[GNC] BotanyBayGardens nonprofit example, and why GnuCash does not suffice

[Edward Bainton]

At my local mosque they do it this way:

Buckets are carried passed the waiting rows of worshippers and various
notes and coins dropped in.
Buckets then go to the front of the mosque during the prayers.
After prayers the buckets are tipped up on the carpet near the exit and 5-6
people count the cash together.
A note of the total then goes on the mosque noticeboard - for this week and
with prior weeks also shown.

I'm honestly not sure when it gets banked, but this seems a reasonably good
system given the accounts are looked over annually by a qualified
independent scrutineer - I'm assuming s/he'd spot any leakage.




On Sat, 1 Aug 2020 at 14:24, Michael or Penny Novack <
stepbystepfarm at comcast.net> wrote:

> On 7/31/2020 7:48 PM, doncram wrote:
> > Michael Novack said:  "I did like you said, recounted in the presence of
> a
> > witness or witnesses, and then and there wrote a personal check for that
> > amount and pocketed the currency. In other words, I was able to REPLACE
> > physical cash so now just checks"
> >
> > But if you, as treasurer, walk away with the check to deposit it in a
> > few days, there really is no verification to suspicious others that
> > you haven't pocketed some cash.  You could just replace your own check
> > with another written for a lesser amount, just like you could remove
> > some cash (bills and coins) before depositing that.  I do see your
> > writing a check does ensure that you would not accidentally take away
> > any of the cash, but this doesn't fully assure someone who is
> > suspicious.  Unless someone else has the recorded amount of cash that
> > was counted, and also sooner or later will have access to records to
> > verify that was the amount deposited, and is likely to actually check,
> > then you haven't proven anything much.  Whether it is cash (bills and
> > coins) or a check written by you, it would still be better for someone
> > else to make the deposit, and then you, with complete access to the
> > bank info, can verify they deposited the right amount.
>
> You are missing some details.
>
> a) The amount of the take would have been reported and a record of that
> amount in the minutes of the community meeting. Used to be next day but
> recently just an hour later. That could be compared to the amount of
> deposit to the various "funds" when next financial report produced. In
> theory, the board should notice any differences << the take from this
> fundraiser designated for multiple "funds" so not only the issue of
> total but correctly assigned to the correct fund >>
>
> b) In the case of this event, the location of the nearest "night deposit
> box" would be about 150 miles away from the event. In the case of the
> only other (not treasurer of organization, just treasurer of the local
> group hosting the event) again reported. The point being not handing a
> pile of bills to the national treasurer (who might be thousands of miles
> away from their night deposit box) but a check for that amount.
>
> c) But you are right in that few ask to see/verify the available
> records. As noted for my main role of treasurer (finally have a
> replacement) I even asked for a procedure where another organization
> officer get statements directly from the bank to compare with my reports
> << because in my case, the professional skills to produce a statement
> appearing exactly like the ones from the bank -- after all, an IT pro
> wrote the code that produces the bank statements for the bank just like
> I did for where I worked >> But in the 15 years or so, I could count on
> the fingers of one hand how often actually done.
>
> Michael D Novack
>
>
>
>
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