How much attention to you pay to your internal controls?

You may have just been appointed the treasurer of your organisation and possibly feeling a bit daunted.  There are potentially so many issues you must face that may relate to legal obligations, policy compliance as well as the general financial management of the organisation.

While you take time to become familiar with the role here are some good tips that relate to internal controls that you should check to see if they exist and if not to implements as soon as practical.  Implementing these 7 critical internal controls gives you a great start while you become more familiar with the role.

  •  Be clear about the roles and responsibilities of relevant staff or volunteers and the functions they will perform.  Refer to the previous post on Financial Management Functions and Procedures that provides more details.
  • Review key policies and procedures to ensure they are relevant, up to date and are being complied with.  These may include accounting policies in relation to, for example, delegations, who can sign cheques, who can approve payments, who can approve contracts, petty cash, approval processes for contracts and funding submissions.
  • Ensure cheque books, credit cards, computers and any other equipment is securely protected and locked up if needed.  In addition, are backups undertaken of key computer files and where are they stored.  Do you know who has access to computer equipment, security systems and other resources?  If not, ensure passwords are changed to ensure only properly authorised people have access.
  • Check with the bank who are account signatories and ensure only current approved signatories are listed with the bank.
  • Check with the bank who has been issued with credit cards and ensure only authorised and approved people have access to them.
  • Where is cash, credit cards or confidential records stored?  You need to ensure they are stored in a safe and secure location.
  • Make sure you have an accurate and complete bank reconciliation completed so you have a clear picture of your bank account.

These 7 points are intended to highlight the most immediate and critical internal controls that you can implement reasonable quickly after being appointed treasurer.   There are many other issues you will need to address in the role of a treasurer but they can be done in conjunction with the board as well as the finance sub committee over the next period of time.  By focusing on these initial 7 critical internal controls it will allow you to have a positive start on your journey as a treasurer.