5.4 General procedures

The general procedures for cash disbursement control are as follows:

  • A limited number of persons should be duly authorised to sign cheques and cash disbursements, and the specimen signatures of these persons should be kept on file. This information must be documented in several Authorised Signatory Limits Forms (Annex 17.1) completed for each staff member and authorised by the Country Director.
  • Other staff with authority to approve and encumber funds on behalf of CARE (procurement request forms, purchase orders, goods/services received forms, office leases, transport contracts, etc.) must also have their own Authorised Signatory Limits Form (Annex 17.1) authorised by the Team Leader.
  • All requests for disbursements must be made with an approved Cash Disbursement Voucher (Annex 17.3). This includes payments to vendors, cash float requests, travel expense reimbursements and petty cash float replenishment.
  • Expenses must be authorised by the staff member’s manager/budget holder (provided that signatory authority has been granted), except for when the manager/budget holder is not working in the same location. A staff member’s expenses must not be authorised by the claimants themselves or by anyone who reports to the claimant.
  • The person authorising a cash disbursement must determine that:
    • payment has not been made previously
    • documents have the required approvals and comply with purchasing, receiving and payment procedures.
  • Supporting documents must always accompany the Cash Disbursement Voucher, and must be examined before the Cash Disbursement Voucher is signed and the cash or cash equivalent issued.
  • All Cash Disbursement Vouchers issued should be entered in numerical order in a disbursements ledger on a daily basis. Separate disbursements ledgers should be kept for each cash/cash equivalent account and expenditure incurred must be booked daily.