Honorary Treasurer: The Board Role Built for Finance Leaders
If you are a CFO, finance director or financial controller, someone has probably asked you to be a treasurer.
It might have been a sports club, a charity, an industry association or a community group. The request usually comes with a smile and a line like, “It’s only a few hours a month.”
The honorary treasurer role is the most natural first board seat for a finance leader. It uses your skills, gives you a real voice at the board table and builds governance experience you can talk about later.
But it also carries risks that many finance leaders miss. People assume the treasurer is responsible for the money in a way other directors are not. Sometimes the board assumes the same thing. That can leave you exposed, overworked and stuck in a bookkeeping role.
This article covers what a treasurer does, the risks to know, working with the CEO and finance staff, growing beyond treasurer, finding a role and board CV wording that works.
What a treasurer does
The treasurer is usually a director or committee member who takes the lead on financial oversight. The exact role depends on the size of the organisation and its rules.
In a small group with no paid staff, the treasurer may:
Keep the books or oversee a volunteer bookkeeper
Pay bills and manage bank accounts
Prepare simple financial reports for each meeting
Prepare the annual accounts for review or audit
Lodge returns and meet regulator reporting duties
In a larger organisation with a CEO and finance staff, the role is very different. The treasurer:
Reviews management’s financial reports before they go to the board
Leads the board’s discussion of financial results
Chairs or sits on the finance, audit and risk committee
Oversees the budget process and the audit
Advises the board on reserves, investment and financial risk
The second version is governance. The first is often management in a volunteer’s clothes. Know which one you are signing up for.
Risks to know
Being seen as solely responsible. All directors share responsibility for the financial health of the organisation. The treasurer leads the conversation, but other directors cannot hand off their duty. If your board behaves as though only you understand the numbers, say so and fix it. Simple reports and short explainers help.
Doing management’s job. In a small group, you may end up doing the books. That can be fine, but it blurs the line between doing and overseeing. Ask who checks your work. If no one does, build in a second signatory and an external review.
Weak controls. Many smaller organisations have few controls. One person handles cash, does the banking and prepares the reports. That is a risk to the organisation and to you. Insist on dual approval for payments and separate duties where you can.
Solvency and cash. You may be the first person to see that cash is running low. You must raise it early and clearly. Directors’ duties in Australia and NZ include not letting an organisation trade while it cannot pay its debts. The rules differ by legal form and country, so get advice if you have concerns.
Insurance and indemnity. Check that the organisation holds directors and officers insurance and that you are covered as a director or committee member.
Regulator reporting. Charities and incorporated bodies have reporting duties. Missing them can cause problems for the whole board.
Working with the CEO and finance staff
In an organisation with paid staff, your best results come from a strong working relationship with the CEO and the finance lead.
Meet before each board meeting. A short call to go through the financial report lets you ask questions early and avoid surprises at the table.
Agree the reporting format. Many boards get too much detail. Help management produce a simple pack: a one-page summary, cash position, forecast and key risks.
Support, do not supervise. You are not the finance manager’s boss. The CEO is. Offer advice and mentoring, but keep the line clear.
Back them in the boardroom. If the numbers are sound, say so. If they are not, raise it with the CEO first, then the board.
Example: “Before each meeting, I spend 30 minutes with the CEO and finance manager going through the results. By the time we reach the board, I can explain the variances and the board can focus on the decisions.”
For more on what good board reporting looks like, see how to write a board paper.
How search consultants see treasurer roles
When I worked in executive search, treasurer roles came up often on the board CVs of finance leaders. They helped, but not always as much as candidates hoped.
The difference was in how the role was described. Candidates who wrote “Treasurer” and nothing more looked like they had kept the books. Candidates who explained the governance work, such as leading a reserves policy, running an audit tender or guiding the board through a funding loss, looked like future directors.
I also noticed that some finance leaders stayed treasurer for ten years. Long service is admirable, but panels wanted to see that the person could contribute beyond finance.
Growing beyond treasurer
The treasurer role can become a box. If you want a broader board career, you need to step out of it.
Join a second committee. Strategy, people or risk.
Lead a non-finance project. A CEO search, a strategic plan or a merger review.
Contribute on non-finance agenda items. Speak on strategy, people and service quality, not just the numbers.
Plan your succession. Find and mentor your replacement so you can move to deputy chair or another role.
Take on a chair role. Chairing the finance, audit and risk committee is good. Chairing the board is better for your profile.
See also moving from CFO to board director.
Finding a role
Treasurer roles are easy to find. Good ones take a bit more care.
Board vacancy sites and not-for-profit listings often advertise treasurer roles directly.
Your professional body may run board matching or volunteer listings.
Organisations you already support often need treasurers.
Ask your auditors and bankers. They often know which local organisations are short of finance skills.
Before accepting, ask:
Is there paid finance staff, or will I be doing the books?
When was the last audit and were there any findings?
What is the cash position and reserve level?
Is there D&O insurance?
How long has the current treasurer been in the role, and why are they leaving?
See not-for-profit boards as a first seat for more on choosing well.
Board CV wording examples
Here is how to turn treasurer work into strong board CV lines. Use past tense for past roles and present tense for current ones.
Weak: “Honorary Treasurer, community health charity.”
Stronger examples:
“Honorary Treasurer and Chair, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Lead financial oversight for a charity with a $6 million budget and 40 staff.”
“Introduced the board’s first reserves policy, building reserves from two to four months of operating costs over three years.”
“Led the audit tender, appointing a new auditor and reducing audit fees by 15% while improving scope.”
“Guided the board through the loss of a major funding contract, with a cost plan that kept the organisation solvent and protected core services.”
“Redesigned board financial reporting into a two-page summary, cutting meeting time on finance by half.”
“Mentored the incoming treasurer and handed over a documented finance framework.”
Each line shows a decision, a change or a result. That is what panels for larger boards want to see.
A quick self-check
Do you know whether the treasurer role you are considering is governance or bookkeeping?
Have you checked controls, insurance and the last audit?
Do you have a plan to grow beyond the treasurer label within three years?
Can you write three governance results from your treasurer work?
Your next step
If you hold a treasurer role now, rewrite its board CV entry this week using the examples above. If you do not, shortlist two organisations and ask the five questions before you say yes.
If you want help with your board CV, my board resume writing helps senior leaders turn treasurer and committee work into clear governance evidence.
If you are deciding whether a treasurer role is the right first seat, book a complimentary Clarity Session.
