Treasurer Allegedly Stole Thousands of Dollars (Dartmouth Local)
 

Another one of those articles about a treasurer allegedly stealing, this time from a co-ed local, Alpha Theta, at Dartmouth:

http://thedartmouth.com/2011/04/18/news/alphatheta

This of course is why fraternities and sororities are encouraged to have their ducks in a row regarding multiple signatures on checks, regular audits, "bondable" treasurers, and other financial safeguards.

I've said it before and of course I'll say it again: trust no one.

More accurately, business never personal.

The emphasis on business not only means that you can't personally trust everyone to do as they claim without oversight. It also means that people unintentionally make mistakes and need oversight.

It's scary. I've seen both sides of it: organizations who pay with cash without any documentation, and those that require multiple signatures (/w additional restrictions) and several pages of documentation for every single transaction.

When I first had to deal with the latter case, it seemed overwhelming, but it's doable and the transparency/accountability really goes far in protecting everyone involved and making people comfortable about the finances.

As soon as I became the band boosters treasurer, I suggested we move to a two signature system. The exec board agreed. It's safer for ME this way too.