Internal Control Checklist for Community and Voluntary Organisations

Issued on July 26 2017

This guidance document is designed to assist community and voluntary organisations evaluate their performance against internal control recommendations by answering a simple set of questions below. If you answer "No" to many of the questions it may be advisable to re-evaluate procedures within the organisation.

This checklist only provides a general indication and is not an exhaustive list, but should cover most aspects of good practice.

SECTION A: GOVERNANCE

A1 Organisation Strategic Plan

  • Does the organisation have a written, agreed and communicated Strategic Plan? Yes | No

A2 Organisation Structure

  • Does the organisation have a defined plan containing the organisation's structure? Yes | No
  • Is the organisation structure communicated to all staff, laying down all possible lines of authority? Yes | No

A3 Budgeting

  • Are annual budgets covering all income and expenditure prepared and approved by the organisation? Yes | No
  • Are the budgets approved by the Trustees/Board? Yes | No
  • Where necessary, can the budget categories be adjusted to any changes during the year? Yes | No
  • Are actual income and expenditure figures compared against budgets at regular and frequent intervals? Yes | No
  • Are cash flow forecasts prepared for the year, indicating when receipts and payments will occur and updated at regular and frequent intervals? Yes | No

SECTION B: INCOME

B1 Income Received by Post

  • Is all incoming post opened at the earliest opportunity and in the presence of two authorised people? Yes | No
  • Are all incoming cheques and cash donations recorded immediately and entries verified by a person other than the recorder? Yes | No
  • Are all donations acknowledged by a written receipt? Yes | No
  • Is the security of unopened mail maintained to ensure that the post box cannot be interfered with? Yes | No

B2 Fundraising

  • Does the organisation have a Fundraising Protocol in place and operational? Yes | No
  • Has the Fundraising Protocol been recently updated to conform to current best practice? Yes | No
  • Has the Fundraising Protocol been communicated and explained to all involved in Fundraising, both staff and volunteers? Yes | No
  • Are there clearly defined and documented roles and responsibilities for fundraising activities? Yes | No
  • Is there appropriate insurance cover in place for all fundraising activities? Yes | No

B3 Public Collections

  • Are all public collections (including branch activities) approved in advance by the organisation? Yes | No
  • Are the relevant legal permits obtained and retained for each public collection? Yes | No
  • Are all collection boxes individually numbered and are there documented controls in place for their allocation and return?
  • Are all collection boxes sealed? Yes | No
  • Are all static boxes regularly opened and contents counted in the presence of two authorised people, who have not been involved in the collection? Yes | No
  • Is all collection money paid directly into the organisation's bank account? Yes | No
  • Where the collection has been undertaken by a branch or similar, is all the collection money immediately remitted to the HQ bank account or immediately advised to HQ? Yes | No

B4 Fundraising Events

  • Are all fundraising activities (including branch activities) approved in advance by the organisation? Yes | No
  • Are records kept for each fundraising event in sufficient detail to show gross receipts and costs incurred? Yes | No
  • For events for which there is ticket income:
    • Are all tickets pre-numbered? Yes | No
    • Is a records kept of all ticket sellers and their allocated ticket numbers? Yes | No
    • Is a record kept of all tickets sold?Yes | No
    • Is a reconciliation of receipts against tickets sold done?Yes | No
    • Is all fundraising money paid directly into the organisation's bank account?Yes | No
  • Where the event has been organised by a branch or similar, is the entire fundraising event surplus (or the previously agreed proportion) immediately remitted to the HQ bank account or immediately advised to HQ?Yes | No

B5 Grants/Funding

  • Are regular reconciliations done against amounts received to amounts due from the relevant government and/or statutory authority? Yes | No
  • Are all grants received, whether from government/statutory agencies or other funders, recorded in an open and transparent manner? Yes | No
  • Can all expenditure of grants be tracked in the financial accounts in an open and transparent manner? Yes | No
  • Are all grants used expressly for the purpose for which they have been granted? Yes | No
  • Are records kept for each grant in sufficient detail to show gross receipts and costs incurred, by individual grant? Yes | No
  • Are regular reports issued to all funders? Yes | No

SECTION C: EXPENDITURE

C1 Policy

  • Is there a written policy in place which sets out who can authorise expenditure and to what level, and is this policy available to all staff? Yes | No

C2 Purchases

  • Are sequentially, pre-numbered purchase order books used for the purchase of all goods and services? Yes | No
  • Are invoices checked against purchase orders and delivery dockets? Yes | No
  • Are all invoices only paid after ensuring that the goods or services have been received and are in good order? Yes | No
  • Are there authority levels in place for placing orders over a certain amount? Yes | No

C3 Payments

  • Is a payment requisition form completed when a payment is due for which there is not an invoice?Yes | No
  • Is a payment requisition form completed when an invoice is due for payment? Yes | No
  • Are there at least two signatories on the payment requisition form? Yes | No
  • Are the original invoices available as backup, when a payment is being requisitioned or authorised? Yes | No
  • Is there a policy of never signing blank cheques? Yes | No
  • Are all documents stamped "paid" to ensure that payment cannot be made twice on the same document? Yes | No
  • Are minor expenses paid out of petty cash? Yes | No
  • Are all non-petty cash payments recorded in the payments book/system, noting the relevant payment details, such as cheque numbers, credit transfer reference,
  • Internet Banking reference, direct debit Reference, etc.? Yes | No
  • Is a written policy and practice covering payment procedures available to all staff? Yes | No
  • Are most payments made by cheque or credit transfer, and are cash payments kept to a minimum? Yes | No

C4 Petty Cash

  • Are all payments made from a fixed float? Yes | No
  • Do all payments have supporting documentation and are filed safely? Yes | No
  • Are all payments entered in a petty cash book/system? Yes | No
  • Is the amount of the petty cash float set and any amount exceeding this limit paid by cheque? Yes | No
  • Is all cash in the office kept in a locked cash box or safe? Yes | No
  • Is the Petty Cash counted and reconciled every month? Yes | No

C5 Bank Accounts/Banking

  • Is a register kept of all bank accounts operating within the organisation? Yes | No
  • Are all bank accounts held in the name of the organisation and not in the names of individuals? Yes | No
  • Is the opening and closing of accounts properly authorised by the Trustees/Board? Yes | No
  • Are monthly bank reconciliations carried out for every bank account (irrespective of the number of transactions, if any)? Yes | No
  • Are all bank reconciliations verified and signed by an authorised person, other than the reconciler? Yes | No
  • Are all bank accounts and bank statements regularly inspected, for example by the CEO and/or Treasurer? Yes | No
  • Are all incoming receipts banked regularly and as soon as possible? Yes | No
  • Is there a pool of authorised signatories available to sign/authorise cheques/payments? Yes | No
  • Is the safety of getting money to the bank ensured? Yes | No
  • Is the lodgement book kept and maintained by authorised individuals? Yes | No
  • Are all banking procedures made available to all staff? Yes | No

C6 Fixed Assets

  • Is an overall fixed asset schedule kept and updated regularly, including any assets donated for use by the organisation? Yes | No
  • Are all properties that are rented, leased or owned vested solely in the name of the organisation, and not in the name of an individual or entity? Yes | No
  • Are all fixed assets checked at regular intervals to ensure they remain in good repair and continue to be of use to the charity? Yes | No
  • Is the use of the fixed assets reviewed annually? Yes | No
  • Has consideration been given to the need for insurance cover for fixed assets? Yes | No
  • Is the depreciation charge calculated and reviewed by the organisation prior to the annual audit? Yes | No
  • Is there an authorisation policy in place relating to the purchase of capital expenditure? Yes | No

C7 Staff/Payroll

  • Do all staff have an Employment Contract and a current Job Description? Yes | No
  • Are all staff policies and procedures, including a Grievance Procedure and a Sick Pay Procedure, in place and up-to-date? Yes | No
  • Are personnel files kept for all employees and kept separately from wages records? Yes | No
  • Are all staff paid by cheque or credit transfer and cash payments avoided? Yes | No
  • Are all wages/salary increases properly authorised? Yes | No
  • Are regular and frequent checks made on all wages/PAYE records to ensure no discrepancies? Yes | No
  • Are all salary/wages complying with PAYE regulations? Yes | No
  • Are staff provided with the training and support they need to carry out their individual jobs? Yes | No
  • Are all monthly/quarterly/annual returns made to the Revenue Commissioners on a timely basis?
  • Are PAYE/PRSI payments remitted to the Revenue Commissioners on a timely basis? Yes | No
  • Are the Wages, PAYE/PRSI and Pension Control Accounts analysed on a monthly basis? Yes | No
  • Do all staff receive a payslip with each salary payment? Yes | No
  • Do all staff receive a P60 annually? Yes | No
  • Have all staff been advised of their rights in relation to Pension/PRSA? Yes | No

SECTION D: REPORTING

D1 Financial Reporting

  • Are proper books and records kept for all transactions (including all branch activities, if applicable)? Yes | No
  • Are monthly/quarterly financial reports detailing income and expenditure reviewed and approved? Yes | No
  • Are monthly/quarterly summary financial reports provided to the Trustees/Board and reviewed? Yes | No

D2 Annual Accounts/Audit (where applicable)

  • Are all the activities of the organisation (including all branch activities) included in the annual financial statements (and the audit, where applicable)? Yes | No
  • Are annual financial statements formally reviewed and approved by the Trustees/Board prior to the annual audit? Yes | No
  • Do annual accounts comply with the latest accounting standards and in compliance with the latest charity or company legislation? Yes | No
  • Are the annual accounts available for inspection at any time during the year by the Trustees/Board? Yes | No
  • Is the external auditor appointed (where applicable) by the Trustees/B oard for the annual audit of accounts? Yes | No

D3 Record Keeping

  • Are all documentation related to all items of income and expenditure (including branch activities) kept for a minimum of six years? Yes | No
  • Where accounts are computerised, are safeguards in place in respect of hardware and offsite backups in place in respect of software and data? Yes | No