Here are three Board questions, one general and two for the Treasurer.
(General) For a non-profit start-up, besides finance, what are the most urgently needed committees?
Would I be correct in assuming that the Treasurer need not have a good credit rating? For that matter, would any Board members need to have good credit ratings?
Especially since the Treasurer would not be handling money, just recording it’s use. The money would primarily be from a government source.
How best to set up a system to record monetary flow?
This is in advance of any major disbursements received.
I feel it is best to “hit the ground running.”
The most urgently needed committees are those topic areas that require too much attention for the board as a whole to discuss and rule on each one. Whenever possible, committees should be defined for a limited period of time and specific function. A Finance committee does not sound even remotely necessary for most non profits. I would only have one if you need to them to deal with internal and external auditors or if managing investments is a significant part of what the nonprofit does.
Credit ratings of board members will only be important if they are acting as a surety or guaranty for a company loan, lease, etc. In that kind of case, it really doesn’t matter what their position is, only that they’re willing to pay up if the nonprofit can’t. This is not usually required of a nonprofit and they usually stand on their own credit rating.
Talk to your CPA* about setting up a system for bookkeeping. You’re right that it’s good to hit the ground running, and this is an area where those professionals can make sure you have it all set up properly. Many nonprofits do just fine with QuickBooks (I have five nonprofit clients using QB), but you do not want to just set it up yourself. The four who came to me with QB company files already set up had all done it wrong to some degree.
Also talk to your CPA* about internal controls and how to divide responsibilities (i.e. one person does the books, one person writes the checks and one person authorizes the check-writing. Having any one person do two or more of these is creating room for mishandling of funds). Since you get money from a government source, I assume that you do have audit requirements and this will give the CPA a head start.
You do have a CPA, right? You’re not counting on board members to figure out which taxes and registration and auditing requirements apply, right?
Your local best governance may vary, but in my experience, ongoing subcommittees are a good idea where an area requires specialised knowledge or attention, as it lets appointed experts deal with matters as they arise. In my personal experience a “legal compliance and risk” subcommittee is critical.
I leave the other areas to those who know the laws under which you operate better than I.