These are all great ideas! Our PTO changed our by-laws a few years ago to head off problems like this before they started. We added a line stating something to the fact that "unless an expense is itemized in the aproved budget for the year(we have a fairly well itemized budget) it has to be approved by at least three board members (if up to $75) or the whole board (between $75-$150). If the expense is over $150 it must be approved at a regular PTO meeting - NO EXCEPTIONS!" Something like this may help as most PTO's do not have a 'Muffins & Latte' line in their budget

Going back to the mission is a great technique. And later, when you find you need to justify the policies - I also find reinforcing the policy (or the reason NOT to do something) by way of referencing an authoritative 3rd party very effective when someone later tries to bend the rules.

What you may want to say is:
We're doing it this way because idiot members in the past abused their positions and we're trying to protect this organization from such lunacy in the future. Oh wait, weren't YOU on the Board last year?

But what might be better are explanations like:

You know, the IRS is really cracking down. We need to be very careful to follow all the rules for a charitable organization. (Not really a lie. The IRS is ALWAYS cracking down...somewhere.)

The auditor said....
Auditor - yet another scary word.

Oh, I know YOU would never take advantage, but we really have to set a firm example for everyone else who doesn't know where to draw the line. So it's best we all take a conservative approach.
Force them to be a role model.

You get the idea.

Excellent ideas! Starting out on the right foot really does help eliminate potential problems with past members who may have done things "differently". Love all the ideas...all of these implemented ideas will surely be a positive step in the right direction.

Great points, JHB. Pointing out past mistakes can open your group up to a lot of arguing, finger pointing, hurt feelings, and a negative reputation with the families in your school-not exactly things that make for a successful group.

Maybe New Treasurer and her group need to take a step back and really look at their mission statement, if they have one, or if they don't then establish their mission. One year as President, I started off our budget approval meeting by reading our mission statement to the group. I simply pointed out that I hoped that everyone would keep it in mind as we reviewed the proposed budget and as we moved through our school year. It's easy to get sidetracked sometimes, so it's nice to go back and refresh everyone's mind as to why the group exist.

Here's an example of one of our policies. Simple bullets, less than one page. Easy to review in a meeting. We didn't have the history of spending any funds on personal items, so we didn't address that. I'd probably focus on the positive, maybe add a bullet about what PTO expenses should be FOR (not what they cannot be). Note there may may be much more detailed info for the Board and/or Treasurer. But this is short so it can easily be grasped by everyone.

* A general meeting of the organization will be held by the end of September to approve the budget for the fiscal year.

*Money raised by this organization shall be spent as specified in the approved budget. Any additional expenditure must be approved by a majority vote the Executive Board.

*This PTO shall not be liable for any non-budgeted monetary expenditure of $100 or more without submission of such expenditures to the Executive Board for approval.

*The PTO shall not be liable for any non-budgeted monetary expenditures of less than $100 without prior approval of the PTO President and two additional Executive Board Members.

* PTO Board Members have the obligation to be conservative in the use of PTO funds and to report to the Board at monthly meeting regarding to the intended use of any budgeted funds.

*In order for PTO funds to be disbursed (for a reimbursement or to initiate a payment to an external company) a “Funds Authorization” request must be completed.

* All Funds Authorization forms must be signed by at least two (2) Executive Board members and submitted with receipts or appropriate order paperwork.

*All reimbursement requests must be submitted within 60 days of the expense.

*All PTO checks must be signed by two (2) authorized Board members.

*Any commitment of funds that does not follow these policies is the personal responsibility of the initiator.

I agree, if there's simply a way to tighten things up and move forward without pointing fingers about what was done in the past, that's the best way to handle it.

We all have some of those issues. At one point we had a problem with well-meaning committee chairs and volunteers sending home flyers that hadn't been approved, coordinated, or even spell-checked. We documented good policies as part of our general effort to tighten up our procedures and under the guise of education "new" volunteers. (Which was true, but it was even more important some of our "old" ones got the message.)

We didn't spend a lot of time pointing out the MANY bad examples of the past. We explained the reasons for various points (i.e., Principal review) and had the policies bulleted right there in writing for everyone to review. We did the same thing with cash handling and reimbursements.

Then, when people try to backslide as is invitable, you simply enforce the written policy. No "good, bad, who's at fault?", just fact - "THIS is our policy, THIS is how we do it."