APPENDIX A DRAFT Policy DIE-1 School Funds: Audit & Financial Monitoring Procedures

Transcription

1 APPENDIX A DRAFT Policy DIE-1 School Funds: Audit & Financial Monitoring Procedures Administrative Guidelines Financial Monitoring Procedures The following Administrative Guidelines support the Principal in the administration, accounting and safeguarding of school funds. 1. Receipts of Cash and/or Cheques 1.1. Monies collected will be delivered to a School Secretary, or an Administrative Designate, to be counted and receipted, and must include detailed supporting documentation describing their source Two designated individuals must immediately count money collected from fundraising events that involve unknown contributors, such as silver collections. Both individuals must sign to affirm that that they have counted and agree upon the amount for deposit Detailed supporting documentation should include, at minimum where applicable: i. Date ii. Name of fundraising event iii. Contributor (i.e. student name) iv. Value of funds collected per contributor v. Signature of individual(s) collecting funds 1.4. Receipts shall be issued on printed, pre-numbered receipts Money held at the school must be maintained in a secure locked container. The Supervisor of Accounting at the Louis Riel School Division Board Office should receive a copy of the combination of any locking device in a sealed envelope All monies collected for and by the school (excluding teacher collections for single classroom events) must be delivered to the school secretary for accounting purposes, and be deposited into the school s bank account. Staff cannot deposit money in their personal bank accounts, or retain monies collected on behalf of the school and designated for school purchases/expenses. Adopted March 7 06 Page 1 of 6

2 2. Deposits 2.1. Deposits must be made to the school bank account in a timely manner. Deposits should occur weekly, and/or when receipts of cash exceed $1, Detailed supporting documentation must be maintained supporting each deposit, as described under 1. Receipts of Cash The Principal must review, and sign each deposit. 3. Cheques indicated as Insufficient Funds (NSF) 3.1. NSF cheques returned by the bank must be adjusted in the school s accounting records The adjustment must be recorded and included in the current month s bank reconciliation The individual/business who issued the NSF cheque must be contacted, and the school s administration shall guide reasonable efforts to collect the outstanding balance. 4. Disbursements 4.1. All money expended shall occur by cheque, on printed, pre-numbered stock Cheques must be authorized by the Principal and supported by one of the following: a) Original Invoice or Payment Authorization Voucher (see Appendix I) used when an invoice or purchase receipt is not available (i.e. Honorariums), and must include: i. Date of event ii. Name of the person receiving the cheque iii. Activity or service provided iv. Principal s signature authorizing payment, or b) Reimbursement Claim Form (see Appendix II) attached to the original invoice or purchase receipt The cheque stub will be attached to the supporting documentation and should be filed in the cheque number order for ease of referral Credit/Debit card slips will not be accepted as they do not itemize the purchase or the taxes paid Cheques must be signed by two signing officers: Signature #1 Principal (the Vice-Principal or Principal Designate may sign only in the Principal s absence), and Signature #2 Vice-Principal, or a designated member of the school s clerical staff. Signature #3 Teacher Designate 4.5 continued>>> Adopted March 7 06 Page 2 of 6

3 Signing officers can not sign a cheque which has been issued to themselves. In this situation, the two alternate signing officers will be required to sign Cheques must not be made payable to CASH. 5. Petty Cash 5.1. Petty cash is established to handle those emergent situations when writing a cheque is not feasible Petty cash is the responsibility of the Principal, and should be managed only by the Principal and designated member of the school s clerical staff The petty cash fund must be stored in a locked area, and be accessible only to the Principal and designated member of the school s clerical staff It is recommended that a float be established to a maximum of $400, depending on the frequency of use A written request, signed by the Principal, must be made to the Secretary Treasurer to establish the amount of the petty cash fund Disbursements are to be limited to transactions not payable through the regular cheque issuing process, reimbursements of $25 or less. (Reimbursements greater than $25 must occur by cheque.) 5.7. A petty cash voucher must be issued for each transaction. The individual who receives the cash must sign the voucher to confirm their receipt of funds, and an original receipt or invoice must be attached as supporting documentation of the expenditure. The Principal will authorize payment by signing each transaction voucher In situations where an invoice or purchase receipt for services is not possible (i.e. referee fees), the petty cash voucher must include: i. Date of event ii. The activity or service provided iii. Printed name or person receiving petty cash funds iv. Signature of person receiving petty cash funds v. Amount received vi. Principal s signature authorizing payment 5.9. To replenish the fund, a Petty Cash Replenishment Statement must be completed which reconciles the Cash on Hand plus Receipts for Reimbursement to the total fund (see Appendix III).The statement must be reviewed and signed by the Principal. 6. Bank Reconciliation 6.1. A bank reconciliation will be prepared monthly, and completed within three (3) weeks after the end of the month Bank interest and service charges must be recorded appropriately. Adopted March 7 06 Page 3 of 6

4 6.3. Cancelled cheques must be sorted in numerical order, with the current month s voided or stop payment cheques, and maintained with the monthly bank statement The Principal will review and sign the bank reconciliation. The Principal s review will include: i. Verifying the bank statement has been properly reconciled to the ending book balance. ii. Reviewing outstanding items, for their accuracy. iii. Reviewing bank statements for disbursements that occur other than by cheque. iv. Ensuring that cancelled cheques are properly signed. 7. Stale Dated Cheques 7.1. Stale dated cheques are to be cancelled within one month of becoming nonnegotiable (six months from the issue date) The procedure to cancel a stale dated cheque is to perform one of the following options, as applicable: i. Using the Cheque Voider option, as in CIMS, or ii. Recording a reversing entry in the accounting records (i.e. Debit Bank, Credit Expense/Fund account) An investigation is to be conducted by contacting the payee to determine if a replacement cheque is to be issued. 8. Procedures to Stop Payment of Cheques 8.1. If the school is notified by a payee that a cheque has not been received after a reasonable period of time, a replacement cheque may be issued after the following procedures have been performed: i. Obtain verification from the bank that the cheque has not been cashed. ii. Issue a Stop Payment Authorization to the bank, signed by the Principal. iii. Cancel the cheque by following the procedures described under Stale Dated Cheques. iv. Reissue the cheque if required. 9. Void Cheques 9.1. The procedure to void a cheque is to perform one of the following options, as applicable: i. Using the Cheque Voider option in CIMS, or ii. Recording a reversing entry in the accounting records (i.e. Debit Bank, Credit Expense/Fund account). Adopted March 7 06 Page 4 of 6

5 9.2. The cheque is to be marked VOID and filed with the current months bank statement and cancelled cheques. 10. GST Rebate Claims GST rebate claims must be completed quarterly, or annually, as required by Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) All school purchases must be recorded to accurately allocate the applicable GST rebate portion defined as: i. 68% of GST charged on general purchases. ii. 100% of GST charged on all book purchases. 11. School Reimbursement Requisitions (SRQ) to the School Board Office The general policy for the purchase of goods or services is to issue a Purchase Order through the Board Office. A teacher who has made a purchase on behalf of the school should have prior approval for the purchase from the school s administration and will be required to complete a Reimbursement Requisition and forward it to the Board Office before reimbursement occurs School Operating expenditures are to be forwarded to the School Board Office directly for payment, and should not be paid out of School Funds. In exceptional situations where this is not possible, and Operating expenditures have been paid from School Funds, the school will submit a Reimbursement Requisition to the School Board Office Expenses for reimbursement by the School Board Office must be charged to a School Fund account set up specifically for this purpose. Reimbursement payments received from the School Board Office will also be deposited to this account Reimbursement Requisitions must be issued on a bi-weekly basis, by using the Purchase Order System in CIMS, and issuing a Purchase Order Requisition (SRQ) The Purchase Order Requisition must be completed by entering detailed information for each expense, and assigning the appropriate Operating Budget account The Purchase Order Requisition must be submitted to the Principal for review and authorization, and have the following supporting documentation attached: i. Original invoices / receipts, ii. Proof of payment by the school (i.e. copy of cheque/petty cash voucher). Adopted March 7 06 Page 5 of 6

6 12. Chart of Accounts A chart of accounts should be developed to provide for the separate accounting for specific purposes. 13. Records Retention Accounting records will be retained, in an orderly fashion by fiscal year, for a period of seven years including the following: 14. Staff Funds i. Record of all receipts of cash and disbursements ii. Invoices/disbursements paid, attached to cheque stubs iii. Receipts issued and the duplicate deposit slips iv. Bank reconciliations, bank statements, and cancelled cheques v. Annual financial statements Schools must maintain a separate ledger and accounting system for staff funds (funds collected from staff members for any purpose confined solely for the benefit of staff members). This will require all staff functions accounting to be independent of the school fund accounting system The Division recommends that the controls established for school funds also apply to the administration of staff funds. Adopted March 7 06 Page 6 of 6