Talk:Finance & Fundraising Policy

November 2012 revisions

The main diff showing the difference between the old policy & the proposed revised version is [1]. There are some additional points specifically discussed at the 18th Nov board meeting I will outline below, and propose wordings for. Community comments are welcomed before this is finally approved.

For convenience let's refer to the changes using these references:

• A) Main diff [2] All the smaller changes.

• B) Donations in kind Currently says "All donations in kind that are greater in value than £1,000 are duly recorded (Administrator)". It doesn't say how. In the published accounts to January 2011 a donation in kind relating to a Jimmy Wales lecture at Bristol was monetized in the accounts, confusing several people when it reappeared in the comparative figures this year. Proposed new text: "All donations in kind that are greater in value than £1,000 are recorded, and disclosed in a note to the audited accounts, but not monetized and included in the main figures, except in exceptional cases. (Administrator)"

Some charities value these, but in our case the main "donation in kind" by far is volunteer time, which would be a nightmare to value, & it would serve no very useful purpose to do so. Other donations are most often of rooms in universities etc, & valuing these has other problems, as many are not actually normally available for rent, and we also give value to the institution concerned, which ought logically to be deducted from any figure.

• C) Depreciation detail

Depreciation policy agreed in A. Further proposed to add: "A full year's depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition, and none in the year of disposal" - this is very normal, & simplifies calculation as well as better reflecting the fall in the value of assets once they are no longer new.

• D) Management letter disclosure

Currently 8.14 reads "Any management letter received from our auditors is published with a response, subject to appropriate redactions in exceptional circumstances (Administrator)". This was not done last year (2011/12 audit) or any previous year AFAIK. It was proposed to remove this completely as:

• 1) The actual letter says the contents are confidential & should not be released without the auditors permission, which, following standard industry practice, they do not want to give
• 2) The standard view in the auditing world, held by UHY our auditors, me as Treasurer, and Garfield Byrd as WMF CFO, is that management letters should be as frank as possible to be useful, & kept private to prevent them becoming a PR football. There are other considerations, such as revealing gaps in internal control, possibly leading to potential fraud etc.

In the 18/11 board discussion, it was proposed to go to: "Any management letter received from our auditors is publically summarized with a response, subject to appropriate redactions in exceptional circumstances (Administrator)". This is, in my view, better, but I can't really imagine what such a summary of these long and very technical documents would look like. I don't know examples of other charities and institutions that do this.

Our last management report, which can be "publically summarized" as "very bad", is a rather special case, as it covers, as is normal, only the period audited, in this case the year to January 2012, when the accounts were being done by the then Hon Treasurer. The office only took over accounting from February 1st, making in effect a completely new start with a new system and new procedures. Last year's management report is therefore of no real relevence to the current accounting system.

• E) Approval of expenditure - section 10. Currently covers board and staff, but not volunteer budget-holders. Wording & limit needed - any suggestions - below please?

• F) Per diem expenses, section 24. Proposed new text. Rates unaffected. There are other versions of this revision at [3] (Fæ's version) and [4] (Mike's previous version).

1. A "per diem" expenses allowance may be paid, if it has been approved in advance by the Office and/or the appropriate budget holder, to cover:
   1. meals and refreshments, including breakfast, lunch and dinner for the full rate; or either lunch or dinner for the lower rate; in both cases including refreshment costs in between meals
   2. costs of phone calls and internet connections
   3. incidental transport costs (e.g. bus fares, car park charges, short taxi rides) too trivial to submit claims for.
2. A per diem will be paid where the individual is coordinating, facilitating or presenting at Wikimedia events or for those at other events and meetings when acting as the official representative of Wikimedia UK.
3. The nominal amount of the per diem are as follows. These rates apply within the UK and the EU. Rates for other locations may be determined jointly by the Chief Exec and Treasurer to be higher or lower depending on the cost of living in those locations. The per diem rates are reviewed and approved by the Board on an annual basis.
   1. Full day (over 7 hours of activity including travel to and from) with overnight stay: £30 per day
   2. Full day (over 7 hours of activity including travel to and from) without overnight stay: £20 per day
   3. Half day (4-7 hours of activity including travel to and from): £15 per day
4. Where expenses are paid for directly by Wikimedia UK or another party, then the per diem rate will be decreased accordingly by a joint decision by the Chief Exec and Treasurer.
5. Should there be any doubt or disagreement raised in advance of the expense by either party with regards the per diem rate, then the default of requiring receipts for all expenses shall apply.
6. If the per diem rates prove inadequate owing to high local costs then receipts can be submitted for assessment by the office whose decision will be final.
7. These rates are designed to apply to stays of less than 7 days duration within the UK, the rest of the European Union, and the United States of America. Rates for longer stays may be altered at the discretion of the Chief Executive and Treasurer.
8. Where any individual claims per diem expenses on a recurring basis, the Chief Executive will review the arrangement to ensure that the chapter is not breaking its obligations under minimum wage legislation.

• G) Payment procedures S.12. Nothing currently re online payments, which are of course the main type we actually use. Suggestions for text welcome below.

As Treasurer Johnbod (talk) 19:13, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

January 2013 changes

Also included is a further amendment in light of a recent review of procurement processes - see here. Richard Symonds (WMUK) (talk) 11:54, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

• The outstanding query points have now been updated, following the discussion at the November Board meeting, & Jon's comments belowwith this diff. I have now included most of the per diem variant wordings from Mike & Faes's drafts, but not two: The board are committed to regular review of the whole Finance Policy, so no need to say so here. Deductions for meals provided seem over-specific.

The Policy should now be final and ready to sign, pending any final queries from the board or the community. Please raise these here. It will be proposed to the board in the February board meeting, and I hope will not need further discussion before approving there.

Discussion

A

Thanks for doing this John, In general I think our protocls have held up fairly well. IN addition to Ricgard's comments on procurement following the Midas review I have a few other comments that I hope we can tease out over the next week:

• I review the monthly payroll with Richard. Garfield was happy (possibly even impressed) by our systems. He knew of places where Mickey Mouse had been on the payroll for months before anyone noticed.
  • added Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

The process is that I get the proposed list by email and have to authorise before payments are made.

• London Living wage - I think this should be all staff get a" As a minimum the Living Wage" This would protect everyone and if you are in London that would follow naturally. £7.45 UK £8.55 London at the moment.
  • added Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
• Budget holders - may have to be completely revised in view of the Governance review.
  • Indeed Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
• Card Payments - not sure what we are missing here
  • Just a note of who the signatories there, how the procedures work, & who can do what. Note that AFAIK we still lack the single document with details of all signatories on all a/cs (5.5), which this can be a part of. Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
• Annual credit history checke for staff. I think we need to think hard about this. Firstly this is not in staff contracts and so we would have to negotiate this (I was just saying this to my bookie in Las Vegas last night). Secondly I am not sure what we would achieve as we have the checks and balances to trace every penny. Not like a couple of years ago where someone could make off with the cheque book.
  • That's not in there currently is it? Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Jon Davies (WMUK) (talk) 09:45, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

• • Thanks for these - replies above Johnbod (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)