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Group responsibilities

Your group is responsible to all its members for the money it receives and spends; every member (and their parents/guardians), have the right to know how the money has been used.

All members of your group executive committee are responsible for deciding how funds will be raised and spent. It is not just the responsibility of the treasurer even though they deal with the money day-to-day. With this in mind, the whole committee should agree on spending decisions, apart from very small amounts which may be left to your treasurer, chair or group scout leader’s discretion (in line with your groups expenditure policy).

Don't leave it all to the treasurer...

The treasurer deals with the group's money on a day-to-day basis, but it's not their sole responsibility. Make sure there are regular financial reports at your meetings, and that everyone is paying attention to them! The whole committee needs to know that your group is not over-spending, and that the money is being spent wisely.

All the adults in the group are responsible for dealing with the group's money in a clear and organised way:

  • always check with the treasurer before spending any money
  • always get till receipt for any money spent on behalf of the group
  • always make a note when collect money in, (record the amount, date, and what the money is for)

Record-keeping

Keeping good financial records will help you to make the best use of your group’s money. They will help you work out how much money the group needs next year and then budget accordingly. Records help with fundraising; for example:

If you apply for any grants, they will ask to see accounts as proof that the group is well run and will use the grant properly

If you are trying to decide whether to run a raffle or have a stall at a local fete then past records will show which raises the most money

Discussing the financial report

Make time at each of your executive committee meetings to discuss the financial report. Give everyone the opportunity to put questions to the treasurer and the committee.

A financial report should tell the story of what’s happened in the group’s finances since the last meeting and how things are going overall. The same is true of the annual accounts which should tell the story of the year.

You don’t have to stick to a list of figures – it can help members if your treasurer also include some written or verbal explanations of the key points.

Funds

The amount of money that your group should keep in its account depends on your precise circumstances. You will need enough for day-to-day running costs, along with the repair and replacement of equipment and a little extra for a rainy day. This will vary from group to group and from year to year.

You may also be holding funds that you have been raising towards a special trip or capital project. There is no limit on the amount of fundraising that you can do, but bear in mind that the Charity Commission would not be happy if the group was holding a large amount of money that it could not use in the pursuance of the charity's aims.