Managing Your Finances

• All accounting registers, journals, and ledgers are up to date.
• All financial reports are prepared and submitted in a timely manner.
• Procedures for the use of petty cash are properly developed.
• All expenses other than petty cash are paid by check.
• Financial activities are separated in such a way that one person alone never registers, reviews, and authorizes any complete transaction.
• Procedures for authorizing purchases are being followed.
• Security measures are in place to protect the assets, books, and registers from tampering or theft.
• A physical inventory of fixed assets and supplies is conducted at least once a year.
• The bank statement is reconciled monthly.
• There is a financial plan and/or a financial strategy leading to improved cost recovery.
• Financial administration staff are involved in the program planning and the financial planning process.
• A realistic budget for the year is developed from the work plan.
• The organization has a unified budget, as well as sub-budgets for different programs and/or donors. The accounting system adequately allocates expenses to different programs and/or donors.
• The line items in the chart of accounts, the budget, and the management financial reports correspond with each other.
• Cash flow is adequately monitored and cash flow is projected for the year, so that there are no periods of cash shortage.
• Actual expenditures are compared quarterly with the budget. Corrective action is taken as a result of these comparisons.