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Policies - Financial
1) Statement
of policy
The Shadow Council recognises the importance of keeping properly
maintained accounts with a view to
- being financially accountable to funding bodies
- providing accurate information to the management committee
and Shadow Council so that informed, financially responsible
decisions can be made
- providing summaries of finances to outside individuals and
organisations interested in the Shadow Council
- providing summaries of finances to feed back to voters and
the public
- projecting future costs and assisting in accurate funding
applications
2) Responsibility
The Project Worker
The Project Worker should keep a record of all invoices, deliveries,
services and cheques received on a day-to-day basis. Expenses
should be broken down into suitable headings and totalled every
three months. Every three months these should be checked against
bank statements. He/she should also feed back summaries of financial
information to the Shadow Council and management committee at
each meeting.
The Project Worker should do funding applications relating to
the day to day running of the Shadow Council and oversee funding
applications on project work done by Shadow Councillors to check
they are realistic.
The Treasurer
A suitably qualified treasurer should audit the accounts and
provide final returns to funding bodies. He/she should check
that finances are accurately represented and correspond with
bank statements and bank reconciliations. In the event that
the Shadow Council is unable to secure a treasurer, these duties
should be carried out by a suitably qualified accountant.
The Shadow Council
The Shadow Council should draft funding applications for project
work, assisted by the Project Worker and other adults where
necessary.
The Management Committee
The management committee should oversee financial reports as
prepared by the Project Worker, Treasurer or accountant. The
management committee should have the final say in all financial
matters.
3) Management of accounts
Writing of cheques
Cheques will only be written on receipt of a suitable invoice
Cheque signatories
All cheques should be signed by two people from a list of four
adult
management committee members
Separate accounts
On occasion, separate accounts may be set up for a particular
project or purpose at the discretion of the management committee
Cash deposits
All cash deposits should be checked by at least two people before
being paid into the account
Project Worker expenses
Employees should not sign cheques relating to their own expenses
4) Petty cash
A petty cash float of £50 should be kept in a locked box
in the office to cover items under £20. All receipts should
be kept and records of petty cash transactions should be made
in the petty cash book
5) Quotes
For items over £1,000 three quotes should be sought and
the most appropriate selected. This may not necessarily be the
cheapest quote but a full explanation must be given as to why
the quote is accepted
6) Preparing of accounts
Accounts should be prepared at the discretion of the management
committee and line with criteria set by funding bodies
7) Charity status
The Shadow Council does not currently have charity status. It
has been declared exempt from having to pay rates on the basis
of its constitution and other information sent to the RCA.
Upfront payments
The Project Worker may be forwarded money to pay for meal and
travel expenses on trips. Receipts should be kept and any surplus
or defecit made good at the end of the trip or meeting
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