Electing a Treasurer to the Board

In my pass experience on a Board in another state we looked for people with accounting backgrounds, or very strong business backgrounds to be elected as a Treasurer. What's your take on appointing a Treasurer even though we have an accounting department that's run by the Property Mgr's company. BellaM2 Florida

Even though I am the president of my HOA, I also have the strongest background when it comes to finances. I work in government and administer my own fairly large budget for the program I manage, and I have a masters degree in nonprofit management, so my HOA gets its money's worth with me. In our setup, the treasurer keeps everything organized but I am the one who deals with the budget and finances. I don't think these job descriptions are written in stone, its so difficult sometimes to just find people who want to serve on the board, much less being picky about their talents.

I currently am a board member and treasurer of our HOA. Before being elected to the board I was the chairman of the finance committee. The board treasurer at that time did not have a strong financial management background so I carried out most of his responsibilities.

Prior to my retirement I was a financial manager at NASA for various spaceflight projects including the Hubble Space Telescope. We have a contractor that performs the routine financial tasks (collection of dues, payment of bills, preparation of financial statements, etc.). I also serve as board liaison to the finance committee. I work with the committee members to oversee all aspects of the HOA finances. Our annual budget is approx. $2.5 million and our reserve funds stand at over $3 million. Monthly assessments have not been raised since 2008 and we have had an operating surplus every year.

I like to think that having a knowledgeable treasurer has contributed to our sound finances.