Anycounty Beekeepers Association. Charity No.#####
Title: INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROLS
Precedence of Documents
Where a conflict arises between the provisions of this document and
the Governing Document of the Charity, the Governing Document of the
Charity shall prevail.
Amendment
This document once agreed by a majority vote of the Trustees at a
Meeting of Trustees may be amended only by agreement of all of the
Trustees.
1 Receipts
| 1.1 |
The Charity prefers monies to be sent by cheque or inter bank transfer
directly to the Treasurer and shall communicate this preference to the
membership.
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| 1.2 |
A book of uniquely pre-numbered receipts shall be available to the
Treasurer and other officer(s), (ie Chairman and / or Secretary) as
permitted by the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall record to whom each
receipt book has been issued and shall be accountable for any stocks
of receipt books. Any cheques or cash received shall be recorded
immediately and a receipt issued except when the amount involved is
trivial e.g. tea money, charity box. In the latter case a receipt
shall be issued for the sum of the cash collected. The cash to be
counted in the presence of two people authorised by the trustees for
the purpose. Any unused receipts shall be accounted for and returned
to the Treasurer at the end of each calendar year.
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| 1.3 |
Funds received shall be transferred to and recorded by the Treasurer
on a computer at the earliest possible time. The records kept by the
treasurer should identify each receipt individually (including the
number of the receipt and the date the receipt was entered in the
receipt book and the date the Treasurer received the money). The
Treasurer shall ensure adequate back up of the information is made
from time to time.
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| 1.4 |
All cash/cheques shall be transferred to the Treasurer without the
deduction of any costs or expenses. The Treasurer shall inspect the
stub / copy of the receipt issued and initial the same to acknowledge
that the cash / cheques have been received by the Treasurer.
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2 Banking & Custody
| 2.1 |
The Treasurer shall keep all cash and cheques in a locked cash box in a
safe place and always separate from the Treasurer's own funds.
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| 2.2 |
The Charity shall operate one or more bank accounts in the name of the
Charity. Instructions to open or close accounts shall be authorised by
a meeting of trustees. The correspondent with the banks shall be the
Treasurer and other officers with the Treasurer's permission.
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| 2.3 |
The cash and cheques shall be banked, in the accounts mentioned above,
regularly without the deduction of any amounts for expenses, costs or
petty cash so that the amount in the cash box does not exceed £200.
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| 2.4 |
The Treasurer shall ensure that the amounts on the paying in slip
correspond with the amounts shown on the bank statement.
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| 2.5 |
The Treasurer shall administer separately any funds with a restriction
on their future use.
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3 Commitment to Expenditure
| 3.1 |
Only the Treasurer can contract / order on behalf of the charity.
- If the value is under £100 he can do it without reference to the
trustees.
- If the value is over £100 then he needs to use the form in Annex A
to get the trustees approval. A meeting of trustees shall approve by
a majority vote and recording the same at annex A, authority for the
treasurer to enter into any contract, order or liability exceeding
£100. The decision shall be binding on all trustees.
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| 3.2 |
Trustees and volunteers may be reimbursed the reasonable cost of
expenses incurred wholly and necessarily in the course of carrying out
the charity's business. Reimbursement will be against the costs
actually incurred as evidenced by original receipts or invoices. Where
a claim is for travel by motorcar it will be reimbursed at one half
the rate per mile provided annually by the Inland Revenue. Where
expenses are liable to exceed £20, approval of the trustees must be
sought prior to the expense being incurred.
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4 Payments
| 4.1 |
The charity prefers to make payments by cheque and in any event all
payments in excess of £10 shall be by cheque.
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| 4.2 |
The Treasurer shall keep in safe custody all cheque books.
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| 4.3 |
The Treasurer shall write out all cheques having checked that due
authority for the payment has been received as per section 3.
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| 4.4 |
The Treasurer shall complete the cheque stub and enter the details in
a computer-based list of payments cross referenced to the cheque
number.
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| 4.5 |
The bank account(s) must each have three trustees nominated as
signatories, one of whom shall be the Treasurer. The signatories shall
not be related. Two signatories are required for each cheque. A cheque
which is payable to a nominated signatory shall not be signed by that
person. Blank cheques shall not be signed by a signatory.
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| 4.6 |
Where small payments are made in cash a receipt / payment stub shall be
made out by the person authorised by the Trustees to make the payment.
The Treasurer shall enter the details in a computer-based list of
payments cross referenced to the receipt number.
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| 4.7 |
The charity will not make loans to members or other individuals under
any circumstances.
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5 Assets
| 5.1 |
The Treasurer shall maintain on behalf of the Trustees a list of the
assets belonging or loaned to the association. The list shall record
the cost of the item, its age and condition together with its location
for safekeeping.
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| 5.2 |
Any gifts in kind received by the Trustees on behalf of the charity
must be reported to the Treasurer at the earliest opportunity.
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| 5.3 |
The Trustees shall arrange annually for an examination of the assets
and any change in the age, condition, value or location of an asset
shall be reported to the Treasurer.
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| 5.4 |
The Trustees shall review annually the use made of any fixed assets to
ensure they effectively further the work of the charity.
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6 Reporting
| 6.1 |
The Treasurer shall provide at each meeting of Trustees the year to
date total of receipts and payments, and give the Trustees any
analysis of those totals and also give information relating to any
individual receipt or payment if requested to do so.
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| 6.2 |
The Treasurer shall provide at each meeting of Trustees the original
most recent statement of each bank account in the name of the charity.
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| 6.3 |
The Treasurer shall provide at each meeting of Trustees the number of
paid up members at the date of the meeting.
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| 6.4 |
The Treasurer shall provide accounts for each financial year with
appropriate analysis of receipts, payments, assets and liabilities to
satisfy the trustees and other legal or regulatory requirements.
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7 Audit
| 7.1 |
The Trustees may, by a majority vote at a meeting of Trustees,
initiate an examination of the accounts of the charity. The
examination shall take place within 5 weeks and a written report shall
be sent to the Trustees. The checks shall include (as a minimum):
- Verification that records of cash and cheques received agree with
paying in slips
- a check that paying in slips equate with bank statements in amount and
date
- that all inter-bank transfers can be verified with membership records
- a check that all payments are authorised, they match the cheque stubs,
bank statements and any invoices received
- a check that the intended recipient has received any cash payments
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| 7.2 |
The Trustees shall appoint auditors each year to carry out an audit
of the accounts and report their findings to the Trustees. Auditors
shall be suitably qualified and competent and shall not
- be a trustee
- be involved in the administration of the charity
- be a major donor or beneficiary
- be a close relative, business partner or employee of the above
- have been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty or deception
The audit report shall be available within 2 months, or as soon as
practical thereafter, of the end of the financial year.
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This document (including annexes hereto) was adopted by a meeting of
Trustees on
______________________(date) to be effective from _____________________________(date)
Trustees authorised to sign:
.................................
.................................
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