.org officers and Board Members on Finance Sub-Committees or in the role of Treasurer. I particularly liked the explanation given of the specifics of the voluntary (not for profit) sector and the requirements for independence, accountability and the development of a relationship of trust. Accrual or payments and receipts accounting, accounting for separate funds, apportionment of core costs, and setting a reserves policy are defined and explained. There is also useful guidance on independent examiners if your organisation is small enough not to need an audit. Different scales of operation are covered, from the Treasurer doing it all, to significant paid finance staff answerable to the Board. The fact that overall financial responsibility is held by the whole Board is stressed 'However, in practice, one of the hardest skills for a Charity treasurer or finance worker is to enable the trustees to exercise this responsibility effectively so that all major financial decisions are taken by them on an informed basis.' There is plenty of information within this little book to help them to do just that.
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