Financial Management
Explore financial management essentials for local football clubs, from budgeting, role of treasurer, to effective reporting, ensuring fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
Income & Expenses
A club’s income is the money received by the club. A club’s income can come from:
- Registration fees
- Canteen sales
- Grants
- Gate takings
- Fundraising
- Merchandise sales
- Sponsorship
A club’s expenses can be defined as the amount of money that is spent by the club. Club expenses can include:
- Insurance and affiliation
- Ground hire
- Footballs and other equipment
- Event costs
- Medals and trophies
- Uniforms and merchandise
- Utilities (electricity, water etc.)
Budget
All clubs should have a budget as it underpins all club activities and plans, in the short and long term. Your sports club budget (financial plan/forecast) is a tool to help your club manage money and plan for a healthy future.
The treasurer is responsible for developing a budget for the club in consultation with the relevant committees.
Writing a club budget doesn’t have to be complicated. One way to create the budget is to compare your actual income and costs to what you budgeted or use last year’s figures. The budget is simply a plan that’s been expressed in money terms and is usually prepared for one year in advance. A budget will show:
- How much income your club expects to receive during the next financial year (income)
- How much your club expects to spend in the next financial year (expense)
- The predicted surplus (profit) or deficit (loss) for the budget period
Financial Reporting
All football clubs need sound practices for regulating and recording financial transactions.
The PFL offers clubs the option to use Xero as their accounting software, with the PFL covering the cost and the system managed by a third-party provider (Digit). The PFL does not have access to any club financial records. Clubs can use the base chart of accounts provided, or use their own if they prefer.
The treasurer is responsible for reporting the financial status of the club to the committee on a regular basis and comparing the financial performance with the budgeted performance. Make sure all bank accounts held by the club are regularly presented to the committee. e.g., senior account, junior account, events account and ensure these are reported in the club financial reports.
Role of the Treasurer
Whilst the Treasurer & Club President will spend more time assessing the financial health of the club, the whole Committee need to take an active role in monitoring the financial health of the club.
Getting a diligent Treasurer who understands modern practices when it comes to preparing and reporting on the club budget, cashflow & balance sheet is important. They should not be the only Committee rep with access to the bank accounts for complete oversight and accountability. Having multiple representatives with oversight of the transactions is also a requirement for insurance coverage within the Club Management Liability policy provided by Marsh as part of the National Risk Protection Program
Templates for your club operations
Access a range of ready-to-download templates for your club and its operations.
Annual Financial Report
A statement of income and expenditure and a statement of assets and liabilities are the principal components of the annual financial report to be adopted by members at AGM.
These statements show the profitability and financial position, as well as the net worth, of the club after the year’s activities and should include comparisons to the previous year’s figures to assist the members in determining any area of significant change between periods.
The report is based on the receipts and the payments, which have been summarised in the cashbooks.
Annual income and expenditure statement shows how much money the club has made or lost over the year. The statement is based on figures recorded in the cashbook and is normally prepared by your club’s treasurer and verified by the auditor.
Annual statement of assets and liabilities is a statement of what the club owns and what it owes, the difference between the two being the net worth or accumulated funds of the club.
If the club is incorporated under state/territory legislation, it is required to lodge a return (copy of the annual accounts) at the appropriate state/territory authority.
Depending on the range of systems used, the club treasurer may need to oversee multiple systems. The more systems in the place, the higher the workload for the Treasurer and the more chance of errors. At some clubs, Club Treasurers may need to monitor the following:
- Cheque books
- A numbered receipt book with carbon copy page
- A file for accounts payable
- A file to store receipts from accounts paid
- Bank deposit books
- A cash book or a general ledger
- Account forms for members’ subscriptions
- File of orders placed with suppliers
- A file to store bank statements
- A petty cash payment voucher/book