What does the treasurer do?
The officer who holds the money, and who does not get to spend it alone.
The treasurer keeps the association's financial records, prepares the annual budget with the manager or a CPA, and reports the association's financial position to the board and membership. Under Robert's Rules, the office is fundamentally custodial: the treasurer holds funds and pays them out only on the board's order, not on personal judgment.
The core job: custodian, not decision maker
Where a board's bylaws adopt a parliamentary authority such as Robert's Rules, the treasurer's original role is narrow: hold the association's money and release it only when the organization directs. The treasurer does not decide what gets paid. The board does, and the treasurer executes that decision.
"He acts as a banker, merely holding the funds deposited with him and paying them out on the order of the organization."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Ch. XI, "The Officers and the Minutes", public domain 1915 edition
This sits inside the same chain of authority that governs every officer: a treasurer who pays an unbudgeted bill on their own is acting outside what the board has actually ordered, even with good intentions.
What HOA practice adds: budget and reporting
HOA treasurers usually carry two duties beyond the custodial minimum: leading the annual budget and keeping the board and owners informed of where the money stands.
"The HOA's annual budget is prepared by the board treasurer. They often work together with a CPA or HOA management to make sure the budget reflects the community's needs, preferences, and values."
Source: The Main Duties Of Your HOA Treasurer, HOA Management (HOAM)
The same source describes the treasurer as the keeper of the association's financial records day to day. None of this makes the treasurer a solo authority. Every dollar the budget commits still has to come from a board decision, made together, at a properly convened meeting.
The treasurer is not your auditor
Keeping the books and independently checking the books are different jobs, and the same person should not do both. A CPA offers three distinct levels of outside assurance, from lightest to heaviest:
| Service | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Compilation | A CPA prepares financial statements from the association's own information, the most basic level of service. |
| Review | A CPA provides a moderate level of assurance, more scrutiny than a compilation, short of a full audit. |
| Audit | A CPA examines the statements and supporting records in detail, the highest level of financial assurance. |
Source: HOA Audit vs Review vs Compilation: What Do You Need?, Hillcrest HOA Management
"Board members should never attempt to audit their own association. This approach creates conflicts of interest."
Source: HOA Audit vs Review vs Compilation: What Do You Need?, Hillcrest HOA Management
A treasurer who wants outside assurance on the books hires a CPA. They do not provide it themselves.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
An owner asks the treasurer to release $3,000 from the operating account for a project the board never discussed. What should the treasurer do?
The board is putting together next year's budget. Who usually leads that work?
The board wants an independent look at the association's finances before the annual meeting. Why shouldn't the treasurer just audit the books themselves?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Ch. XI, "The Officers and the Minutes", public domain 1915 edition, hosted by Westside Toastmasters
- The Main Duties Of Your HOA Treasurer, HOA Management (HOAM)
- HOA Audit vs Review vs Compilation: What Do You Need?, Hillcrest HOA Management
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Board Roles
Curious where the treasurer's numbers meet outside eyes? See how the treasurer and the association's CPA divide the work.
Whether the treasurer must sit on the board or can be a non-director officer, how often financial reports are required, and when a review or audit is required rather than optional all vary by state and by your bylaws. Check both before setting your own reporting schedule.