Audit and independent examination

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• Preparing for audit or independent examination
• Preparing for audit or independent examination

The auditor/independent examiner has to be satisfied that the money raised and spent by the organisation is within the aims and objectives of the organisation’s constitution.

Whether it has an audit or independent examination is governed by the Charities Act (See CASHFACTS: Charities Act).

Checklist

Time is expensive. The more you have sorted things out, the lower the bill. The auditor/independent examiner will need the following:

• The Cash Analysis Books fully written up, correctly analysed, totalled and crosscast for the whole year.
• Bank reconciliation statements for each bank account, clearly showing how the balance shown by the cash book reconciles with that shown in the bank statement.
• Bank statements for each bank account for the whole year.
• Bank paying-in books.
• All documents relating to bank receipts and including letters from funders who pay by credit transfers.
• Cheque book stubs.
• Invoices/vouchers to support all banks payments in cheque number order.
• The Petty Cash Analysis book fully written up, correctly analysed, totalled and crosscast.
• Written confirmation that, at the end of the year, the amount of cash in the box agrees with the balance of cash in hand shown in the Petty Cash Analysis book.
• All the Petty Cash vouchers and receipts filled in order.
• Salary records including a form P11 for each employee.
• Records of any Statutory Sick or Maternity Pay.
• Any changes to tax codes notified by the tax office.
• Any P45 forms given by new employees.
• A copy of the Employer’s Annual Statement form P35.
• A record of all PAYE and NI paid to the Inland Revenue.
• Any subsidiary records for sub-committees or projects that come under the group’s umbrella.
• An up-to-date register of fixed assets, with estimated values.
• Minutes of all the committee meetings (and AGM) held during the year.
• A copy of the constitution or other ruling document.
• A copy of the previous year’s audited accounts.
• A list of debtors (ie. people who owed the group money at the end of the year), with the amounts owed.
• A list of creditors (ie people to whom the group owed money at the end of the year) with the amounts owed.
• The names of the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.

This article is based on material from: How To Manage Your Money, If You Have Any by Hackney Community Accountancy Project The Print House 18 Ashwin Street London E8 3DL. Tel 020 7249 7109

Last updated: Mon, Mar 31 2008 - 01:16:43 PM

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