Treasurer

Hello,

my name is Arjen Kratz and I have been the treasurer of ESN-Utrecht for the year 2012-2013 now. “Sadly” I am not writing this from a sunny beach on some tropical island, so if you are interested in the position of treasurer: do not get your hopes up. However I do hope that the title will entice you to read on, I may be better with money than with a pen but luckily the role of treasurer sells itself. Frankly I don’t know what people think that I do, but the way I see it you can divide my tasks in three parts. First of all, you are by title responsible for every penny that passes through the foundation. That means a lot of cash counting and archiving many receipts and invoices. To you also falls the task of collecting sponsorship and subsidy funds and all other money owed to ESN.

Besides monitoring all this in- and outgoing money, you are the guardian of the budget plan that your board drafted at the beginning of the year. This means that you keep an eye on the financial planning of the committees and any new purchase plans and relay this information to the “KasCie”.The KasCie is the financial monitoring committee within ESN, its people are both your auditors and your helpers and you meet with them regularly. Since money is in one way or another tied to nearly every part of the ESN organization, you are very aware of what is happening. This helicopter view in your function is a trait you share with the president and the secretary, one that I personally really enjoy.

Of course not everything you do as a board member is related to your function. Lots of tasks are non-specific, for instance doing your office shifts and visiting orations, constitution drinks and celebrations from the universities. I personally really enjoy the contact that this gives me with other student organisations and the academic world, something I wouldn’t have come close to if I had not joined the board. ESN Utrecht also has a lot of contact with other ESN sections on national and international level, this is another good opportunity to learn more about ESN and yourself and not unimportantly: it is a lot of fun. Also getting to know your fellow board members during the year is something interesting and rewarding, sometimes it gets tough but there is nothing like looking back on something and being able to think “we nailed it”. If any feeling is better than it must be the gratitude of an international who comes to thank you for making his day perfect.

So, there you have it. There is so much more to it than I can explain in a short writing, so if you have any questions just shoot me an e-mail or find me in the Poema on our Tuesday international drink.

Best regards,
Arjen