Money Probs

TexasOphiA · #1 09-18-2003, 06:45 PM

My best friend just called me from NY, to ask advice on a sticky situation, and I haven't the slightest idea what to tell her! She is the treasurer, and she was going through bank statements and saw a check written for something that wasnt approved. I told her, I bet they dont know any better, but then again, we are in college! That is misappropriation of sorority funds and its illegal. She wants to know what to do about it. I told her to first make them pay back the money, explain to them why its wrong, etc. She doesn't want to hurt anyones feelings, but to me, they should be lucky she doesnt turn them in! It's a rough situation, and I wanted to see if others have experienced this or what others would do.

Any thoughts!

PsychTau · #2 09-18-2003, 07:17 PM

If I were in her shoes, I would meet with the two people who signed the check (their chapter DOES have two people-usually the treasurer and advisor-sign the checks don't they?). She may want to chat with the advisor about it first so that they can work out how best to approach the situation. I wouldn't talk with the person alone....things could get nasty.

Who knows, it may have been a bill the chapter voted to pay, or the advisor approved, or something wierd. I would approach it with something like "You know, I'm going through the books to learn more about what we've done in the past, and this one doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain it to me?"

Without any more info, that's the best advice I can give. Don't automatically assume it was anything bad/illegal....how does she know it wasn't approved in a vote or something? It may just be an odd situation.

(OK, I reread this and I'm not sure if it makes sense, so let me know if it doesn't!!)

TexasOphiA · #3 09-19-2003, 12:45 AM

thanks for the advice, i will pass on the info. in her chapter, president and treas sign the account. it wasn't something that was preapproved. she told me that the check clearly says what it was written for, and it was something that could have only been for personal use.

Kevin · #4 09-19-2003, 01:28 AM

If she doesn't want to upset people, she has the wrong job.

As treasurer, I had to rely on threats, unkind action, etc. to keep people paying dues. Sent several brothers off to collection agencies when they were past 90 days overdue. Needless to say, it's not a job where you'll win a popularity contest if you do a good job.

Were I in her shoes, heads would roll. I'd fully investigate where that money went (usually you can get an image of the check) and bill it to the individual responsible if improprieties occured. If the ex-treasurer couldn't show me what happened to the $, she would receive a bill for it.

Or then again, she could just let bygones be bygones and forget about the whole thing if it's not a whole lot of $.