​A yearly financial review completed in July is necessary to ensure that your PTA board of directors has engaged in responsible fiscal oversight and that good financial practices have been followed. It is a formal examination of the financial books and records of your PTA and serves to certify that receipts and expenditures, as authorized in the minutes, conform with bylaws, standing rules, and budget limitations. An annual financial review is also a PTA/PTSA insurance requirement.
Additionally, completing a mid-year review in January can make the year-end review easier to process and allows your PTA to catch any problems early on so that they are addressed as soon as possible.
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As a treasurer, you want to make sure your review committee can easily access all documents. As the review committee, you want to stay organized and have a good system for including all committee members in the process.
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Did you know that financial reviews can be done in-person or virtually over a video call? Offering a digital option allows for more flexibility in how volunteers meet and can even make it more accessible with tools such as closed captioning during video calls.  Below, you will find pointers for both treasurers and financial review committees on how to organize, prepare, and complete an online financial review. Following the guidance below will help treasurers feel confident when handing over the books for review and help empower the financial committee members to fulfill their duties.

Who Can Serve on the Financial Review Committee:
The financial review committee shall consist of no fewer than three members appointed by the president.

The financial review committee shall not include officers with signatory authority or individuals living within the same household as those authorized to sign on the bank account for the period being reviewed.
Further information about financial reviews may be found in the Managing Your Nonprofit PTA Handbook (located under Board Resources/Finance. These leadership guides are password protected. Ask Council for the password!)

FINANCIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
If you’ve volunteered to be a part of your PTA’s Financial Review Committee and are not sure where to begin, check out these 3 steps:
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1. Set Yourself up for Success
   Each committee member should have a copy of the WSPTA Financial Review Checklist (under Board Resources/Finance) to follow along. One person should be in charge of notetaking. You will want to make notes on a draft and then sign the final draft to submit to the board.
   
   While working remotely, it’s helpful for each team member to take ownership of one section of documents: Meeting Minutes, Standing Rules, any additional Policies (such as money handling, password updates, etc.), Bank Statements, Reconciliation Reports, Treasurer’s Reports, Expenses Reports, Deposit Reports, Grant Documents, Budget, etc.
   
   
2. Understand the Financial Review Form
   Check out the example below for notes on what documents to reference for each question. Click here to print the PDF of this document. *NOTE: This example is of an old form from 2019-2020. Most of the same questions are asked on the newer form with a few additions to account for allowing PTAs to have debit or secured credit cards.
   
   
3. Use the Comment Section
   As you work through the checklist, make note of any exceptions in the comments. If you cannot answer a question based on the information and files that you have, note this and move on to the next question.
   
   ​The final page will require signatures from all parties of the Financial Review Committee as well as any feedback and recommendations for the board of directors to take under advisement. This is also a great place to provide positive feedback!

​As a non-profit association, PTA can be vulnerable to cybercrimes. As a PTA leader, you are a person most likely to receive these types of emails. 

Scam Emails and Spoofing
The senders email may appear to come from another officer in your PTA such as the President or Treasurer, your bank or one of your vendors to help make the request look legitimate, but the email address is spoofed. There are things you can check for:

• Confirm the actual "from" address of the sender - don't rely only on the name that is shown.
• Does this email look and sound like other emails you have received from this person or institution?
• Does this email ask you to do something that is not in alignment with current financial or money handling policies?
• Often these emails will state the sender is unavailable in a meeting, or out of town, and sending money is an urgent matter. 
• Text or call the sender using an already established contact to verify the authenticity of the request. Do not call the number provided in the email. 

​Common Scams

• Asking for gift cards. Remember gift cards are the equivalent of cash and if the email is acted upon, there is likely no recourse to get the money back.
• Requesting a wire transfer usually through peer to peer (P2P) digital money transfer services such as PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, ApplePay, etc. Wire transfers and P2P digital services are not recommended for PTAs. Instead you should have a clear funds disbursement procedure that is well documented for your records.​
• The email message may direct you to a spoofed website or otherwise get you to divulge private information such as bank account information or account passwords. The perpetrators then use this private information to commit identity theft or trick you to send money usually through peer to peer digital money transfer services. 
  • Note that the scammers are getting more convincing especially since the introduction of AI bots (Artificial Intelligence). In the past these emails could easily be spotted with the large number of spelling errors and poor grammar. Now scammers are relying on AI to get the wording (and the spelling) spot on! 
    
    

Protecting Your PTA
There are a few things you and your board should be doing in order to protect your PTA:

• If you get an email from a fellow PTA officer asking to transfer funds, do not send money. Verify the authenticity of the request by phoning the officer using a phone number already established in your contacts.
• Establish clear lines of communication between board members.
• Do not let anyone rush you into making a decision because it needs to be done now. Scammers will use the sense of urgency to get you to bypass best practices. 
• Make your entire board including chairs aware of these type of scams and remind the board of money handling best practices. 
• Know your budget well. The best indicator of a potential fraudulent activity is a request that is made for something outside of your PTAs member-approved budget.
• Make sure your board of directors is well trained! View upcoming trainings here.
• Make sure you have well documented procedures and processes for money disbursement. (See below)
• Do not click any links or download any attachments in the suspicious email.
• Inform your board that Washington State PTA and Northshore Council will not ask you to transfer money, provide personal information, or provide banking information over email.
• Verify the identity of anyone who requests your personal information by using reliable, independent means.
• Never provide banking or confidential financial or personal information in response to a suspicious email or an unverified website or form.

Step to Take If Your PTA is Victim of Fraud
​In the unfortunate event that a scammer is successful, here are are some steps your PTA should follow if funds came from your PTA account:

1. Contact your bank and put a hold on the account and stop payment on the scam payment. 
2. Call an emergency board meeting (Wait time can be waived if agreed upon by Board.) 
3. Email [email protected]
4. Call AIM to confirm insurance, etc.
5. Decide as a board if filing a police report. 

​More Online Safety Tips & How to Report Internet Fraud

• Spoofing and Phishing - FBI 
• How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams - FTC Consumer Advice
• Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - FBI
  

How To Report Phishing
If you got a phishing email or text message, report it. The information you give helps fight scammers.

• If you got a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at [email protected].
• If you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726).
• Report the phishing attempt to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

​Remember to review coverage with your board before paying the premium.
Please note that premium payments are due before the end of November.

WSPTA Recommendations for Insurance include:

• General liability (covers your PTA),
• Officers’ liability (covers the board of directors, who make the decisions),
• Property if you own anything (short-term coverage is available for cookie dough or other physical items PTA holds during sales), and
• Fidelity bond to cover the PTA assets for loss due to fraud and embezzlement.

You may also want to consider social media insurance if you have active social media accounts.

Also be sure to add Northshore School District as an additional insured and request the endorsement from AIM when you renew - they do not automatically send that each year. NSD requires an updated copy of the form each year by December. If your PTA does not submit the updated endorsement, you risk cancellation of existing facility reservations and will be unable to make new requests until they have updated insurance paperwork.

Meeting Recap:

The General Membership meeting began with the reading of a Land Acknowledgement, a small but important step in showing respect and honor for the Indigenous Peoples of the land that we work and live on, and their truth, stories, and histories, which we commit to protecting and preserving from erasure. 

Claudine Miller was presented as the nominee for Council’s Secretary, and was then elected into the role after a vote was taken. Region 6’s Area VP, Liz Nord, then officially installed the Council officers for the 2022-2023 school year. Thank you, Council officers, for your commitment to serving our local PTAs and our students! 

Interim Superintendent Michael Tolley took some time to share with us what his and Northshore Schools’ focuses will be going forward into the 2022-2023 school year. NSD’s mission of “strengthening our community through excellence in education by focusing on our school communities, school climate and welfare, and school systems” will be hopefully be achieved by strategic initiatives such increasing inclusionary practices, and determining the measures that will tell us what we are going to do to help our students be successful in their education. To hear more about these strategic initiatives, and to share your hopes, concerns, and questions with Mr. Tolley, please consider attending a Listen and Learn session. More information can be found at https://www.nsd.org/our-district/leadership/interim-superintendent/listen-and-learn . 

Council Business: 

• After the minutes for the August 2022 Board meeting were presented for review, Council Treasurer, Serena Xu, presented the 2021-2022 Financial Review, the July 2022 Treasurer Report, the 2021-2022 End of Year report, and the proposed 2022-2023 Council Budget, which was then approved by vote. 
• Council Co-Chair, Rachel Fitzgerald, then presented proposed edits to the Council Standing Rules and Policies to keep our Council compliant with changes made by National PTA regarding Nominating Committees and membership. Proposed edits were accepted by vote. 
• Council Co-Chair, Rachel Fitzgerald, also presented the Council's Mission Statement and the Goals & Objectives which were approved by vote. 

District and Community Partners:

• School Board member Amy Cast gave a brief update on capital bond and levy projects, as well as letting us know that projects will be broken down into phases.
• NSD Community Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, Marco Garcia, shared that religious and medical exemptions will now be available for people interested in volunteering in our schools who are not fully vaccinated against the COVID virus. For more information on how to sign up to volunteer, as well as how to apply for a religious or medical exemption, please visit https://www.nsd.org/get-involved/volunteer/become-a-volunteer . Background checks are also currently experiencing delays, so get your volunteer application in as soon as possible! Lastly, Marco was excited to share that he was invited by the NSD Racial and Educational Justice department to share his story as a Black Latino, in honor of Hispanic and Latino/a/x Heritage Month. To watch a recording of Marco’s presentation, and to learn more about Hispanic and Latino/a/x Heritage Month, please visit https://www.nsd.org/our-district/who-we-are/racial-educational-justice/monthly-observances/post/~board/observance/post/hispanic-heritage-month
• Carson Sanderson joined us as a representative of the NSD Hi-Cap Parents Council, and shared with us the mission and focus of the Hi-Cap Parents Council, as well as how they are advocating on behalf of the Hi-Cap students in our schools. To learn more about the NSD Hi-Cap Parents Council, visit https://hcparents.blogspot.com/p/join-list-make-sure-you-stay-informed.html
• Carmin Dalziel with the Northshore Schools Foundation shared with us some of the work that the Foundation is doing to support our NSD students. Some of the work includes providing grants programs, classroom grants, and grants for PTAs (which are currently available), the Skills4Life Podcast, which is a weekly short podcast for parents and guardians of high school teens, and the Foundation Works program that serves and supports NSD families and students experiencing hardships with one-time grants. For more information about Northshore Schools Foundation, visit https://www.northshoreschoolsfoundation.org/who-we-are . 

Lastly, our Council chairs gave us updates on the important work that they are doing to advocate for and support our NSD students and local PTAs. We are very excited for all that they are doing, and we hope that you will join us this school year in advocating for all of our NSD students! Thank you to all who joined us for the first General Membership meeting of 2022-2023, and we hope that you will continue to attend our meetings!​

Council Business:

• November 15th, 2021 meeting minutes were accepted as presented.
• Serena Xu, Northshore Council PTSA Treasurer, reported that the mid year financial review will take place on Monday January 24th.
• The Nominating Committee was elected and includes: Diana Christiansen, Jasmine Fry, and Cherry Holmes. Click here to learn more about serving on Council in the 2022-2023 school year or to make a nomination.

Bond & Levies Support/Opposition Vote:
Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot.
During this meeting, both the pro and con positions on the issue were presented before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies. Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously. Learn more...

District Updates:

• We heard form NSD Partnerships & Volunteer Coordinator Marco Garcia who discussed how he organized a COVID testing clinic and food donations packages.
• NSD School Board Updates were provided by Director Amy Cast which included reviewing the monitoring report and the budget.

Council Committee Reports:

• Advocacy: Diana Christiansen & Jen Drury provided updates regarding the recent Focus on Advocacy Week as well as information on signing up for the action alerts which can be found here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-to-wsptas-action-network-group
• Educational Speakers and Community Events Grants Program: Mary Khouzam, Grants Committee Chair, reminded us that there was still time to submit grant applications for the Jan 21st deadline. She also announced that the date may be pushed but that this decision is still pending. If you have further questions, please reach out to the Grants Committee.
• Reflections: Jasmine Lee Fry, Reflections Chair, reported that the online showcase will be up and running at a later date as it is still be worked on. Council's Reflections Results now available!
• Mental Health Committee: Melissa Kline, Co-Chair for the Mental Health Committee, provided an update regarding what the committee has been working on including advocating for more resources, putting out articles, and working with counselors on flyers and communication materials. The committee also put out a call for action - asking local PTA leaders to check how accessible mental health resources were at their school. Learn more about that here.
• Membership: Co-Chairs, Hanisha Bakshani and Melissa Kline, provided an update that we have 5181 members across the district with many of our local PTAs already earning a WSPTA Membership Growth Award. The more members we have the stronger our voice is in the district!
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: DEI Chair, Cherry Holmes, hosted a DEI roundtable meeting early in the school year. Cherry asked for feedback on "What does DEI mean in your PTSA/School?" - send your response here.
• PTA Support: VP of Elementary Support, Grace Jurado, asked that you please reach out with any questions or concerns or if you need any help. VP of Secondary Support, Brenae Brix, discussed that families are looking for more information on preparing around college and a local parent has volunteered to provide this information. This parent is partnering with Council to provide an info night on March 16th about preparing for college. More information will be coming soon. Middle school career days are being worked on at several middle schools. It will be a half day and presented within the students classroom.
• Emergency Preparedness: Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie, reported to us that an additional 117 Stop the Bleed! kits were obtained this round. That is a total of 862 kits in the district. The next meeting for E-Prep is Feb 1st at 11am and the guest speaker will be Deb Fuller. Learn more...
• Special Education: Laura Staneff will soon be joining council as our new Special Education Chair.

We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on March 21st, 2022 @ 7pm.
For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar.