Talk:Finance Policy 2012

We have rather a lot of pages on Finance. This is the one for the Board on January 3rd 2012. Discussions with Andrew Turvery this morning ave helped tidy up one or two points.

1. That the title will be Financial Policy and that it fits into our raft of policies.

2. That it will be a vital part of our progression towards PQASSO

3. That some of it will have to be phased in .e.g. a complete dual signatory system for bank accounts.

4. That the majority can be operational on February 1st but that I will report on parts that are not to the board during this transition period.

Jon Davies WMUK 11:54, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Background to paper

As a registered Charity, and a very public one at that, it is imperative that we institute financial controls that satisfy the expectations of the Charity Commission, the Wikimedia community and the Wikimedia Foundation. This is also a vital part of attainment of our PQASSO accreditation.

This policy reflects two major developments in the chapter's organisational structure, namely the appointment of our first permanent staff on 1 October 2011 followed by the approval of our charity status by the Charity Commission on 5 November 2011 with its duties and responsibility.

As part of this policy, the system is set out where the Board of Trustees agrees the annual plan with financial allocations for different activity areas, projects and grants. The staff then administer the spending and the reporting against budgets, with the Treasurer having responsibility for ensuring appropriate expenditure, reporting and auditing. Volunteers receive support through the expeditious payment of expenses against activity budgets, and grants as agreed by the board.

The policy has been developed by bringing together best practice in the UK Charity Sector with what already exists within Wikimedia UK to create a robust framework that will be practical, proportional and secure. Charity commission guidance has been applied where appropriate and discussions have been had with Jon Worsop at UHY Nottingham, our accountants, and a meeting with UHY London.

This policy is intended to be flexible enough to allow for the expected growth of the chapter over the next few years. It is effective from 1 February 2012. In some areas there will be a period of transition where this policy is not fully implemented at first. These areas, along with any other exceptions, will be included in the Chief Executive's report to each Board meeting following the effective date.

Jon Davies WMUK 11:09, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

New amendments elegant, much simpler than mine. 109.158.50.194 18:54, 24 January 2012 (UTC)