Na Treasurers Workbook Form – Fill Out and Use This PDF

Twelve Steps

of Narcotics Anonymous

1.We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2.We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3.We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4.We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5.We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6.We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7.We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8.We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9.We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10.We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11.We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12.Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Twelve Steps reprinted for adaptation by permission of AA World Services, Inc.

Introduction

The Treasurer’s Handbook and Group Treasurer’s WorkBOOK are meant to help us use NA’s money responsibly, at all levels of service. We know that local communities around the world face different circumstances, so we encourage you to adapt these guidelines, using common sense, to meet your local needs.

Our Eleventh Concept tells us that “NA funds are to be used to further our primary purpose, and must be managed responsibly.” The Eleventh Concept essay from the Twelve Concepts for NA Service booklet tells us a little more:

Narcotics Anonymous funds should always be used to further our primary purpose. Money is used to pay the expenses involved in running NA recovery meetings, to inform the public about NA, and to reach addicts who can’t get to meetings. It is used to develop, produce, translate, and distribute our message in written form, and to bring our members together in a service community committed to the vision of spreading our message around the world to those in need. All of this is done in support of NA’s spiritual aim: to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.

Self-Support: Our Common Responsibility

In today’s world, it is impossible to carry the message of Narcotics Anonymous without the availability of sufficient funds. It costs money to print literature and distribute it, to have phonelines and other services that connect the newcomer to us, and to staff service centers.

The moment the member’s hard-earned money is dropped in the basket at a meeting, our responsibility for that money as trusted servants begins. It is incumbent upon us to do everything possible to see that the money is used wisely and cared for judiciously, and this includes providing not only for the individual group’s needs but for the needs of NA services as well. A Guide to Local Services in Narcotics Anonymous suggests direct group and area donations to all levels of service: “Narcotics Anonymous groups directly support area, regional, and world services from money left over after covering their own expenses. Area committees … are encouraged to do the same with their surplus funds, sending them on to other levels of the service structure.” Here is a chart that demonstrates how funds can flow through our service structure:

NA Member

Group

Area

Region

World

1

1.Make receipts every time cash comes into or goes out of the group treasury, and

2.Use money orders, not cash, for paying bills and making donations to area, region, or world services.

Every time a check is written or a deposit is made, a record should be made in the group’s check register. (The same applies if a group uses cash and money orders. Such groups can just call the form a “cash record” instead of a check register.) If this isn’t done, it can take a long time to straighten out the group’s money records and match them up with bank statements for the group’s account.

The figures in the check register and the bank statement for the account should be matched up every month. If good, easy-to-read records are kept, this will only take a few minutes each month.

Filling in the Group Check Register Form

The following procedure for preparing a check register should be repeated each month.

A.Beginning balance (Line 1): This will be the beginning balance for the first day of the month. Enter the date, then go over to the “Balance” column and enter the amount of the beginning balance. The ending balance for one month becomes the beginning balance for the following month.

B.Procedure for entering checks: When entering the check, enter the date of the check in the “Date” column, the payee and the purpose of the check in the “Description and Purpose” column, and the check number and the amount of the check under the “Amount” column. Subtract the amount of the check from the previous balance to arrive at the current balance.

C.Procedure for entering deposits: Enter the date of the deposit in the “Date” column, state where the money came from under the “Description and Purpose” column, and enter the amount of the deposit under the “Deposit” column. Add the amount of the deposit to the previous balance, and enter the total under “Balance.”

Procedure for Reconciling the Group Check Register Form to the Bank Statement

This must be done each month. When the treasurer receives the bank statement, he or she should “reconcile” it with the check register (in other words, match up the entries in the group’s check register with the figures shown on the bank statement) as soon as possible. Doing this each month will make sure that the group’s records are right and that any math errors in them are found. The attached Bank Statement Reconciliation Form provides simple, step-by-step instructions.

Record Keeping Without a Checking Account

Groups that choose not to use checking accounts can use the same record system and form included in this handbook; the form can be adapted and copied as needed. Such groups can use money orders instead of checks to pay bills and make donations to area, region, or world services.

Group Financial Reporting

The group treasurer should make a financial report every month. This responsibility is too often overlooked. A written report based upon the Group Treasurer’s Report Form included in these guidelines is recommended. Information contained in this report should be taken from the Group Check Register Form.