Sample contents of financial procedures manual

The procedures manual is useful for establishing controls as well as laying out trustees financial responsibilities

This will need to be tailored to the needs and structure of individual organisations.

Trustees' financial responsibilities

• The executive committee
• The annual plan
• Approval of the budget
• Reserves policy
• Conflicts of interest
• Staff financial responsibilities
• Controls on income
• Grants
• Legacies
• Publication sales
• Decentralised sales invoicing
• Credit control
• Bad debts

Controls on expenditure

• Estimates and tendering
• Purchase orders and invoices
• Bank mandates and cheque signatories
• Credit cards
• Petty cash

Controls on the financial assets

• Reconciling cash book to bank
• Reconciling purchase ledger
• Reconciling sales ledger
• Reconciling stock accounts
• Reconciling publications stock
• VAT
• Inland Revenue
• Reconciling payroll control
• Treasury management
• Investment portfolio

Exercising budgetary control

• Virement

Controls on human resources

• Staff complement
• Staff salaries
• Staff regrading
• Extra responsibility allowance
• Starters and leavers
• Contracts of employment
• Travel and subsistence
• The Probity Book
• Season ticket loans

Controls on physical assets

• Computer equipment
• Computer software and data