Board

What would you imagine a treasurer does? The easiest explanation of a treasurer would be the guardian of the associations treasure chest. This translates to the following tasks;

First, you are as a treasurer responsible for the financial operating of the association. This means you have to pay incoming bills and send bills to companies and other parties cooperating with VESTING. It's your honour to carry around the VESTING Debit and Credit Card year-round. The treasurer is responsible for any expenditures VESTING makes, either online or with activities. Furthermore, you collect fees for activities and memberships and you keep the books.

Keeping the books is a great part of my daily occupations. Using the programme Exact Online, you keep track of all payments and expenditures. It is a professional programme used by many companies. It takes some time to get the knack of it, but the longer you use it, the more you appreciate it. The most important part is the exact (haha) administration of every cash flow. Accurate bookkeeping has multiple advantages. It adds to your overview, and will greatly help your successors. Apart from that, you are required to hand in your 'BTW-aangifte' every quarter by Dutch law, and you have to present the balance and realization for every half-yearly General Members Meeting. 

In consort with the other Board members and with the advice of the Treasure Control Committee you decide on the financial direction VESTING takes. Upfront you make a budget for all expenditures and earnings you expect to generate during your board year. Throughout the financial year, you will learn more about sponsor revenues and association expenditures. When money is tight, you decide what posts get cut and when money is superfluous, you decide in what way to invest it. In some sense, you are VESTING's CFO.

Last but not least, the Fifty Cent Shop is your domain. Doing well will deliver you much praise, whereas an empty Fifty Cent Shop will lead to many complaints…

A great part of your time, however, is spent doing general board tasks. As a board member you also help your fellow board members with the organization of activities, the support of committees, and members.

Next tot his, there is also a great social side to doing a board year! The many socials, where you get to befriend your fellow treasurers, other boards, and of course the VESTING Members are just one example. I can really recommend doing a board year, especially at VESTING, for you will soon realize there are not many study associations with members as committed as at VESTING. There is a very broad spectrum of possibilities! For any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. 

Wouter Voskuilen