The Primate Society of Great Britain is still seeking a new Treasurer. If you are interested in knowing more about the post, please read the information below or contact the current Treasurer, Dr Clare Cunningham (email below). 

We are hoping to appoint someone in the next few months to shadow the current Treasurer before taking up post, pending formal election at the AGM, in January 2015. 

The Treasurer is an elected Officer of PSGB and is responsible for managing the finances and daily accounting for the Society. The post carries some responsibility but is not overly time-consuming. A more detailed job description is below. Experience of accounting is not essential although some experience with managing spreadsheets would be helpful. 
If you would like more information about this opportunity or to express an interest in becoming Treasurer, please contact Dr Clare Cunningham at [log in to unmask]

Treasurer – Job Description

The Treasurer is an elected Officer of PSGB, responsible for maintaining the financial health of the Society and daily accounting. The Treasurer is also listed as a Trustee with the Charities Commission and is responsible, along with the General Secretary, for ensuring the Society operates in accordance with the guidelines for charitable status and for annual reporting to the Commission. The term of office is one year – at the AGM the Treasurer is officially elected and then stands down at the following AGM, but can be re-elected for the next term. There is no limit to the number of successive years that a Treasurer can serve.

At the beginning of a term of office, the Treasurer-elect will take over as signatory on the bank accounts of the Society, and be named as a Trustee. There are a number of forms to be completed by the out-going Treasurer and the new Treasurer will likely be credit-checked by the Charities Commission and banks that hold the Society accounts.

The main duties of the Treasurer are as follows:

Membership – the Treasurer is helped by the Membership Secretary (MS) in processing annual subscriptions from members. The MS is responsible for the upkeep of the membership database and answering general queries from new or existing members. The Treasurer deals with the financial side, accepting and processing online payments, cheques and setting up standing orders. The renewal period (October – November) is the busiest time for membership activities.
 
Meetings – the Treasurer works with the Meetings Officer to approve budgets for the twice-yearly conferences and also processes registration payments. All invoices related to the meetings are also sent to the Treasurer for payment who then presents the meeting accounts to the PSGB Council.

Accounting – all income and expenditure is entered into the accounts spreadsheet (Excel) by the Treasurer. Our year runs from October 1st to September 30th and annual accounts must be submitted to the Charities Commission by June/July of the following year. The spreadsheet is set up so that all calculations are done by Excel as numbers are entered and it is very easy to maintain.

Grants - the Treasurer liaises with the Working Party Convenors and Council to set budgets for grants each year and is responsible for making payments to recipients.

Council activities – the Treasurer sits on the PSGB Council and is required to attend the quarterly Council meetings (January, March/April and September). At each meeting, the Treasurer presents the accounts and a report on the current financial status of the Society. Attendance at the AGM is also required where the end-of-year accounts are presented to the membership. This is followed up by a report in Primate Eye prepared by the Treasurer that discusses the finances and current membership of the Society. Expenses are paid for attendance at the regular Council meetings and the AGM. 

Other duties may be required in accordance with the Society’s needs.

Time commitment – although this position carries some responsibility, the time commitment is relatively small. For most of the year, the requirements can be satisfied in less than 30 minutes per week (some weeks even less). Only during the membership renewal period and in the run up to the meetings can more time taken up. Even at the busiest times, 1-2hrs per week is more than enough to keep on top of the job. 

If you would like more information about this position, please contact Dr Clare Cunningham ([log in to unmask]).