Q.Explain the powers and duties of the Treasurer of a co-operative society.

The treasurer is the office-bearer specially charged with the custody and handling of the society's money and financial records.

The treasurer — in some societies called the cashier or accountant — is the office-bearer specially charged with the custody and handling of the society's money and financial records. In a small society the treasurer's work may be combined with that of the secretary, but where the two offices are kept separate, the treasurer is the person primarily responsible for seeing that the funds of the society are correctly received, safely kept, properly paid out, and honestly accounted for. Because he handles money, the treasurer usually holds a position of particular trust and may be required to furnish security for the faithful performance of his duties.

The treasurer's main duties revolve around the society's cash and accounts. He receives all money due to the society — share capital, entrance fees, deposits, loan repayments, interest, and other dues — and issues proper receipts for the amounts received, so that every rupee coming in is recorded. He makes the payments the society has to make, but only when those payments are duly sanctioned by the committee or the competent office-bearer and are supported by proper vouchers, so that no unauthorised payment goes out of the society's funds. He keeps the cash of the society safely, retaining only the amount of cash in hand permitted by the bye-laws and depositing the balance promptly in the society's bank account.

An important control feature attaches to the treasurer's handling of the bank account: he operates it jointly with the chairman or the secretary, as the bye-laws require, so that the society's money moves only under the joint control of two office-bearers and not on the signature of any one person alone. Alongside handling cash, the treasurer is responsible for the correct maintenance of the financial books — the cash book and the other books of account — recording every receipt and payment day by day, and reconciling the cash and bank balances regularly so that the records always agree with the actual position. He assists in the preparation of the annual accounts and the balance sheet and places the financial position of the society before the committee whenever required. …