For Profit And Non Profit Organizations

In the business world, the conversation about the Board of Directors of any organization isn’t always a common topic. Whether you are watching the news on the television or looking up information on the internet about companies and their business activities, one will often hear mention of a CEO or other corporate officers but not always about the Board of Directors. However, we never really dig deep into exactly what the purposes are of these Board of Directors, and what the various positions on the Board are responsible for. We also never differentiate between For Profit and Non-Profit organizations. The purpose of this paper is to bring clarity to the Board of Directors and the role they play within their For Profit and Non-Profit organizations.

A Board of Directors is responsible for appointing officers of their corporation. These corporate officers are called the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Secretary. The CEO is top decision maker for the corporation and the one who usually reports to the Board of Directors. The COO is responsible for the day to day business operations of the corporation and reports to the CEO. The CFO oversees all matters regarding the finances, financial standing and accounting of the corporation and reports to the CEO and sometimes directly to the Board of Directors. And lastly, the Secretary is in charge of keeping record of all meetings. A Board of Directors inability to pick competent, effective, and result driven corporate officers can result in them losing their seat on the Board when time for reelection rolls around. A great way to think about it is that corporate officers have a fiduciary duty to the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors have a fiduciary duty to pick corporate officers who will maintain a profitable corporation for the

The secretary must also keep record of any activity or event that the organization is planning. They will also keep a copy of each of the board members and volunteers contact information so that they can be contacted for any reason related to the business of their Non-Profit organization. The Treasurer within the Board of Directors is responsible for all the money that comes in and out of the organization. They are responsible for keeping track of all spending, while keeping up with the receipts for items purchased. They must be able to have a bookkeeping system to account for the expenses and deposits. The Treasurer is the financial back-bone to the Board of Directors and the Non-Profit