One important review a volunteer treasurer should oversee is of the banking services used by the organisation.  More often than not the organisation has been with the same bank for a significant period of time and there has never been a review.

The importance of the review is that considerable amounts of money can be saved.  Also, if your organisation almost exclusively relies on donations, government grants or other public funds, it seems illogical that a portion is given to the bank to increase their profits at the expense of the activity or project you are supporting.

This also highlights the public accountability issue about how you raise and manage the funds. Donors and potential donors are more likely to either increase the size of their donation or start to donate if they are confident the organisation is managing the funds wel,l and this includes ensuring the financial costs are kept to a minimum.

Furthermore, most banks will offer a not for profit, charity or community based organisation a much better deal on costs but only if you discuss it with them.  In addition to reducing costs, they will usually offer higher interest rates for funds held with them, whether it be in the main operating account or an investment account.

The next post goes into a bit more detail about how to review you banking services.