Skye and Lochalsh Community Care Forum SCIO
Financial Policy and Procedures
Financial Monitoring Controls
Management Committee will review the internal financial controls on an annual basis.
The annual budgets of income and expenditure will be prepared and approved by the Management Committee.
Performance against budgets will be measured on a monthly basis and reviewed at each Management Committee meeting. Copies of bank statements can be accessed online by the Treasurer at any time. The Treasurer will receive each month an Income and Expenditure sheet.
The Management Committee will appoint an independent examiner/accountant.
The accounts will be formally approved by the Management Committee at an annual meeting. Annual report, and accounts and annual return will be filed on time.
A fixed, fire resistant combination safe set in a lockable room will be used for holding cash amounts above £200. Security access information will be held within the safe in a signed and seal tamper resistant envelope. The security safe must be opened in the presence of two independent people. An additional smaller safe will be used for petty cash and cheque books etc. The combination of the smaller safe will be held by the manager and the financial administrator.
General
Mail must be opened in the presence of two independent people. Any unopened mail is to be kept secure in a lockable unit. All correspondence received is to be date stamped.
A diary will be kept of all matters due e.g. staff appraisals and Disclosures, returns to OSCR, Reports due to Funders etc. This must be signed on a monthly basis on completion of due tasks and reported at Management meetings.
Income Received by Post
All incoming cheques and cash are to be recorded immediately and banked as soon as possible. Cash must be checked by two independent people before entering in the log book.
Receipts must be issued for all incoming payments including initial award of grants. Letters of thanks to be written with date of acknowledgement entered in log book. Receipts are to be attached to acknowledgement letters and photocopied for office records.
Bank paying in book stubs to be checked monthly against log book entries by two independent people, this may be the Treasurer, Manager, Financial Administrator or Committee Member, the monitoring check must be signed, and reconciled with the bank statement.
Bank pay in slip numbers are to be entered on spread sheets.
Income from Public Collections and Fundraising Events
All public collections will be undertaken within legal requirements.
All collection boxes must be sealed and numbered with their allocation and return recorded. Collections will be counted in the presence of the collector and a receipt given.
For ticket incomes, all tickets will be pre-numbered with records kept of people issued with tickets to sell and the ticket numbers they have been allocated. Record will be kept of tickets sold and reconciliations made of money received against tickets sold.
Two independent people will count and record the income, and cash will be banked as soon as possible.
Gift Aid Donations
Regular checks will be made to ensure all eligible tax repayments are claimed. Records as required by HMRC for Gift Aid claims will be kept.
Trading Income
A signed annual agreement will be established between the organisation and any Commercial Participants who have agreed to sell products on our behalf as required by the Charities and Benevolent Fundraising (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
Receipts will be given to commercial participants for money received and this will be banked as soon as possible. Record will be kept of goods sold and reconciliations made of money received against goods sold.
Two independent people will count and record the income, and cash will be banked as soon as possible.
Expenditure
Invoices received are to be checked against orders confirming pricing and receipt of goods or services ordered. Payments due are to be made on a regular monthly/fortnightly basis.
Allocation vouchers defining funding streams must be completed and filed with invoices. Separate vouchers are be used to differentiate between cash, cheque and credit card payments.
Payment by Cheque
Cheque signatories will be approved by the Management Committee with the bank mandate requiring at least two signatories.
Cheque books are to be kept in a secure lockable unit and accessed only by financial administrator, signatories and management committee members delegated to complete monthly monitoring checks.
Cheques will be signed with documentary evidence of the nature of payment e.g invoice or projected and approved respite expenditure. On no account will blank cheques be signed.
All cheque expenditure will be recorded and noted with relevant cheque number, nature of payment and payee.
A cheque signatory log form must be completed where the amount exceeds £500 or the recipient is a signatory. The recipient can only sign a cheque with management consent.
Payments by Direct Debit, Standing Orders and BACS Direct Credit
Only the Management Committee Office Bearers, Financial Administrator and Manager are authorised to set up direct debits, standing orders and direct credits. All BACS payments must be authorised by two people.
Monthly monitoring checks will be used to ensure automatic payment arrangements are cancelled when goods or services are no longer being supplied.
Passwords are to be held by nominated people and under no circumstances to be divulged to another member of the committee or staff. No person will have access to both passwords required for authorisation payments. It will be a disciplinary offence to disclose passwords without appropriate authorisation from the Management Committee. One access code and password will be held by 2 nominated management committee members and the second one will be held by 2 nominated staff members.
Bank statements are to be reconciled each month and checked by an independent nominated person from the Management Committee who is not a signatory.
Credit Card
Manager will hold a personal credit card for Young Carer Service use only; the Manager will have sole responsibility for its security and use. Two debit cards are also in use and will be used by staff members who will sign on receipt of the card and again when the card is returned. The amount spent will be logged. The debit and credit cards are to be used where practicable to avoid carrying excessive cash amounts.
All card expenditure will be supported by vouchers and invoices and recorded in the accounting records each time the card is used.
Card statements to be checked against invoices by 2 independent people and reimbursement will be made by BACS transfer and authorised by 2 people.
Petty Cash
Withdrawals from bank are authorised up to a maximum of £200 in any one week unless one week prior to a planned young carer respite outing when the amount is authorised up to a maximum of £2,000. Two paid staff signatories can authorise petty cash withdrawals up to a maximum of £200.00, amounts exceeding this must be authorised by at least one Management Committee signatory.
All payments by cash will be made from a cash float and not from any incoming cash. A Petty Cash expenditure record will be kept with details of all payments and petty cash vouchers will be countersigned and attached to receipts.
Petty cash float will be checked against the petty cash entry records. After each Management Committee meeting by a nominated Trustee.
Credit Vouchers
Credit voucher income will be logged with all expenditure recorded along with relevant receipts.
Pay Roll
All staff will submit time sheets and expenses claims before the last Monday of each month.
Time Sheets are to be counter checked and signed by Financial Administrator, Manager, Depute or member of the Management Committee.
Reimbursement of staff or Management Committee Members
Expenses reimbursements where an individual has incurred expenses in the course of carrying out the charity’s business will be made by BACS transfer or cheque.
Payment will be authorised by 2 people other than the recipient. In exceptional circumstances authorisation for recipient to countersign a payment can be obtained from a Management Committee Office Bearer with authorisation details logged on appropriate receipt/voucher.
Electronic Banking
Authorisation of transactions will be required by 2 nominated individuals. Computers will have up to date anti-virus and spyware software as well as a fire wall.
All security details will be held securely in a safe along with a list of people who are approved to have access to the PIN and password. Passwords and PIN will be changed when an individual leaves the organisation.
An audit trail of electronic banking transactions will be kept.
Restricted Funds
Restricted funds will be shown as such and performance against budgets will be measured on a monthly basis and reviewed at each Management Committee meeting.
Reviewed...... Date......
Approved...... Date......
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S&L Community Care Forum SCIO August 2015