Introduction
The purpose of this document is to set out our financial procedures and controls. The controls also act to protect the interests of Breast Friends York (BFY) service users, volunteers and trustees. It is therefore important that all trustees and volunteers follow the guidelines set out in this document.
Budgeting and Financial Management
Estimates of expected income and expenditure will be made for each financial year. The BFY Chairperson is responsible for coordinating the budgeting process, along with the Treasurer.
The budget should be set using known income for the coming financial year and expenditure should not exceed the level of known income. The budget will be adjusted in line with successful grant applications throughout the year.
The Chairperson is responsible for reviewing overall performance against budget. The trustees will review the overall performance against budget during their quarterly trustee
meetings and annual AGM.
Financial Reporting
The Treasurer will prepare regular financial reports showing performance against budget for each quarterly trustee meeting and annual AGM.
Receipts and payments accounts will be submitted annually to the Charities Commission using form CC16a (following the guidance in document CC16b) and in line with current government website advice: https://www.gov.uk/prepare-charitys-annual-accounts.
Banking
BFY holds a bank account with Barclays Bank. A review of banking arrangements will be carried out annually by the Treasurer, who will then make a recommendation to the trustees as to whether the banking arrangements need to be changed.
The Treasurer holds the account details and keeps records of all correspondence with the bank, statements, etc in a secure site. The trustees must authorise any opening or closing of bank accounts and this must be recorded in the minutes of the quarterly trustees meeting.
The Treasurer will inspect bank statements monthly (via online banking/mobile app) and will carry out a monthly bank reconciliation.
Payments
The bank mandate includes the following signatories:
Zoe Bounds - Chairperson; Tracie Steeley - Treasurer; Barbara Griffin - Secretary.
Any payment over £250 should be agreed (or pre-agreed) at a trustee meeting and recorded in the minutes. Invoices and copies or photographs of receipts should be uploaded into G-drive for record keeping. All payments should be recorded on the financial spreadsheet.
Members need to get any amount of spending authorised in advance by the trustees.
Any changes to the signatories need to be approved by the trustees and recorded in the minutes (first checking that they comply with any stipulation in the governing document).
A nominated signatory may not make a payment to themselves.
Income
The Treasurer will bank cheques/cash regularly (via online banking/mobile app). Prior to being banked cheques/cash will be kept in a locked box/drawer.
The Chairperson is responsible for the raising of invoices. A copy of the invoice must be filed in the financial folder within G-Drive.
Upon payment of the invoice, the Treasurer is responsible for updating the financial spreadsheet. The Chairperson is also responsible for monitoring payment of invoices and chasing late payment.
Collections at fundraising events: A trustee or volunteer should be designated as responsible for distributing and collecting sealed collection buckets or tins. They should be counted before distribution and after collection.
After the event the cash will be counted and amount recorded on a form, signed by 2 volunteers and uploaded to the G-Drive to enable comparison to any amount banked. The cash can then be taken home (for security reasons) by a trustee and banked as soon as possible.
Regular donations and Gift Aid: accurate records must be maintained by the Treasurer in order to ensure that BFY receives what is due from the Inland Revenue and from the donor. Regular checks will be made by the Treasurer to ensure that due amounts have been received.
Expenditure
All payments will only be made against original invoices or receipts and no payment will be made without the copy of the invoice or receipt.
Invoices go for approval to the Chairperson. The Chairperson will sign their approval and the invoice will then go to a trustee (typically the Treasurer) for authorisation.
The invoice may then be passed to the Treasurer for payment. Invoices will be paid promptly. When payment is made, the financial spreadsheet should be updated.
Expenses
The following table details the amount of allowable expenses that will be reimbursed to trustees and volunteers, when they pay for things on behalf of BFY.
Contractors who invoice BFY for their services will not normally be paid for any expenses, except with the agreement of 2 trustees.
Any expenses claims should be made promptly and will be reimbursed within one month.
Expense Amount Claimable Notes
Car use 45p per mile The car must be insured for business use.
Journeys outside the greater York area
must be agreed in advance.
Public Transport Full amount Journeys outside the greater York area must be
agreed in advance.
Beverages Up to £2.75 per person Non-alcoholic beverages only. Applicable when
meetings are held in coffee bars etc.
Review of policy
This policy will be reviewed on a bi-annual basis to ensure compliance with current good practice and legislation and is next due for review in May 2023.
Version 1/03.09.21