Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Finding Effective Support for a Treasury Team?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jun 11, 2022, at 4:34 PM, Patterson, John Seymour <jsp1 [at] psu.edu> 
> wrote:
> 
> Looking ahead, however, we find it possible that we may need to hire a 
> part-time consultant to work with our treasurer and the treasury team to 
> ensure the smooth and responsible overall coordination of our books and 
> financial affairs.
> We would appreciate hearing from other communities about their experience in 
> arranging for limited but necessary assistance in managing their financial 
> affairs.

I was once treasurer for a food coop. We had a CPA who helped set up our books 
and set one rule — the same person does not write checks and balance accounts. 
Then we had her look over the books once a year.

For a cohousing community doing their own books, you might consider having an 
audit done once a year or every two years.

But the best protection against errors and suspicions is transparency. When 
anyone can examine the books, they stay straight.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org