Procedures and Policies

Internal Control Tests

Findings

1

Proper Bookings

1.1

Is the cashbook maintained and up to date?

Format used?

Computerised cashbook based on Spreadsheet with full analysis coding’s for

income and expenditure is maintained and is up to date.

1.2

Is the Is the cashbook arithmetically, correct?

The correctness of the cash book is proven by regular bank reconciliations.

1.3

Is the cashbook regularly balanced?

The cashbook balance is reconciled to each bank account monthly, and minuted

at Council meetings. Quarterly review of budget to actual, with notes on any

variances, being reported to the Full Council

2a

Standing Orders & Financial Regulations

2.1

Has the Council formally adopted standing

orders and financial regulations, & dates

approved?

Standing Orders were updated and ratified by the full Parish Council on the 10th May 2022.

Financial Regulations were update and ratified by the full Council on the 10th May 2022.

2.2

Has an RFO been appointed with specific

duties noted in both contract & Fin. Regs?

An RFO has been appointed and the RFO and the specific duties and levels of

responsibility are included within the Financial Regulations and Scheme of Delegation (Ordinary).

2.3

Have items or services above a de minimis

amount been competitively purchased?

There is an emergency limit of £150 for extreme risk of delivery of services and the large contracts are subject to normal tendering arrangement.

2b

Payment Controls

2.4

Are payments in the cashbook supported by

invoices, authorised and minuted?

All expenditure is supported by proper vouchers, which are checked for accuracy

(including VAT) and fully cross-referenced by voucher number to the cashbook.

All cheques are signed by any two Councillors who sign the payment requisitions and one officer. E Payments are used where appropriate to make payment and these are input by the RFO and invoices verified by the Parish Clerk (where applicable) and authorised by 1 councillors prior to payment.

2.5

Has VAT on payments been identified,

recorded and reclaimed? Frequency, & refunds

into which A/c?

Proper VAT vouchers are retained, and VAT is reclaimed at year end as a minimum using the HMRC online facility.

2.6

Is s137 expenditure separately recorded and

within statutory limits?

Section 137 payments (when utilised) are coded separately in the cashbook, with details shown in Year-end accounts, & were within limits for previous year,

3

Risk Management & Arrangements

3.1

Internal auditor scans the minutes to identify

any unusual financial activity, projects, event etc.

The minutes of the full Council bi-monthly monthly meetings, or any extra meetings called will recommend action regarding income

and expenditure, unless the expenditure is within the committee’s agreed budget.

3.2

Do the minutes record the Council carrying

out any annual risk assessments? Play areas

regularity of checks & documentation

The annual inspection of the play equipment is carried out by Playsafety Ltd (ROSPA). Weekly inspections on play area are carried out by the clerk and any concerns reported to Council.

The sycamore tree inspection is carried out every 4 years.

3.3

Is insurance cover appropriate and adequate?

Policy nos. & broker/company?

Insurance cover is held with Community Action Services Ltd, Policy Number: ACY2381352

. Policy until 1.6.23. Public Liability cover is £10m

3.4

Are internal financial controls documented

and reviewed regularly

This risk assessment was adopted 10th January 2023 for the Council’s financial

systems’ internal controls and is done annually.

4

Budgetary Controls

4.1

Has the Council prepared an annual budget in

support of its precept? Council minute &

date?

Annual budget is started in November and presented to the

Full Council in January for them to ratify. It is then minuted before being confirmed with SKDC mid-January.

4.2

Is actual expenditure against the budget

regularly reported to the Council & minuted?

The RFO formally presents a quarterly budget update summary (with detailed

Income and Expenditure) to Full Council for perusal.

4.3

Are there any significant and unexplained variances on budget?

The RFO will detail and explain any major variances, with any suggestions for

transfer between budget heads, to each quarterly meeting

5

Income Control

5.1

Is income properly recorded?

Yearly review of scale of fees?

The main income that the Parish Council receives is from the precept. Other income is received from appropriate grants.

5.2

Does the precept recorded, in the cashbook.

agree to the DC’s notification?

The precept receipt for April is noted in the cashbook and minuted at the next available Parish Council meeting.

6

Payroll Controls

6.1

Do staff salaries/wages paid agree with those

approved & minuted by the Council & what is

review frequency?

The clerk presents monthly time sheets and payslip and brings these to the full Council meeting. The actual amount is minuted in the cashbook and within the budget spreadsheet. It is however not written within the agenda or minutes due to GDPR.

Any salary increase due to NALC negotiations or Annual review is brought to full Council in closed session.

6.2

Are other payments to the Clerk reasonable

and approved by the Council?

Any invoices that need to be reclaimed by the clerk ie, ink and stationery items are brought to the Council meeting and placed on the agenda before being paid.

6.3

Have PAYE/NIC/Pensions been properly operated by Council as an employer? Payment frequencies/method?

The RFO uses HMRC basic PAYE tools to calculate all salaries and wages including

PAYE and NIC. The RFO prepares the monthly payroll run for the clerk. Payments then made by credit transfer from the Treasurers Account direct. Any monies owed to HMRC or paid quarterly.

7

Asset Control

7.1

Does Council keep an asset register of all assets owned incl. Serial nos.? Annual physical check noted.

A full asset register is maintained showing location, cost, date bought, date

Disposed. Renewal/ Insurance value costs will need to be added. Serial nos. will be added for all IT & office electrical items.

7.2

Are the Asset/Investments registers up to date

incl. disposals? Note all Investments held with

a/c nos.

Asset register is maintained on a regular basis for purchases and disposals.

Insurance updated at renewal unless large items require immediate cover.

7.3

Do asset insurance valuations agree with those in the asset register?

Insurance valuations should be prepared on an individual equipment basis and

grouped for inclusion within the statement of accounts each year. An annual

inventory check of assets is now conducted & the register signed /dated by

Clerk.

8

Bank Reconciliation

8.1

Is there a Bank reconciliation for each account held?

Yes – These are carried out by the RFO monthly, for each bank account held and amounts cross-checked by the Chairman at each meeting. Quarterly the Vice Chairman signs instead of the Chairman.

8.2

Are Bank reconciliations conducted on receipt of statements & with what frequency

Yes, monthly bank reconciliations of the accounts are prepared when the bank

statements are received, or online statements produced.

8.3

Are there any unexplained balancing entries in any reconciliation?

No. Monthly reconciliations are carried out and printed out and signed by the Chair, at the next available meeting, apart from once a quarter when they must be checked and signed by another signatory

9

Year End Procedures

9.1

Are Year-end, final accounts prepared on a

Receipts and Payments or Income and

Expenditure basis?

Receipts & Payments

9.2

Do the accounts agree with the cashbook?

The Final accounts can be fully agreed with the analysed cashbook and Trial

Balance confirming balances held.

9.3

Is there an audit trail from underlying financial

records to the accounts, for both receipts &

payments?

A full trial balance is printed and agreed at year-end, grouping items for the

statement of accounts. Audit trail information already detailed above, refer to

2.4 and 5.1

Where appropriate, have debtors and

creditors been properly recorded? Are year-end, General & Earmarked reserves held at reasonable levels

Full summary analysis of debtors and creditors is prepared with the trial balance

figures, with attached outstanding invoices held with Year-end documentation.

General Reserves – Earmarked Reserves

The Parish Council should use the executive checklist for its Year-end procedures to enhance its monitoring role and to confirm that all the internal control

framework is fit for purpose. (Reference: NALC Governance and Accountability for Smaller Authorities in England)

10

Review

10.1

Is there an established process for the review of this document

Review of the Financial Risk Assessment is specified as an annual responsibility

for the Parish Council at the May Meeting.

Version Number

Purpose/ Change

Author

Date

Review Date

1

Initial Draft

RB

10th January 2023

May 24