Financial Controller & Company Secretary
The Financial Controller and Company Secretary will be finance officer of the charity and fulfill the role of company secretary. In addition the role will oversee the general management of the office facilities as described in this job specification.
20 hours per week (flexible arrangement)
FTE £27,500 pa
Closing date for applications: 17th May 2013. Please send CV and covering letter saying why you should be considered for this role to ailsa@nras.org.uk
Job Description
Day to Day Role of Financial Controller
• Proper recording of income and expenditure
• Payment of all sums due (subject to the delegated authorities in force)
• Ordering of goods and services
• Handling of cash and reconciliation of petty cash on a monthly basis
• Reconciliation of bank accounts and maintaining good relationships with the bank
• Maintaining appropriate books and records of account at all times
• Overseeing the preparation of the annual budget, with the senior management team, within guidelines agreed with the Board and Management
• Continuous monitoring of the financial health and well-being of the charity and alerting the Board and Management of any concerns or issues on a timely basis
Specific responsibilities are to:
• Guide and advise Management and Trustees in the approval of budgets, accounts and financial statements, within a relevant policy framework
• Advise the Management and Trustees on the financial implications of NRAS’s strategic plans and key assumptions included in management's operational plan and annual budget.
• Confirm that the financial resources of NRAS meet present and future needs
• Understand the accounting procedures and key internal controls, so as to be able assure the Trustees of NRAS's financial integrity
• Ensure that the accounts are properly audited, that accepted recommendations of the auditors are implemented, and meet the auditor on a regular basis
• Formally present the accounts to the senior management team and trustees at the AGM, drawing attention to important points
• Monitor NRAS’s investment activity and ensure its consistency with policies, aims, objectives and legal responsibilities
• Advise on Charity Commission’s and Office of Scottish Charities’ rules & regulations and the Charities Act
• Keep the Management and Trustees informed about their financial duties and responsibilities
• To act as Company Secretary for the Charity
The financial controller shall at all times ensure that sufficient staff are trained in all of these procedures to allow their timely execution when the Financial Controller is unavailable.
Details of these procedures are attached as Appendix 1. The person appointed will work with the outgoing Financial Controller during a handover period to fully document these procedures and reflect them in a fuller job specification.
Role of Company Secretary
NRAS is a Company Limited by Guarantee and not having a Share Capital.
As a charity it is regulated by the Charity Commission (in England and Wales) and in Scotland (where it has a separate registration) by the Office of Scottish Charities.
The company secretary shall:
• File annual returns on a timely basis with Companies House and the Charity regulators in England and Scotland
• Make such other filings as are required including financial statements and ad hoc filings requested by any regulator
• Establish and maintain the company’s Registered Office for any formal communications
• Maintain the company’s statutory Books and Records:
• A register of past and present directors and secretaries
• A register of all shareholders, past and present
• A register of any charges on the company’s assets
• Minutes of General Meetings and board meetings
• A register of any debenture holders
• Keep safe the company’s legal documents
• Make any necessary communications to Companies House and the Charity Regulators concerning significant changes in the charity’s structure, management or governance
Role of the Office Manager
• Ensuring all office facilities meet with health and safety standards eg fire drills & procedures, PAT testing
• Liaising with landlords & their representatives on maintenance projects
• Maintaining most appropriate contracts with external service providers eg office cleaning, photocopiers, IT maintenance contracts
• Purchasing of any additional office equipment eg desks/chairs/filing cabinets/PCs and monitors
• Point of contact with other building tenants
Additional responsibilities of the Financial Controller and Company Secretary
In addition to the roles outlined above the Financial Controller and Company Secretary will have the following responsibilities.
• Managing the company’s insurances and arranging appropriate cover with the agreement of the Board
• Managing the premises of the company including the maintenance, security and safety of the buildings and the staff who work therein
• Supervising and managing the provision of IT services both on the premises and any outsourced contracts
• Undertaking any other role which is assigned by the Chief Executive or the Board
Role of Management
The Management team consists of the Chief Executive, Financial Controller, Director of Development and the Director of External Affairs. They will receive monthly management accounts, and will keep adequate records so as to be in control between monthly reports.
Role of Board of Directors/Trustees
The Board is responsible financially for:
• Approving the budget for the year
• Setting Chief Executive’s remuneration
• Approving salary increases & bonuses for all staff
• Approving signatories to the bank accounts
• Appointments of Senior Managers
• Receiving reports from the Management Team on areas of concern
• Approving capital items of expenditure over £10,000
• Monitoring the financial position based on monthly reports, with advice from the Financial Controller
• Approving the annual accounts, auditor’s report and appointment
• Monitoring the performance of Investments
Appendix 1
Financial Procedures
Purpose of this document
To define the financial systems used by NRAS and how they relate to all areas of NRAS.
1. Ordering supplies and services
All staff need to be aware that expenditure is committed when an order is placed on behalf of NRAS, not when the cheque is requested. Therefore, it is important that all orders are placed properly, and are within agreed budgets and delegated powers.
Managers can place orders for goods or services within their budget areas, subject only to cashflow restraints. All orders of £2,000 or more must be authorised by a member of the senior management team, except for specific areas of expenditure where written procedures have been agreed.
Any lease, hire purchase agreement or other contract involving expenditure will be subject to the same authorisation procedure as above, with the appropriate expenditure amount being the total committed expenditure over the period of the contract, or where the contract is open-ended, over the first 12 months of the contract.
Suppliers must be requested to produce invoices. If payment is needed on or before delivery or no credit is given, a 'pro-forma' should be provided.
While claims for small items of expenditure may be made via petty cash (see section 4), adequate supporting documentation, preferably receipts, must be obtained. Large items requiring cash payment must be checked with the Finance Manager before the arrangement is confirmed.
2. Payment authorisation and Purchase Ledger
All invoices must be authorised for payment by the relevant manager. The authorising department is responsible for checking invoices for accuracy in terms of figures and conformity with the order placed, that the services or goods have been received, and following up any problems. Finance must be informed if there are queries delaying authorisation or if payment is to be withheld for any reason.
A Purchase Ledger is operated by Finance. All incoming invoices are to be passed to Finance section as soon as they arrive. Invoices will be recorded on to the Purchase Ledger, unless there are coding problems. They are then passed on to the relevant Manager for authorisation. Once authorised as above, suppliers will be paid within the appropriate timescale. This is 30 days, unless there are exceptional cashflow difficulties or specific supplier arrangements. The latter must be communicated by budget holders to Finance, who will inform them of any difficulties in meeting these.
Refunds of overpayments or cancellations of bookings/orders can be fully delegated to the relevant activity manager or administrator (note that this does not include any 'compensation' or similar payment).
3. Cheque writing and signing
Signatories will only be drawn from senior staff and Trustees, and any new signatory must be approved at a Directors’ meeting before the bank is notified. All cheques require two nominated signatories. Any cheque over £15,000, except salary or rent, must include a Trustee as a signatory. Cheque signatories should check that the expenditure has been authorised by the appropriate person before signing the cheque.
Signatories will not sign cheques which are payable to themselves, or blank cheques. Cheques should be filled in completely (with payee, amount in words and figures, and date) before cheques are signed. The only acceptable exception is that the amount can be blank as long as the cheque is endorsed 'Not more than £ ....'. Receipts for this type of expenditure must be returned immediately.
The day-to-day limit on encashment of cheques for petty cash is £250. However, where a larger cash float is required (for a major event for example), this may be approved by the Finance Manager.
4. Handling of cash
Petty cash will be topped up on the 'imprest' system, where the amount spent is reimbursed. It is intended for small items, up to £20. Anything over this should be paid by cheque where possible. The imprest has a balance limit of £250. The petty cash balance will be reconciled when restoring the imprest balance, or monthly if this is more frequent.
All cash collected from Finance will be signed for, and receipts will be issued for all cash returned. Specific extra cash floats should be arranged with the Finance Manager. The person signing for the float is responsible for ensuring cash and receipts are returned as soon as possible after the event. No further floats may be issued to that person, or another person in the same department for a similar purpose, unless the previous float has been accounted for.
Any cash income will be banked via Finance, and not used for petty cash expenditure.
Cash will be kept in locked metal cabinets wherever possible.
5. Salaries and payroll
NRAS uses an outside agency to operate the PAYE system, and make annual returns to the Inland Revenue. All people working directly for NRAS, whether permanent or temporary, must provide a P45, or sign a P46 or student exemption certificate, or give reasons why they can't. All payments will be made by NRAS by direct bank credit.
Temporary staff will only be taken on when authorised by the senior management team. They will be treated as employed by NRAS and so subject to PAYE & NIC. Finance will obtain clarification of any unclear areas as needed.
Payments for additional work over and above standard hours must be approved by the Financial Controller. Clear written authorisation must be given in adequate time for Finance to process it for the relevant payroll. These claims are financial records, and should be treated in the same way as any other.
Payment will usually be made via the BACS, direct to employees' bank account. The salary payment listings will be checked by the Financial Controller. Salaries will be paid on the last working day of the month, apart from in December, when it will be the 23rd.
Pay scales and new posts/re-structuring are approved by the senior management team, and are revised by August for implementation in September. The Board of Trustees will set the Chief Executive’s remuneration.
Finance is responsible for paying each employee in accordance with the approved terms and conditions, and issuing payslips.
Finance is also responsible for ensuring all employees are made aware of the contributory pension scheme and assistance given to the employee to set up their contributions if they wish to be part of the pension scheme.
Finance will reimburse any staff out of pocket expenses incurred in the course of carrying out their duties, in a prompt manner.
6. Income
The majority of income received by NRAS is from donations.
All invoices will be raised by the Finance Manager sequentially numbered, with each area of activity having its own prefix reference.
Information about non-routine and all grant income must be passed to through Fundraising to Finance with the cheque or remittance advice. Any membership income must be passed to Finance through Membership.
This will be filed by Finance for reference, and used to ensure such income is correctly recorded in the accounts and grant conditions noted. It is the responsibility of the person gaining the grant to ensure all grant income is claimed as it becomes due or available, and that all appropriate staff and the Finance Manager are aware of relevant grant conditions and exactly how the grant is to be expended.
Post opening (and control of cheques and cash in) must be conducted by two people and monies passed to Membership or Fundraising as appropriate.
Recording Income
1. All income except subscriptions to be channeled through Fundraising
2. Fundraising to code
3. Fundraising to pass funds and coded covering letter to Finance
4. If no covering letter envelope to be coded
5. CAF vouchers to be completed, dispatched and coded copy to Finance
6. Relevant bank statement entries coded and copy to Fundraising
7. Bank accounts
NRAS’s bankers are HSBC.
All income will be paid into the current account as soon as possible, not less than once a week. The make up of each banking will be clearly recorded.
8. Books of account and records
Proper accounting records will be kept. The accounts system is based around computer facilities, using Sage and Excel, but manual/paper records will also be used if appropriate.
At a minimum, the following records will be kept:
• appropriate control accounts (ie bank control, petty cash control)
• salary control account
• monthly trial balances
Petty cash and bank accounts will be reconciled at least weekly.
All vouchers entered into the computer system will be clearly initialled by the person entering it, along with date and accounts reference.
Purchase Ledger, other cheque payments and banking sheets will be filed in the appropriate reference order, with any supporting documentation. All petty cash vouchers and cheque stubs will be retained for audit and for statutory purposes thereafter.
All fixed assets costing more than £500 will be capitalised in the accounts.
9. Budget setting
12 monthly income and expenditure budgets will be prepared in time for final approval by the Board of Trustees in November, before the start of the financial year under consideration.
Budgets are prepared by the Finance Manager in consultation with the Chairman and senior management team. The senior management Team will play a lead role in ensuring that budgets are set fairly, efficiently and in time. Approval of the budgets is by recommendation of the senior management team to the Board of Trustees.
The approved budget will be used as a base to construct a cashflow forecast for the year, which will be updated monthly.
10. Financial monitoring and audit
The Management Team will receive:
Monthly reports of income and expenditure versus budget - within one week of month end and detailed cashflow reports produced as appropriate.
NRAS's financial year is from 1st January to 31st December. Annual accounts will be submitted for audit, as required under the Charities Act, charity regulations and grant conditions, prepared per SORP and any other relevant accounting conventions. A draft should be ready for and passed by Board of Trustees in February/March, with audited accounts signed at the June meeting.
Please send CV and covering letter saying why you should be considered for this role to ailsa@nras.org.uk
Closing date for applications: 17th May 2013.