committee work

Tonight is a beekeepers' committee meeting, and I've prepared them a typed Treasurer's report.  I don't do that every time, but the chairman wanted a summary of how we did financially at the Tendring Show.  The answer to that is, it depends on how you measure it.  We write off expenses as incurred, which is much easier than trying to stock take items like the wooden bees we have for children to colour in at the end of every event, but makes the expenses line lumpy.  On the whole, though, I should say we make a modest loss.  It's having to buy tickets for the number of volunteers we have on the stand that does it, the allocation of free tickets isn't enough to put on the sort of show that we do.  And honey show entry fees don't cover the cost of engraving the trophies.

We run to a calender year end, and I'm starting to twitch about getting all the loose ends tied up before December 31st.  There are still two cheques outstanding since the summer that haven't cleared, one reimbursing someone for show expenses, and the other rather bizarrely in payment for honey sold at the show.  You'd think the person who supplied the honey would want their money.  I had better chase them, and try and persuade them to pay the cheques in, assuming they can still find them.  And the membership secretary who mails out our monthly magazines hasn't submitted her expenses which will be substantial, what with the price of stamps.  Still, she didn't get round to cashing her cheque before the  year end last time round, despite my urging her to so that I wouldn't have to show her as a creditor in the accounts, so if it happens again at least I've now worked out how you do show creditors.  I obediently use the format inherited from my predecessor as treasurer, which is one commonly used by charities but not by quoted companies, and I still have to look at it pretty hard before it makes sense, since the only time I need to worry about the balance sheet is at the year end.  The rest of the time I just maintain a glorified cash book.

The agenda runs to about thirteen items by now, so I'm not sure how late I'll be back.  In a sign of the changing times, the penultimate agenda item before AOB is now web master's report.  Our recently appointed volunteer web master has got some very sensible ideas, which we are due to discuss tonight, so he should probably have been bumped up the running order.  I had better keep the treasurer's report succinct.  Apart from knowing whether or not we have any money it is not something most folk want to talk about anyway.  If you want to get involved with a local society and be welcomed on to the committee then volunteering to be treasurer is a good place to start. So many people are horrified at the idea of having to be responsible for other people's money, you're unlikely to be fighting off rival candidates for the job.