Finance Manual 771

Fixed Asset Procedures
Index
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction
Purpose Of This Document
Fixed Asset Movement Form (FAMF)
Fixed Asset Transfer Form (FATF)
Areas & National Office Departments
National Office Finance
1. Introduction
Cafcass has a significant investment in fixed assets. As such it has a statutory
responsibility to ensure that these investments are properly managed,
controlled and recorded. Currently, this information is held centrally on the
Open Accounts Fixed Assets Register (FAR).
The FAR uniquely identifies Cafcass fixed assets and records the financial
information and history of those assets. A record such as this is required to:
Provide information to NO / Areas of the assets under their control.

Provide information for management decision-making and external
reporting purposes.
Ensure that the financial information of each asset is calculated and
recorded in line with statutory requirements.
The responsibility for the day-to-day administration and management of

Cafcass FAR is with National Office Finance.
2. Purpose Of This Document

The purpose of this document is to outline the procedures by which Cafcass
FAR will be maintained on an ongoing basis.
These procedures should always be used in conjunction with:
Appendix 1: Fixed Asset Policy
Appendix 2: Fixed Asset Movement Form (FAMF)
Appendix 3: FAMF Guidance Notes
Appendix 4: Fixed Asset Transfer Form (FATF)
Appendix 5: FATF Guidance Notes
Appendix 6: FAR Manual & OA System Journals
Please note that a full set of the fixed asset procedures and appendices can
be found on the Cafcass intranet under Finance.
These procedures will initially discuss the FAMF and the FATF. Further to
this, these procedures will discuss the responsibilities of each of the two main
stakeholders involved in maintaining the OA FAR. Namely:
Area Or NO Dept Purchasing Asset / Initiating Transfer

NO Finance
3. Fixed Asset Movement Form (FAMF)

The FAMF is designed to provide necessary information as to enable the
Cafcass Fixed Asset Register to be updated and maintained. The form must
be completed for movements of fixed assets relating to purchases, disposals
and write-offs. A copy of the form can be found in Appendix 2.
The Area or NO department purchasing the asset will need to complete where
relevant sections 01 to 13 of the FAMF. When completing the FAMF, staff
should refer to the Guidance Notes in Appendix 3.
A separate FAMF will need to be completed for each fixed asset movement. If
however the movement relates to assets that are of an identical nature and
have, or are to reside in the same location, only one form will need to be
completed.
For assets of an identical nature that are to reside at various locations, a
separate FAMF will need to be completed for each location.
The completed FAMF will need to be forwarded to NO Finance for
authorisation in section 20. NO Finance will be responsible for ensuring the
FAMF has been completed correctly. NO Finance will retain a copy of the
FAMF for their records.
In all cases the original completed FAMF and the relevant back-up
documents must be returned NO Finance no later than the 26 th of each
month.
4. Fixed Asset Transfer Form (FATF)

The FATF is designed to provide necessary information as to enable the
Cafcass Fixed Asset Register to be updated and maintained. The form must
be completed when a fixed asset is transferred from its existing cost centre to
any other location. A copy of the form can be found in Appendix 4.
The Area or NO department transferring the asset will need to complete
sections T01 to T10 of the FATF. When completing the FATF, staff should
refer to the Guidance Notes in Appendix 5.
A separate FATF will need to be completed for each fixed asset transfer. If
however the transfer relates to assets that are of an identical nature and have
been or are to reside in the same location, only one form will need to be
completed.
For assets of an identical nature that are to reside at various locations, a

separate FATF will need to be completed for each location.
The completed FATF will need to be forwarded to NO Finance for
authorisation in section T14. NO Finance will be responsible for ensuring the
FATF has been completed correctly. NO Finance will retain a copy of the
FAMF for their records.
In all cases the original completed FATF and the relevant back-up
documents must be returned NO Finance no later than the 26 th of each
month.
5. Areas & National Office Departments

Asset Movements: Additions
Asset additions relate to any newly acquired fixed assets. This could be
through a purchase, or a transfer or donation from another organisation.
Other than the Estates and IT cost centres, your delegated budget has no
provision for fixed asset purchases (items over 2,500) unless otherwise
stated.
Only Estates and IT have regular authority to commit and incur such
expenditures. In the event that a capital payment needs to be made, prior
authority must first be obtained from the Accounting Officer via the relevant
Corporate Director and / or the NO Finance Department.
To establish whether the purchase is a fixed asset or not, please refer to the
Fixed Asset Policy in Appendix 1.
If the purchase is a fixed asset, and approval has been received, a Purchase
Order must then be raised on EBIS.
Once the asset has actually been received, a FAMF should be completed and
signed by the preparer. The completed FAMF should then be passed to the
relevant authoriser for authorisation.
Asset Movements: Disposals
A disposal refers to the sale of a fixed asset. This sale will normally result in a
profit or loss on sale to be made.
As outlined in the financial memorandum, Cafcass can only dispose of a fixed
asset that is surplus to its requirements, once prior approval is obtained from
DfE and the Director of Finance. The request to dispose of an asset should
also outline the intended method of disposal. Staff should seek advice from
either the IT Department, or NO Finance (for all non-IT Assets), as to the
appropriate method of disposal.
Once the asset has been appropriately disposed of, a FAMF should be
completed. When completing the FAMF, staff will need to obtain the unique
asset code and(if applicable) the asset serial number for that asset from the
FAR. These details will need to be entered onto the FAMF, along with any
proceeds from the sale.
The completed FAMF should then be passed to the relevant authoriser for
authorisation.
Asset Movements: Write-Offs
Write offs relate to existing fixed assets, which have been lost or stolen, or
those fixed assets that are to be discarded for nil proceeds. As outlined in
both the Financial Memorandum, and the Special Payments and Write Off
Guide, all write offs require prior approval from the Accounting Officer via NO
Finance.
Where a fixed asset has been lost or stolen, an Accident and Incident Report
must be completed prior to the write off request. A copy of this report can be
found on the Intranet under Health & Safety Procedures. This form should
then be attached to the write off business case request and returned to NO
Finance for consideration.
Once the write off has been approved, a FAMF should be completed. When
completing the FAMF, staff will need to obtain the unique asset code and (if
applicable) the asset serial number for that asset from the FAR. These details
will need to be entered onto the FAMF. The completed FAMF should then be
passed to the relevant authoriser for authorisation.
Asset Movements: Transfers
Transfers refer to Fixed Assets, which are moved from one cost centre to
another. Generally, these transfers will involve the relocation of assets within
the same Area.
Prior approval from the appropriate authoriser must first be sought before any
fixed asset can be transferred. Once approved, a FATF will need to be
completed. The completed FATF should then be passed to the relevant
authoriser for authorisation.
6. National Office Finance

Asset Movements: Additions
On receipt of a completed FAMF, NO Finance will ensure that the item to be
capitalised adheres to the Fixed Asset Policy document contained in
Appendix 1.
NO Finance will complete sections 14 to 18 of the FAMF and will also ensure
that sections 01 to 13 have been completed and authorised as per these
procedures and the Guidance Notes in Appendix 3.
In the case of IT assets and after liaison with IT department / Fujitsu, NO
Finance will populate section 19 of the FAMF, as per the Guidance Notes in
Appendix 3
NO Finance will also ensure that all relevant back-up documents have been
attached, as per Appendix 3. NO Finance will then complete the section 20
authorisations.
Once the FAMF has been authorised, NO Finance will then update the OA
FAR with the completed FAMF. When updating the OA FAR, the asset serial
number contained in section 19 of the FAMF must be entered into the volume
and serial number fields of the system. These fields should on no account be
left blank at the entry stage as to do so will make them inaccessible for future
use.
If a FAMF contains multiple units of an asset in section 03, one sub-line of the
volume / serial number field must be used for each unit.
Costs relating to fixed asset additions are posted to the 721 series of General
Ledger accounts. On verifying the contents of the FAMF as described above,
NO Finance will prepare and post a manual General Ledger journal
transferring the cost from this series of accounts into 981420 Capital
Expense Account.
Once completed, NO Finance will retain copy of the FAMF for recordkeeping purposes.
Asset Movements: Disposals & Write-Offs

On receipt of a completed FAMF, NO Finance will where relevant complete
sections 14 to 19 and will also ensure that sections 01 to 13 have been
completed and authorised as per these procedures and the Guidance Notes
in Appendix 3.
attached, as per Appendix 3.
NO Finance will complete the section 20 authorisations and will then update
the OA FAR with the completed FAMF.
Where applicable regarding disposed assets, NO Finance will prepare and
post a manual General Ledger journal transferring any relevant amounts from
the 970100 Revaluation Reserve to 960100 General Fund.
Where applicable regarding written-off assets, NO Finance will prepare and
post a manual General Ledger journal transferring any relevant amounts from
the 970100 Revaluation Reserve to 960100 General Fund.
Asset Movements: Transfers

On receipt of a completed FATF, NO Finance will complete sections T11 to
T13 and will also ensure that sections T01 to T10 have been completed and
authorised as per these procedures and the Guidance Notes in Appendix 5.
attached, as per Appendix 5.
NO Finance will complete the section T14 authorisations and then update the
OA FAR with the completed FAMF.
Monthly Requirements
OA FAR will be closed on the 3rd working day of each month. NO Finance
must ensure:
That all completed FAMFs received in the previous month have been
processed into OA FAR.
That the OA FAR depreciation calculation has been run and the
system-based journal accurately posted.
That all other system-based journals have been accurately posted. A
listing of OA FAR system-based journals can be found in Appendix 6.
OA FAR vs. OA GL Reconciliation
On closing of OA FAR NO Finance will prepare a standard OA FAR vs. OA
GL reconciliation. This reconciliation will as normal be included in the monthly
reconciliations pack.
Prepared By: NO Finance August 2013.

Review Date: August 2014
FIXED ASSET POLICY (Appendix 1)

Index
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Objective Of This Document

Cafcass Fixed Asset Policy
Implementation & Application Of Policy
Auditor Treatment Of IT Infrastructure Assets
Fixed Asset Depreciation
Fixed Asset Revaluations
1. Objective Of This Document

The objective of this document is to define Cafcass fixed assets policy:
This states that freehold land and buildings are subject to physical revaluation at least every three years and by
indexation using current cost indices during intervening years. Other tangible assets should be stated at current
cost using appropriate indices published by the Office for National Statistics.
The minimum level for capitalisation of a tangible fixed asset is 2,500. In the case of IT equipment If they fall
below the 2,500 threshold they are to be grouped together and classified as grouped assets and should be
capitalised.
HM Treasury Resource Accounting Manual

Clause 3.2 d grouping of assets: states that where there are large numbers
of a certain type of asset which if treated singly would fall below the
capitalisation threshold, they should be grouped for the purposes of
determining whether they fall above or below the threshold.
2. Cafcass Fixed Asset Policy
Assets costing 2,500 or more will be capitalised.
Assets costing less than 2,500 (except for IT assets) will be expensed in
the year.
IT Assets will be treated as follows:
IT Fixed Assets costing less than 2,500 will be grouped together as IT

Infrastructure Assets and capitalised.
IT Standalone Software (E.g. Software not purchased with hardware)

costing 2,500 or more will be capitalised and those costing less than
2,500 will be expensed in the year.
Assets will be stated at current cost (E.g. Subject to revaluation) using

indices published by the Office of National Statistics.
3. Implementation & Application Of Policy
Assets will be capitalised in the month in which they impact Cafcass

accounts.
All non-IT assets (except project-related work) with an individual purchase

price of 2,500 or more will be capitalised.
All non-IT assets (except project-related work) with an individual purchase

price of less than 2,500 will be expensed in year.
Office furniture is not capitalised but expensed in the year.
Project Related Work: Due to the complexities involving such work, please
contact NO Finance for advice as each project will be judged on its merits.
IT assets will be treated as follows:
Hardware
Individual Capitalisation: Individual hardware >= 2,500 including software,

peripherals and resources (if any).
Group Capitalisation: Individual hardware < 2,500 including software,
peripherals and resources (if any), where the purchase is part of an larger
scheme. E.g. Multiple purchases of laptops costing 800 per unit as part of
a modernisation program.
Software
Individual Capitalisation: Standalone software >= 2,500 including

peripherals and resources (if any), that are not part of Hardware above.
Note: Multiple copies of the same software whose total cost is >= 2,500
are treated as per this section.
Expense: Standalone software < 2,500 including peripherals and
resources (if any), that are not part of Hardware above.
Peripherals
Individual Capitalisation: Peripherals >= 2,500 including resources (if

any) that are not part of Hardware or Software above.
Expense: Peripherals < 2,500 including resources (if any), that are not
part of Hardware or Software above.
Resources
Individual Capitalisation: Resources >= 2,500 that is not part of

Hardware, Software or Peripherals above.
Expense: Resources < 2,500 that is not part of Hardware, Software or
Peripherals above.
IT Definitions
Hardware: PC, printer, laptop, servers, peripherals >= 50, etc.

Software: NetEnforcer, NetAccountant, Windows, etc.
Peripherals: Cabling, switches, etc.
Resources: Network support, desktop support, etc.
4. Auditor Treatment of IT Infrastructure Assets

The auditors have confirmed that they would audit the IT Infrastructure entries
in the fixed asset register as follows:
Auditing:
Would check the assets grouped in the IT Infrastructure in year of
additions.
Would take a sample from the code in the ledger entries and check
through these.
Would look for invoices confirming the purchase of a sample taken.
Would not ask for the whole line to be reconciled.
Other Controls:
NO Finance maintaining its own verification of assets
NO Finance would be carrying out quarterly IT and Estates verifications to
make sure IT and Estates records reconciles with Cafcass Fixed Asset
Register. The auditors would be relying on the controls that have been put
in place if they find these to be reliable.
5. Fixed Asset Depreciation
Depreciation is the accounting process used in allocating of the cost of a

tangible, long term asset over its useful life.
Depreciation on an asset commences from the first full calendar month
following the invoice date.
CAFCASS depreciates fixed assets on a straight line basis, over their
expected useful lives or for leased assets, over the life of the lease.
Expected useful lives are as follows:
Freehold buildings
Leasehold land and buildings
Leasehold improvements
Office equipment
Informatuion technology
Laptops under Flex
Laptops (non-Flex)
Up to 60 years
Up to 50 years, or over the term of the lease
Over the term of the lease
Seven years
Five years
Estimated replacement date
Five years
6. Fixed Asset Revaluations
Fixed assets are not subject to revaluations in the financial year in which
they are purchased.
Freehold land and buildings are subject to physical revaluation by the VOA
at least every three years and by indexation using current cost indices
during intervening years.
Other tangible fixed assets except for leasehold property are subject to
annual revaluations using appropriate indices published by the Office for
National Statistics (ONS).
The contra entry for the upward revaluation of fixed assets is the
revaluation reserve account in the balance sheet.
The contra entries for the downward revaluation of fixed assets are the
diminutions accounts in I&E.
Note: Office for National Statistics indices can also be downloaded via the
website www.statistics.gov.uk.

Review Date: August 2014.
FIXED ASSET MOVEMENT FORM (Appendix 2) : Complete with reference

to Guidance Notes in Appendix 3
To Be Completed By Area Or NO Department Purchasing Asset
01 Transaction Type (Tick):
Purchase
Disposal
Write Off
02. Date of Transaction

03. Number of Units
04. Asset Description
05. Current Cost Centre & Expense Code
06. Depreciation Start Date
07. Total Including VAT
08. Disposal & W/O Only Asset Code
09. Disposal & W/O Only Asset Tag
10. Disposal Only Proceeds from Sale
Please refer to the Guidance Notes in Appendix 3
11. Supporting Documents Required
12. Prepared By
13. Signature & Date
To Be Completed By National Office Finance

14. Current Location
15. Asset Code
16. Asset Group
17. Asset Type
18. Analysis Code
19. Asset Serial Number
20. Authorised By
Position
Signature & Date
Area & National Office: NO Finance to authorise
COMPLETING THE FIXED ASSET MOVEMENT FORM (FAMF) GUIDANCE

NOTES (Appendix 4)
To Be Completed By Area Or NO Department Purchasing Asset
Details
Details To Be Entered
01.
Preparer to tick one of the boxes to indicate whether
Transaction Type
the transaction is a:
Purchase: A new asset has been acquired.
Disposal: An existing asset has been sold for
proceeds.
Write Off: An existing asset has been discarded
for nil proceeds. This box should also be ticked
where an asset has been lost or stolen. Please
also see (6) of the procedures for additional
requirements for assets written off or lost / stolen.
02.
Purchase: Purchase date.
Date of Transaction
Disposal: Proceeds date.
Write Off: Business Case Authorisation date.
03.
This box should only be used if the transaction
Number of Units
relates to multiples of exactly the same item,
otherwise please complete a separate FAMF for
each transaction.
Enter the number of items to be purchased /
disposed / written-off.
04.
Additions: A brief description of asset including
Asset Description
(where possible) make and / or model details.
In the case of Land or Buildings, enter the site
address.
For existing assets, enter the details as shown on
the Fixed Asset Register.
05.
Purchases Only: The cost centre & expense code
Current Cost Centre
to which the cost of the asset has been charged.
& Expense Code
06.
The start date for depreciation is always the first
Depreciation Start
working day of the first full month following the
Date
invoice date.
07.
Purchases Only: The total invoiced cost of the
Total Including VAT
capital element of the asset.
If possible provide a cost breakdown of all major
elements of the invoice. E.g. Peripherals,
resources etc.
08.
Disposal & Write-Offs Only: The unique asset
Asset Code
code given to the asset when capitalised on OA
FAR.
09.
Disposal & Write-Offs Only: The unique asset tag
Asset Tag
assigned to the asset when capitalised on OA
FAR.
10.
Disposals Only: Enter the proceeds received from
Proceeds from Sale
the sale of an existing asset.
11.
Supporting
Documents Required
12 & 13.
Prepared By
20.
Authorised By
Additions: A copy of the Purchase Order (printed

in landscape format) to which the asset relates.
Additions: A copy of the invoice to which the
asset relates.
Additions: IT Assets Only: A copy of the UNC
quote to which the asset relates.
Disposals: Copy of authority to dispose.
Disposals: Copy of proceeds MR1.
Write-Offs: Copy of business case.
In all cases the preparer of the FAMF must
complete these two sections.
Areas & National Office: NO Finance will be
responsible for authorisation.

Details
14.
Four-digit location code, re OA FAR asset
Current Location
maintenance routines.
NB: This code must be consistent with the twodigit location code.
15.
Sequential asset code for loading onto OA FAR.
Asset Code
16.
Four-digit code indicating type of asset, re OA
Asset Group
FAR asset maintenance routines.
17.
Two-digit code indicating method by which asset
Asset Type
was acquired, re OA FAR asset maintenance
routines.
18.
Two-digit location code, re OA FAR asset
Analysis Code
maintenance routines.
NB: This code must be consistent with the fourdigit location code.
19.
IT Assets Only: The asset serial number allocated
Asset Serial Number
to that asset.
For existing IT assets, enter the asset code.
20.
Areas & National Office: NO Finance will be
Authorised By

COMPLETING THE FIXED ASSET TRANSFER FORM (FATF) GUIDANCE

NOTES (Appendix 5)
To Be Completed By Area Or NO Department Initiating Transfer
Details
T01.
The asset tag of the asset being transferred must
Asset Tag / Serial
be listed on the form.
Number
The serial number should only be listed when
an asset tag has not been allocated to the
asset in question.
Where the preparer is unsure of the asset tag of
the asset in question, please contact NO Finance.
T02.
The asset code of the asset being transferred
Asset Code
must be listed on the form.
Where the preparer is unsure of the asset code of
the asset in question, please contact NO Finance.
T03.
Please enter the details as shown on the OA
Asset Description
Fixed Asset Register.
T04.
This box should only be used if the transfer
Number of Units
relates to multiples of exactly the same item,
Transferred
otherwise please complete a separate FATF for
each transaction.
Enter the number of items to be transferred.
T05.
The location where the asset currently resides.
Current Location
Please enter the four-digit location code, re OA
FAR asset maintenance routines.
Where the preparer is unsure of the location code
of the asset in question, please contact NO
Finance.
T06.
Please enter the four-digit location code, re OA
New Location
FAR asset maintenance routines for where the
asset will reside.
T07.
The date the transfer effectively took place.
Date Transfer
Effective From
T08.
A copy of any documentation authorising the
Supporting
transfer of the asset from one location to another.
Documents Required
The documentation must include enough detail to
reasonably identify the asset in question.
T09 & T10.
In all cases the preparer of the FATF must
Prepared By
complete these two sections.
T14.
Area & National Office: NO Finance will be
Authorised By
Details
T11 to T13.
NO Finance must verify that the details entered in
Verification Details
T02, T04 & T05 match the OA FAR.

T14.
Authorised By
Inaccuracies will result in the entire form being

returned to the preparer.
Area & National Office: NO Finance will be

Local Asset Procedures

Index
1.
2.
3.
4.
What Is A Local Asset?

Recording Transactions
Updating The Local Asset Register
Physical Checking & Verification
1. What Is A Local Asset?

The 2,500 Rule
A Local Asset is defined as all physical assets owned by Cafcass that were
purchased at a cost price of less than 2,500. These will include (but is not
limited to):
Fax Machines
Franking Machines
Photocopying Machines
Cameras & Video Equipment
Furniture
All IT assets regardless of value are considered to be Fixed Assets, and are
therefore capitalised. As such, IT assets will in general not be treated as Local
Assets.
500 De Minimus Limit
Local Assets of 500 per item or less need not be recorded on the Local
Asset Register.
2. Recording Transactions
Each Operational Area should ensure that all local asset transactions within
their area are adequately documented, and that this documentation is
sufficient in order to effectively update their Local Asset Register, a template
of which can be found on the intranet.
There are four main types of local asset transactions that will impact on the
Local Asset Register and which therefore need to be documented. These
transactions are:
Additions (When an asset is purchased)
Disposals (When an asset is sold)
Transfers (Between Cafcass offices)
Write-Offs (When an asset has been stolen, broken, or lost)
3. Updating The Local Asset Register

A single consolidated Local Asset Register should be emailed to NO Finance
from the Area Finance Manager and National Office Manager.
Please do not include leased assets on the Local Asset Register.
The template extends to line 1500 of the spreadsheet and given the
experience of past returns and De-minimus limit of 500 this should be
sufficient for an Operational Areas entire return.
Please note that whilst the print range of the template defaults to two pages
this can be changed as required.
The template is structured as follows:
Cell D3: Please type in the Operational Area to which the Local Asset
Register relates.
Cell F3: Please type in the name of the person completing the single
consolidated Local Asset Register that is to be sent to NO Finance.
Cell D6: Please type in the date on which the Local Asset Register is to be
sent to NO Finance.
Cell F6: Please type in the name of the person authorising the Local Asset
Register that is to be sent to NO Finance. This individual must be either
the Area Finance Manager or NO Manager.
Column A (Cell A10 onwards): Use the drop-down menu to select the
Service area to which the local asset relates.
Column B (Cell B10 onwards): Use the drop-down menu to select the
Cafcass office to which the local asset relates.
Column C (Cell C10 onwards): Use the drop-down menu to select the
category to which the local asset relates.
Column D (Cell D10 onwards): Enter a brief description of the local asset.
Column E (Cell E10 onwards): Enter (if available) the model or serial
number of the local asset.
Column F (Cell F10 onwards): Use the drop-down menu to select the
number of units of local asset being recorded.
Column G (Cell G10 onwards): Enter (if available) the purchase date of the
local asset in DD-MM-YY format (E.g. 21-12-12).
The Local Asset Register needs to be kept updated and made available for
review by External Auditors, Internal Auditors, National Office, etc.
4. Physical Checking & Verification

An annual physical check of Local Assets must take place within each
Operational Area, typically during December of each year. The process of the
physical check is left to the discretion of each Operational Area, but an
example of an appropriate check may be as follows:
An allocated individual within an office undertakes a physical verification

by checking off the existing assets against the previous years register.
Office based Local Asset Registers are then prepared and an electronic
copy provided to the Area Finance Manager/National Office Manager.
A single consolidated Local Asset Register is then completed and emailed

by the Area Finance Manager/National Office Manager to NO Finance.
In addition to the annual audit Operational Areas should maintain sufficient

records to ensure movements in the Local Asset Register during the year are
fully documented and reconciled.
Review Date: August 2014
Disposal of Cafcass Assets

1.
1.1
GENERAL
Assets are defined as something valuable that an entity owns, benefits from,
or has use of, in generating income or performing duties. It includes tangible
items such as real estate, furniture, office and IT equipment as well as
intangible items such as property rights and website costs.
1.2
The purpose of these procedures are to provide the means for the disposal of
redundant or surplus assets, to ensure that any disposals are dealt with in an
auditable manner and are in compliance with the requirements set out in the
Financial Memorandum (section 3), Fixed and Local Asset policy and
procedures.
1.3
Asset disposal decisions and the reasons for taking them should be properly
documented. Not only does this assist in audit and other examinations, but it
highlights successes and problems for future reference.
1.4
Cafcass objective in relation to this policy is to ensure that disposals are

being conducted according to good practice and sustainability requirements.
1.5
In the interests of promoting probity, fair dealing and openness, sections must
not sell or otherwise transfer surplus assets to staff (for personal use) (or their
relatives or friends) unless arising from a public competitive process, i.e. an
advertised sale that is open to the public. Where a member of the public and
a staff member offer an equal price, the item must be sold to a member of the
public. The sale price must be the best market price and under no
circumstances may equipment be donated to staff.
2
2.1
REASONS FOR DISPOSAL

Assets can be available for disposal because they are:
No longer required, due to changed procedures, functions or

usage patterns
No longer complying with occupational health and safety

standards
Beyond repair but able to be sold for scrap.
2.2
An employee should report any item that they consider to be in need of

disposal or condemnation to their Office Manager. The Office Manager will
be responsible for advising their Head of Service and either the Estate
Manager (in the case of freehold property disposal) or NO Finance of the item
concerned.
3
3.1
FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM REQUIREMENTS

Cafcass shall dispose of assets, which are surplus to its requirements.
Assets shall be sold for best price, taking into account any costs of sale. High
value assets shall be sold by auction or competitive tender, unless otherwise
agreed by the DfE, and in accordance with Government Accounting, Chapter
24.
3.2
Outside of the approved Cafcass Estates Strategy, Cafcass may normally retain
receipts derived from the sale of assets provided that all of the following are met:
The DfE and the Treasury are content for Cafcass to retain these
receipts;
They are used to finance other capital spending;
The DfE receives prior notification of individual sales; and
Total sales in any financial year do not exceed a specified limit

(normally 3% of the GrantinAid).
3.3
If, notwithstanding the above, Cafcass disposes of assets which have been
purchased, improved or developed with Exchequer funds and the receipts
amount to more than 1 million, or where the disposal has unusual features of
which Parliament should be aware, Parliamentary approval shall be secured
for the receipts to be reinvested. The receipts shall therefore be surrendered
to the DFE, which will then submit an Estimate seeking approval for the
receipts to be appropriated in aid by the DFE and for a corresponding
increase in Cafcass Grant-in-Aid. If the proposed new investment exceeds
Cafcass relevant delegated authority, the approval from the DFE will be
needed. If the proposed new investment is novel or contentious, the
Treasurys approval will be also needed.
3.4
Where Cafcass has financed expenditure on capital assets by a third party,

Cafcass shall make appropriate arrangements to ensure that any such assets
above a value of 1,000 are not disposed of by the third party without
Cafcass prior consent and that repayment conditions are sufficient to secure
the repayment of the Exchequers due share of the proceeds of the sale, in
order that funds may be surrendered to the Department.
4
4.1
DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS

Fixed assets are physical assets owned by Cafcass that were purchased for
more than 2,500. They are shown on our fixed asset register either with or
without a residual value and normally consist of land, buildings and IT
equipment. In the case of IT equipment and furniture they were grouped
together if they were below the 2,500 threshold and classified as grouped
assets.
4.2
Procedure to follow when disposing of a fixed asset:
4.2.1
Confirm with NO Finance that the asset is appearing on the fixed asset
register and request the original purchase price, residual value and asset
code of the asset.
4.2.2
High value assets shall be sold by auction or by competitive tender unless

otherwise agreed by the DFE. High value assets are being considered as all
assets that have a residual or market value of 10,000 or higher. In some
cases a formal valuation of the asset may be required as in the case of
freehold property. Valuations of other tangible assets could be obtained from
indices published by the Office of National Statistics.
4.2.3
All disposals of freehold property should be in accordance with the Cafcass

Estate Strategy. A formal business case, which needs to be submitted to the
DFE, needs to be approved by the Estates Manager and the CEO.
4.2.4
All other assets shall be sold for best price, taking into account any costs of
sale. VAT at 20% should be charged on all sales of assets. NO Finance
should maintain a log of all sales of assets as the total sales in a financial
year should not exceed 3% of the Grant-In-Aid. The following procedure
should be followed in the case of any proceeds on the disposal of the asset:
A business case needs to be submitted to the DFE, which has been
approved by the Head of Service and the Operational Director,
which should set out the conditions of sale
All the requirements of section 3.2 should be met
A fixed asset movement form should be completed and NO Finance
should be notified
4.2.5
If the amount that could reasonably be expected to be achieved by the sale

does not justify the cost of the sale the following procedures should be
followed:
Enquire if asset could be used within another Cafcass office or

government department.
Consider whether the asset is fit for donation to schools or charities
which in turn will be in line with Cafcass objectives.
If the asset cannot be sold or donated, use an accredited list of
suppliers who will dispose of the assets according to sustainability
requirements. Should the cost of disposal be more than 10,000 a
business case needs to be submitted which needs to be approved by
the Operational Director and CEO. Should the cost be less than
10,000 a non-business case should be submitted which needs to
be approved by the Head of Service and Operational Director.
Complete a fixed asset movement form and notify NO Finance.
Ensure all procedures are documented.
DISPOSAL OF LOCAL ASSETS
5.1
Local assets are all physical assets owned by Cafcass that were purchased
at a cost price of less than 2,500, except for IT equipment which have been
grouped together. These will appear on the local asset registers and will
include (but is not limited to) furniture, photocopiers, franking machines, fax
machines and cameras. Local asset registers are maintained as a method for
recording and safeguarding Cafcass assets that may otherwise be neglected
and at risk.
5.2.
Procedure to follow when disposing of a local asset:
5.2.1
All assets shall be sold for best price, taking into account any costs of sale.
Should there be any proceeds on the sale of the asset all requirements of
section 4.2.4 should be met.
5.2.2
If the amount that could reasonably be expected to be achieved by the sale

does not justify the cost of the sale the following procedures should be
followed:
6.1
Enquire if asset could be used within another Cafcass office or

government department.
Consider whether the asset is fit for donation to schools or
charities which in turn will be in line with Cafcass objectives.
If the asset can not be sold or donated, use an accredited list of
suppliers who will dispose of the asset according to sustainability
requirements. The same requirements would apply as in section
4.2.5.
Ensure that the asset is removed from the local asset register.
Ensure all procedures are documented.
DISCLAIMER
Cafcass will not be held liable for any Health and Safety issues surrounding
the use of the asset. Ensure that a Furniture and Equipment Disclaimer is
signed by the recipient upon transfer.

Finance Control - Authorisation Guidance for Managers

CONTENTS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 24
THE CONTROL CULTURE ....................................................................................................... 24
SUPPLIERS ................................................................................................................................. 25
SELF-EMPLOYED PRACTITIONERS ........................................................................................ 25
STAFF .......................................................................................................................................... 26
IMPLICATIONS FOR AUTHORISED SIGNATORIES ................................................................ 26
OTHER GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES ................................................................................. 26
TRAINING NEEDS ...................................................................................................................... 27
Document Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Director of Finance
July 2012
Julie Brown
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Each time any of us signs a document or approves a transaction we give it authority

on behalf of Cafcass. This must not be taken lightly or undertaken under undue
pressure.
1.2
When signing-off invoices or other documents involving a payment we commit public

money and we are expected (by our Board, DFE, H.M. Treasury, the National Audit
Office, tax payers, etc) to operate a financial Control Culture. Avoiding waste and
any suspicion of fraud means that Cafcass can devote all the money allocated to it to
achieve its objectives for families and children.
1.3
In this context Control Culture means: taking the necessary steps to ensure that
public money is spent properly, payments are duly authorised and recorded against
the services and goods commissioned and received, and that value for money is
delivered.
1.4
This is an area of focus for Internal Audit and all areas of the organisation will be
subject to an audit of their compliance with controls.
1.5
The guidance below refers to a regional setting but applies equally to the National
Office and Legal Services.
THE CONTROL CULTURE

2.1
The aim of developing a Control Culture is to ensure that managers understand:

that control is an integral part of their job;
that they are personally responsible for ensuring that adequate and effective
controls exists and is evidenced; and
that control can help them to achieve their objectives by ensuring:
policies and directives are followed;

assets are safeguarded;
financial records are complete and accurate;
waste is prevented;
staff are protected from suspicion or false allegations.
Control should be an integral part of a Managers thinking.

Managers are expected to accept responsibility for control as part of their basic management
function. Assessing and controlling risks are key management functions, which must
be regarded as equal in importance to other core management functions. Control
cannot be considered as optional or something to be considered in isolation.
The importance of Controls for fraud prevention and detection is highlighted below by quotes
from the Treasurys report on Fraud 19992000:
the main means of discovery of cases (of fraud) was through the normal operation
of control procedures, and
failure to observe control procedures ... the dominant cause of Fraud.
All managers have the responsibility for ensuring that effective control systems operate. In
addition to ensuring financial control checking takes places, managers are required to
assess what other control activity is required to safeguard public assets and prevent
fraud or misuse. All managers with financial responsibility are required to manage risk
and this role should be reflected within their Job Objectives against which their
performance will be appraised on a continuous basis.
Managers are expected to assess the risk of loss or fraud on an on-going basis, and increase
or decrease any management control activity, dependent on the knowledge, skills,
experience, and dependability of their staff.
SUPPLIERS
3.1
Suppliers include all those organisations and individuals who provide goods and
services to Cafcass. New suppliers will need to provide their bank details on letterheaded paper to help ensure that payments are only made to legitimate suppliers.
3.2
When dealing with significant suppliers, the Manager or a member of staff should be
aware of the terms and conditions. These may be contained in a contract, leaflets or
exchange of correspondence. They should be reviewed prior to agreement to ensure
that they are reasonable and could not have an adversely effect Cafcass. Further
guidance is available in the procurement manual and further advice can be obtained
from the National Procurement team.
3.3
The delivery of physical goods should be checked prior to the processing of the
Goods Received Note.
3.4
Charges for people services such as consultants, contract staff and self-employed
practitioners are usually based on time. Records of time worked by such individuals
should be kept and reviewed and approved by the relevant Manager on a regular
basis. Weekly time sheets provide the most manageable record of time. These
should be submitted promptly.
3.5
Where the time claimed is in excess of estimates or informed professional

experience, seek a meeting to obtain explanations.
3.6
Report any discrepancies to your Line Manager as appropriate.
SELF-EMPLOYED PRACTITIONERS
4.1
Self-employed practitioners are subject to the same level of financial internal controls
in terms of the processes applied and value for money as other suppliers. In addition
to these managers must be aware of the contract under which they provide their
services and the procedures and guidance of the contracts issued regarding
implement.
4.2
Managers should ensure that:

Work plans are agreed for each case (where applicable).
Progress is monitored
4.3
Where self-employed practitioners work across a number of teams/areas they should

be managed by one contract manager who takes overall responsibility i.e. ensure
appropriate co-ordination with all relevant colleagues.
STAFF
5.1
Staff expense claims should be scrutinised, and where applicable checked against
backing receipts and diaries and confirmed that they are in line with HR policies. It is
also the Managers responsibility to judge whether Value for Money (VFM) was
received to inform future action.
5.2
Overtime claims should be preauthorised. There should be a pressing need for

authorising overtime. This should be reviewed periodically to ensure that a routine
overtime culture does not develop.
IMPLICATIONS FOR AUTHORISED SIGNATORIES

6.1
Signing-off documents should not be treated as a routine task, each instance should
be carefully considered. This also applies to signing-off transactions using e-bis
such as Purchase Orders and matching invoices, such electronic signing should
be considered as the equivalent of a written signature.
6.2
Before you sign-off any payment, authorise a Purchase Order or raise a Goods
Received Note ensure that:
You are authorised to do so and the amount falls within your delegated authority,
You are satisfied that the services have been performed or the goods have been
delivered in the manner agreed with the supplier,
You or a member of your staff, have followed up any concerns,
The price and overall costs are correct,
Correct procurement procedures have been followed,
Appropriate documentary evidence is obtained to support the payment and that
this is retained for (internal and external) audit inspection.
6.3
If in doubt do not sign. Seek the information you require from those closer to the point
of supply or the supplier. If you are still not satisfied refer the matter to your Line
Manager or Area Finance Manager who may refer the matter to Cafcass Finance for
advice.
6.4
Some suppliers such as consultants or self-employed practitioners work over a period

of time. Seek estimated times at the outset and monitor progress. Seek to
understand the reasons for variations from estimates. Regular timesheets are useful
in these circumstances.
6.5
When authorising transactions online, observe security procedures such as

safeguarding passwords and logging-out when leaving your PC.
6.6
Every authorised signatory should be aware of Cafcasss Fraud Policy. This is

available on the Finance section of the intranet.
OTHER GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES

7.1
This guidance is linked to other internal control policies and procedures that are
available on the Intranet including:
Internal Financial Control Bulletin
Fraud Statement, Policy and Guide for Investigations

Risk Management Policy and Guidance
Financial Policies and Procedures
Human Resources Policies and Procedures.
TRAINING NEEDS
8.1 If there are areas in which you require training to undertake the
responsibilities above, inform your Line Manager and or Area Finance
Manager of these, preferably in writing. Cafcass Finance will collate them
and arrange training.
8.2
Conversely, if you have good financial practice in your Team please share it with the
rest of Cafcass via the Area Finance Manager. This guidance will be revised in the
future to reflect such good practice.
Financial Delegation Guidance

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 28
Budget Delegation Process ................................................................................ 28
Authorisation ....................................................................................................... 28
Accountability ...................................................................................................... 29
Segregation of Duties.......................................................................................... 29
Further Guidance........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendices .................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Document Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Director of Finance
April 2013
Zubeda Seedat
Introduction
This document describes the budget delegation process within Cafcass. It is
Cafcass policy to give operational managers the maximum flexibility in the use
of resources commensurate with proper overall control of the organisations
finances by devolving financial responsibility to managers.
Budget Delegation Process

Cafcasss budget is delegated from the Treasury to the DfE and then to the Chief Executive of
Cafcass, as Accounting Officer. The Accounting Officer then delegates budgets down to
primary budget holders (e.g. Directors) by issuing a formal budget delegation letter that must
be signed. This letter sets out the amount of budget allocated under different categories of
expenditure and the restrictions within which the budget must be managed. The template
Primary Delegation Letter is included at Appendix A.
Primary budget holders can further delegate budgets to staff by issuing a

Secondary Delegation Letter (e.g. from Operational Director to Assistant
Directors/Heads of Service). The template Secondary Delegation Letter is
included at Appendix B.
Authority to Spend letters are also available for the purpose of allowing
managers to authorise costs which are not necessarily delegated to them.
For example, for the purpose of approving Travel & Subsistence , Overtime,
Bank and similar costs on i-Trent. The authorised manager is responsible for
ensuring all costs are checked before approval is confirmed. The Budget
Holder however is overall accountable for the budget and must ensure that
the said manager is adequately trained. The template Authority to Spend
Letter is included in Appendix C.
Authorisation
Within the financial and control limits of the delegation letter a Budget Holder
has the authority to:
Commit expenditure e.g. through the authorisation of Purchase

Orders
Authorise payments e.g. through the authorisation of invoices, T&S

claims etc
Expenditure may only be authorised by staff who have delegated authority

and within monetary limits set, staff must therefore refer to their line manager
any request to authorise expenditure above their personal monetary limit for
that category of expenditure.
Accountability
Budget Holders are accountable for safeguarding expenditure; higher budget holders must
set and assess their staff's dealing with financial management to ensure that financial
standards are maintained. This should be done via performance management records.
Assistant Directors/Head of Service are assessed on resource management via the iTrent
performance framework and must ensure that standards are met.
It is not possible to delegate accountability for a budget, and those who

delegate budgets remain accountable for the funds delegate and for ensuring
that they are managed correctly and within the terms of the delegation letter.
Segregation of Duties
Budget Holders have the authority to incur expenditure within the limits of their
delegation letter, however where the expenditure relates directly to them
specifically e.g. expenditure on travel and subsistence, training, overtime etc
the expenditure must be approved by the line manager of the Budget Holder.
Appendice A:
CHILDREN AND FAMILY COURT ADVISORY

AND SUPPORT SERVICE
PRIMARY BUDGETARY DELEGATION TO BUDGET HOLDER
BUDGET DELEGATION (FINANCIAL YEAR)

From:
Anthony Douglas, Chief Executive
To:
(Name of Primary Budget Holder and job title)
Budget:
(Name of Service Area/Department/Cost Centre)
I allocate to you financial and accounting responsibility of the following

budget:
Category of Expenditure
Workforce Costs
Other Running Costs
TOTAL BUDGET
Budget allocation ()
Subject to the following restrictions, you are free to manage your budget as you think
best, to deliver your plans for 20XX/XX.
Delegations
Expenditure must not be incurred beyond the total delegated limits shown
above. You have the power to incur and authorise expenditure directly, and
through sub delegation, subject to compliance with the procedures and limits
as prescribed in the Finance Manual and the Financial Memorandum.
You have the power to delegate financial and accounting responsibility for elements
of this budget, by issuing a formal secondary budget delegation letter. You must use
this power unless you know of particular reasons why it should not be exercised.
Budget Reporting
You must report to the Director of Finance either using the Confirmation of
Review of Monthly Management Reports and Budget Monitoring (MMR)
document or via the submission of the monthly Operational Management
Team (OMT) finance report and minutes. This report will be required on a
monthly basis; in addition all budget holders will be required to submit, as a
minimum, quarterly budget forecasts in line with the agreed and published
timetable.
Partnership budgets
Each year both the baseline partnership funding (previously included in
Operational budgets) and the DfE partnership funding will be held by the
National Commissioning and Partnership team with agreement by the Head of
Service and the National Commissioning and Partnership team for all new
commitments.
As budget holder you have the authority to incur expenditure, however where the
expenditure relates directly to you as budget holder i.e. expenditure on travel and
subsistence, training, overtime etc prior approval must be obtained from your line
manager.
Purchase Orders
As budget holder you should ensure that all expenditure is incurred in line with
existing financial and procurement policies and procedures. This includes ensuring
compliance with purchase order procedures i.e. no expenditure to be entered into or
incurred before a purchase order has been raised. As well as good financial practice it
also indicates that the budget holder has given approval for the expenditure.
Timeliness in paying invoices
Ensure at all times that, supplier invoices are properly approved and paid within 30
days of the invoice date, with the exception of disputed invoices which should be
resolved as soon as possible. Similarly, monies owed to Cafcass are collected with 30
days of the invoice date.
Authorised Signatories
You must ensure that the list of authorised signatories for your budget area
remains current with deletions and amendments processed on a timely basis,
with a full review undertaken quarterly. You should only delegate budgets to
authorised signatories; similarly staffs who are not budget holders should
have no requirement to be authorised signatories.
Internal Financial Controls
You are accountable for safeguarding expenditure and ensuring your staffs
compliance with this guidance. Therefore, you must set and assess your
staff's dealing with financial management to confirm that an adequate financial
framework exists to safeguard the budget that I have delegated to you in this
document. This should be done via performance management records.
Assistant Directors/Head of Service should be assessed on resource management via
the iTrent performance framework and you must ensure that the standards are met.
Internal and External Auditors
I will be looking to our internal audit and assurance activities to provide me
with independent assurance of your operations and financial controls. Your
budget area may therefore be subject to independent scrutiny in this financial
year. You will receive a copy of the internal audit programme for the year, you
need to ensure that you are familiar with this and you should share this with
relevant staff within your area.
The National Audit Office (NAO) may also seek to provide me with
independent assurance for their external audit of Cafcass Annual Accounts.
This may involve visits to your budget area to review your systems and
controls.
Payroll
Each month you are provided with a copy of the Payroll Report detailing all payroll
payments (including T&S) made to staff in the month in your budget area. You are
required to review the report and confirm the salaries, allowances and travel and
subsistence claims paid are complete and accurate. This confirmation/sign off is part
of the budget monitoring report referred to above. This function can be delegated (i.e.
to the Head of Service/ ABM/Area Finance Manager/HR Transactional Coordinator/Service Manager etc) with the appropriate knowledge and skills to do this.
This delegation should be appropriately documented.
Starters and Leavers
You must take steps to ensure that HR staff and any staff with line management are
aware of their responsibility to submit Starter / Leaver and payroll data / changes
forms on a timely basis to the HR Transaction Team to ensure payroll deadlines are
met and reduce the risk of salary overpayments or delayed payments. Where
overpayments do occur you must ensure that adequate steps are taken by your HR
Transactional Co-ordinator to secure a signed recovery plan and recover the
overpayment as soon as possible.
Fixed Assets
Other than the National Office Estates and IT cost centres, your delegated
budget has no provision for capital/fixed asset purchases (i.e. items over
2,500) unless otherwise stated. Only Estates and IT departments have
regular authority to commit and incur such expenditures. In the event that a
capital purchase needs to be made, prior authority must first be obtained from
the Head of Finance.
Special Payments
The Chief Executive as Accounting Officer is ultimately responsible for authorising
any special payments made by Cafcass. Special payments may include compensation
payments, ex-gratia payments and write-offs.
However, the Chief Executive has delegated approval values of below 500 to
Directors and up to 100 to Head of Service. Please refer to the Special payments
and write-off guidance for further detail, this can be found under Financial Control
section of the Finance Manual on the Intranet.
Debtor Management
All sales / income must be supported by the issuing of a properly
constituted invoice with VAT charged where applicable. Where invoices need
to be raised for income due to Cafcass, this is coordinated via Cafcass
Finance through use of an AR1 invoice request form. As with POs an invoice
should be raised as a first step in the process. Review and follow-up any
outstanding invoices that have not been paid by third party.
Signed:
_____________________________
Name:
Anthony Douglas CBE
Date:
_____________________________
I confirm that I have read, understood and accept the responsibilities as laid
down in this document and I am familiar with the policies and procedures
referred to in this letter including but not limited to the Finance Manual, the
Procurement Manual and the Financial Memorandum.
Signed: _____________________________
Name:
Name of Primary Budget holder and job title
Date:
_____________________________

AND SUPPORT SERVICE
SECONDARY BUDGETARY DELEGATION TO BUDGET HOLDER
BUDGET DELEGATION (FINANCIAL YEAR)

From:
(Name of Primary Budget Holder and job title)
To:
(Name of Secondary Budget Holder and job title)
Budget:
(Name of Cost Centre/Service Area)
I allocate to you financial and accounting responsibility of the following

budget:
Category of Expenditure
Workforce Costs
Other Running Costs
TOTAL BUDGET
Budget allocation ()
Subject to the following restrictions, you are free to manage your budget as you think
best, to deliver your plans for 20XX/XX.
Delegations
Expenditure must not be incurred beyond the total delegated limits shown
above. Each budget by category of expenditure is ring fenced and any
transfer of budgets between categories of expenditure within your total budget
can only be undertaken with prior written agreement from the Primary Budget
Holder. You have the power to incur and authorise expenditure directly,
subject to compliance with the procedures and limits as prescribed in the
Finance Manual and the Financial Memorandum.
You have the power to delegate financial and accounting responsibility for elements
of this budget by issuing Authorisation to spend letters to your managers. This will
allow managers to approve costs i.e. iTrent expenditure. You will however be
deemed accountable for the overall budget and you must ensure that the said manager
is aware that it is their responsibility to scrutinise claims/POs before approval. You
must also ensure that they are adequately trained.
Budget Reporting
You must report to Finance or the Primary Budget Holder using the
Confirmation of Review of Monthly Management Reports and Budget
Monitoring (MMR) document. This report will be required on a monthly basis;
in addition all budget holders will be required to submit, as a minimum,
quarterly budget forecasts in line with the agreed and published timetable.
Partnership budgets
Each year both the baseline partnership funding (previously included in
Operational budgets) and the DfE partnership funding will be held by the
National Commissioning and Partnership team with agreement by the Head of
Service and the National Commissioning and Partnership team for all new
commitments.
As budget holder you have the authority to incur expenditure, however where the
expenditure relates directly to you as budget holder i.e. expenditure on travel and
subsistence, training, overtime etc prior approval must be obtained from your line
manager.
Purchase Orders
As budget holder you should ensure that all expenditure is incurred in line with
existing financial and procurement policies and procedures. This includes
ensuring compliance with purchase order procedures i.e. no expenditure to be
entered into or incurred before a purchase order has been raised. As well as
good financial practice it also indicates that the budget holder has given approval
for the expenditure.
Timeliness in paying invoices
Ensure at all times that, supplier invoices are properly approved and paid within 30
days of the invoice date, with the exception of disputed invoices which should be
resolved as soon as possible. Similarly, monies owed to Cafcass are collected with 30
days of the invoice date.
Authorised Signatories
You must ensure that the list of authorised signatories for your budget area
remains current with deletions and amendments processed on a timely basis,
with a full review undertaken quarterly. You should only delegate budgets to
authorised signatories; similarly staffs who are not budget holders should
have no requirement to be authorised signatories.
Internal Financial Controls
You are accountable for safeguarding expenditure and ensuring your staffs
compliance with this guidance. Therefore, you must set and assess your
staff's dealing with financial management to confirm that an adequate financial
framework exists to safeguard the budget that I have delegated to you in this
document. This should be done via performance management records.
Assistant Directors/Head of Service will be assessed on resource management via the

iTrent performance framework and must ensure that the standards are met.
Internal and External Auditors
I will be looking to our internal audit and assurance activities to provide me
with independent assurance of your operations and financial controls. Your
budget area may therefore be subject to independent scrutiny in this financial
year.
The National Audit Office (NAO) may also seek to provide me with
independent assurance for their external audit of Cafcass Annual Accounts.
This may involve visits to your budget area to review your systems and
controls.
Payroll
Each month you are provided with a copy of the Payroll Report detailing all
payroll payments (including T&S) made to staff in the month in your budget
area. You are required to review the report and confirm the salaries,
allowances and travel and subsistence claims paid are complete and
accurate. This confirmation/sign off is part of the budget monitoring report
referred to above. This function can be delegated to a relevant
manager/officer with the appropriate knowledge and skills to do this. This
delegation should be appropriately documented.
Starters and Leavers
You must take steps to ensure that HR staff and any staff with line
management are aware of their responsibility to submit Starter / Leaver and
payroll data / changes forms on a timely basis to the HR Transaction Team to
ensure payroll deadlines are met and reduce the risk of salary overpayments
or delayed payments. Where overpayments do occur you must ensure that
adequate steps are taken by your HR Transactional Co-ordinator to secure a
signed recovery plan and recover the overpayment as soon as possible.
Fixed Assets
Other than the National Office Estates and IT cost centres, your delegated
budget has no provision for capital/fixed asset purchases (i.e. items over
2,500) unless otherwise stated. Only Estates and IT departments have
regular authority to commit and incur such expenditures. In the event that a
capital purchase needs to be made, prior authority must first be obtained from
the Head of Finance.
Special Payments
The Chief Executive as Accounting Officer is ultimately responsible for
authorising any special payments made by Cafcass. Special payments may
include compensation payments, ex-gratia payments and write-offs.
However, the Chief Executive has delegated approval values of below 500 to
Directors and up to 100 to Head of Service Please refer to the Special
payments and write-off guidance for further detail, this can be found under
Financial Control section of the Finance Manual on the Intranet.
Debtor Management
All sales / income must be supported by the issuing of a properly
constituted invoice with VAT charged where applicable. Where invoices need
to be raised for income due to Cafcass, this is coordinated via Cafcass
Finance through use of an AR1 invoice request form. As with POs an invoice
should be raised as a first step in the process. Review and follow-up any
outstanding invoices that have not been paid by third party.
Signed:
_____________________________
Name:
Name of Primary Budget holder and job title
Date:
_____________________________
down in this document and I am familiar with the policies and procedures
referred to in this letter including but not limited to the Finance Manual, the
Procurement Manual and the Financial Memorandum.
Signed: _____________________________
Name:
Name of Secondary Budget holder and job title
Date:
_____________________________

AND SUPPORT SERVICE
AUTHORITY TO SPEND LETTER FROM BUDGET HOLDER
AUTHORITY TO SPEND (FINANCIAL YEAR)

From:
(Name of Budget Holder and job title)
To:
(Name of Authorised Officer and job title)
Budget:
(Name of Cost Centre/Service Area)
As the Budget Holder for the above budget, I hereby give permission to
you to process and approve financial items against the above cost
centre(s) for the following categories of cost:
PURCHASE ORDERS FOR:
EXPENSE NAME
EXPENSE CODE
LIMIT
PERMISSION
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
LIMIT
PAYCOSTS FOR:
TYPE
Travel & Subsistence
Overtime
Sessional Hours
Bank costs
Signed:
_____________________________
Name:
(BUDGET HOLDERS)
Date:
down in this document and I am familiar with the Cafcass policies and
procedures.
Signed:
_____________________________
Name: (AUTHORISED OFFICER)
Date:
Guidance on Special Payments & Losses
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
This guidance details the process and procedures relating to
Special Payments and Losses, including who has the authority
to approve such transactions and procedure.
2.
SPECIAL PAYMENT
2.1
Special payments are those made, at Cafcass discretion, to
meet an obligation which Cafcass feels honour bound to pay but
for
which it is not legally liable. By their very nature they are
payments which Cafcass could not have contemplated making
when the grant funding was made. Because of this, the
delegated authority for special payments rests with Cafcass via
DfE.
2.2
HM Treasury Guidance on Managing Public Money categories
special payments as the following:
2.3
An Extra-Contractual payment is one which, although not

legally due under the contract concerned, appears to be an
obligation which the courts might uphold. Such an obligation will
usually be attributable to a Cafcass action or inaction;
2.4
An Ex gratia payment is a payment which goes beyond

administrative rules, or for which there is no statutory cover or
legal liability.
They include, for example payments to
compensate for Cafcass maladministration or to meet out of
court settlements to avoid legal proceedings for Cafcass
inadequacy, or special payments made to avoid legal
proceedings or payments to a contractor outside a contract, e.g.
on grounds of hardship.
2.5
A Compensation Payment is one made in respect of damage

to property etc.
3.
LOSSES AND WRITE-OFF

3.1
Losses or a Write-off is where a transaction has already taken
place and has been expensed through the Income and
Expenditure, and can be categorised as follows:
3.2
Debtors Invoice (bad debt write-off)

These are usually requested after failure of extensive attempts
to recover the debt and further attempts is deemed to be
fruitless.
3.3
Salary Related Overpayment

These are overpayment transaction which, due to mitigating
circumstance and the Operational Area or Department deems it
inappropriate or fruitless to recover the payments from staff.
Refer to the Salary Overpayment and Recovery policy for
further guidance.
3. 4
Theft and Loss write-offs

When assets have been stolen or lost, the assets will need to be
removed (written-off) from the accounts, as they can no longer
be accounted for.
4.
AUTHORITY
4.1
As per the Cafcass Financial Memorandum the current authority
for any special payment or losses transactions sits with the
Accounting Officer (Chief Executive) only.
5.
SPECIAL PAYMENTS AUTHORITY

5.1
The Accounting Officer has the personal authority to
authorise special payment up to 10,000 for each case
within a total limit of 100,000 in any financial year. Special
Payment requests with a value of 10,000 or more are
subject to DfE approval (see Appendix B of the Financial
Memorandum). DfE, as a government department, acts in
authority to strict Treasury rules covering delegations and
parliamentary authority.
6.
REQUESTING A SPECIAL PAYMENT

6.1
If a special payment is deemed necessary the following must be
considered:
Could Cafcass have avoided the action that led to this

request?
Does the Area or Department feel bound that this
payment should be made?
Have necessary actions been taken to avoid a future
request?
6.2 After consideration of the above, a Business Case detailing all the relevant information must be completed
and submitted to the Chief Executive via National Office Finance Department for further consideration. The
business case template can be found on the intranet under Finance Department/Finance Manual/Financial
Control/Special Payments and Write-offs.
7.
WRITE-OFFS AUTHORITY
7.1
The Accounting Officer has the personal authority to authorise
write-off transactions up to a value of 5,000 for an individual
claim, within a total limit of 50,000 in any one financial year.
Write-off requests with a value of 5,000 or more are subject to
DfE approval (see Appendix B of the Financial Memorandum).
8.
PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING A WRITE-OFF

8.1
Write-Off procedures for Debtors, Salary related overpayment
and Theft & Loss are detailed below:
9.
8.2
Debtors
Failure to recover the debt using the guidelines set out in the
Debtors Policy. A request for a debt to be written-off must be
submitted via a Business Case (can be found on the intranet
under
Finance
Department/Finance
Manual/Financial
Control/Special Payments and Write-offs/Business Case) and
the recovering supporting documents addressed to the Chief
Executive and sent via National Office Finance Department.
8.3
Salary related overpayment

Due to extenuating circumstances and in line with the Salary
overpayment Policy an Area or Department may request a writeoff for a particular salary related overpayment
8.4
All salary related write-off requests must be presented in a

Business Case (can be found on the intranet under Finance
Department/Finance
Manual/Financial
Control/Special
Payments and Write-offs/Business Case) detailing how the
overpayment occurred and why there is a need for a write-off
and addressed to the Chief Executive and sent via National
Office Finance Department.
8.5
Theft or Loss (applies to all)

To write-off stolen or loss items including fixed assets, form
SP06 Accident & Incident Report (which can be found on the
intranet under Health & Safety Procedures) must be completed
prior to the write-off request. A copy of this form should be
attached to the Business Case request and submitted to the
Chief Executive via National Office Finance Department.
CODING OF SPECIAL PAYMENTS
9.1
10.
In general special payments and write-offs will be coded to the

cost centre responsible for creating the liability, natural account
coding will be determined by National Office Finance.
The Request
10.1 The member of CMT must submit all Business Cases and it
should include all relevant information required for the Chief
Executive to make a decision. Decisions will be notified within 5
working days of receipt.
For further assistance on Special Payments and Losses please contact
Finance on 0844 353 3357.
Cafcass Finance
Created:
Last Updated:
December 2005
September 2009
Business Case Guidance Introduction

This guidance aims to help the user complete the Business Case form
appropriately so that the authorisers have all the information they require to
make an informed decision. This guidance is broken down in to relevant
sections with direction on how to complete each section within the Business
Case Form. This document also includes guidance on authorisation
requirements, please see section 4.
Link to Business Case form/section on the intranet
Please ensure that all relevant sections of the form are completed. Please
start by saving the form in an appropriate folder titled: Business
Case_Reason_Date
Items highlighted in blue in this guide are clickable links to documents on the
Cafcass Intranet or the detailed section of the guide. If you have any queries,
comments or suggestions regarding this guide, please e-mail the National
Office Finance Dept.
Contents:
Section 1 General information
Section 2 Details
2.1 Local Losses and Write Offs
2.2 Fruitless Payments
2.3 Constructive Losses
2.4 Corporate contingency Bid request
Section 3 Value for Money

Section 4 Authorisation
1. Write Offs, Losses and Fruitless payments
2. Corporate Contingency Bids

(a) Details - Please provide your name and job title. This should be the same
as the Originator in Section 4.
(b) Please state which Service Area and Cost Centre this Business Case will
impact.
(c) Cost Please give details of costs expected including VAT, ensure to
consider all elements such as:
Upfront costs: Start up costs, costs of assets (equipment)/Services or

staffing and/or hidden charges.
Ongoing Cost: Are you making any commitments that would have to
continue at the end of this work? E.g. Staffing cost i.e. ongoing training
&recruitment, maintenance, fees etc.
Section 2 Details
Please mark an X in the correct reason for the Business case and complete
the relevant section (by double clicking the document contained within the
form). You will need to save the embedded document by clicking the Save
button, (this will enable the embedded document to be automatically saved
within your Business Case template) do not use Save As. Please note, you
can copy and paste text from other documents into the relevant section of the
form, you can also attach other documents within this form as long as it is
linked/pasted into the correct section and provides the relevant information
sought.
2.1 Local Losses and Write Offs
Losses or a Write-off is where a transaction has already been incurred and is
usually for failure to recover debt, salary overpayment or theft and loss write offs. For example:
Local losses Cash losses i.e. Petty Cash (PC) loss or stolen items.
Write-off Bad debts inc. salary overpayment and fixed assets
All salary related write-off requests must state how the overpayment occurred
and why there is a need for a write-off. Please refer to the Salary
Overpayment and Recovery policy for further guidance on overpayments.
To write-off stolen or loss items i.e. PC losses, fixed assets etc the Accident &
Incident Report must be completed prior to the write-off request. This can be
found on the intranet under Forms/ Health & Safety Forms or via the below
link:
Accident and Incident Report
A copy of this form should be attached to this Business Case request when
submitted for authorisation. Please refer to the Special Payments and Write
Off section on the intranet for more details before completing the Business
Case:
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_new
/financial_control_new.aspx
What to do:
a) In this section please select the appropriate box that applies for your
request. To determine which category your request falls into please see
the guidance above.
b) Reason for the loss/write off Please detail the circumstances that led to
the loss of cash/asset or reason that there is a need for a write off. Please
also state:
What is the background? What issue is being addressed?
Include any information that you think would be helpful for the
authoriser to know about to enable them to make a decision on the
proposal.
c) Action taken to resolve issue Please detail what has been done so far to
resolve the issue in hand?
d) Learning points and action taken to prevent reoccurrence Please detail
the learning points recognised and what action has been taken to ensure
that the current issue will not arise again and all risks have been mitigated.
e) Has an Incident & Accident Form been completed and attached? This is
only applicable for stolen or loss items (see above).
Please now complete Section 3 and obtain authorisation as per Section 4.
2.2 Fruitless Payments
There are two types of Fruitless Payments which require a Business Case to be
completed; these are Court Orders and Compensation.
Court orders - It is essential for the Service Manager to contact Legal via the duty
line immediately, whenever the issue of a costs order against Cafcass is raised.
Please refer to the Cost Order guidance before completing the Business
Case:
Cost Order Guidance
Compensation This can fall into two categories:
i.
Compensation for Financial Loss - Financial loss occurs when a complainant is

for any reason out of pocket as a result of Cafcass maladministration.
ii.
Consolatory Compensation - Where a complainant has not suffered financial loss

but has suffered injustice as a result of Cafcass maladministration, a consolatory
payment may sometimes (though not always) be appropriate. This can be in the
form of a non-financial compensation.
Please refer to the Guidance on Compensation available on the intranet
before completing the business case.
Compensation Guidance
Please note that a Business Case is not required to be completed if
compensation has been requested by the Ombudsman as we have a detailed
report from the Ombudsman.
What to do:
a) In this section please select the appropriate box that applies for your
request.
b) Reason for the Court Order/Compensation Please detail the
circumstances that led to the Court order or why you feel a compensation
payment is required? Please also state:
What is the background? What issue is being addressed?
Include any information that you think would be helpful for the
authoriser to know about to enable them to make a decision on the
proposal.
c) Has Cafcass Legal been notified of Court cost order? This only applies to
Court orders but it is essential that this has been done even if the hearing
is months away.
d) Has the Customer Service Team (CST) recommended this payment? This
only applies to compensation payments.
e) Action taken to resolve issue Please detail what has been done so far to
try and put things right?
f) Learning points and action taken to prevent reoccurrence Please detail
Constructive Losses are those losses which have occurred due to the
decision taken to abandon a project as it is no longer a viable proposition and
will not add value if completed. This is to be used corporately only.
What to do:
In this section please state:
a) Key facts about your proposal
i.
Why are you making a proposal?
ii.
What is the reason for the loss?
iii.
What is the background?
Include any information that you think would be helpful for the authoriser to
know about to enable them to make a decision on the proposal.
b) Action taken to resolve issue Please detail what has been done so far to
try and put things right?
c) Learning points and action taken to prevent reoccurrence Please detail
2.4 Corporate contingency Bid request
A Business Case is required when making a bid for funds via the corporate
contingency so that the proposal can be assessed and an informed decision
made by the relevant parties.
What to do:
a) In this section please select the Operating priority this bid will support.
b) Please provide the timescale expected for the proposal.
c) Key facts about your proposal
i.
What is the background?
ii.
What is being proposed?
iii.
Why are you making a proposal?
iv.
What issue or business need is being addressed?
Include any information that you think would be helpful for the authoriser to
know about to enable them to make a decision on the proposal.

This section will help the approvers consider the Value for Money aspect of
the proposal and hence will impact whether the business case is approved or
declined. Therefore, please ensure all relevant information is provided.
(a) Please state whether there is an alternative option, what it is and why its
not being considered? I.e. is it due to higher cost/time or business need?
(b) Identify what risk is likely if this business case is not approved? Indicate
the seriousness of the risk.
(c) Identify what benefit will be received if this Business Case is approved? State the
expected impact on existing ways of working as well as finance and performance
measures if applicable, ensure to include:
Intangible Assets Non measureable benefit
Tangible Assets Quantifiable/Measureable benefit i.e. cost savings,
(d) Explain how these benefits/improvements will be maintained in the long

run? And any resources needed for this.
The Business Case must be completed electronically and sent to the
appropriate person to authorise electronically.
There are different Authorisation requirements dependent on the nature of the
Business Case, please follow the below guidance.
Write Offs, Losses and Fruitless payments
There are different authority levels dependent on value of the item when
approving Write Offs, Losses and Fruitless Payments. Head of Service (HoS)
and Core Management Team (CMT) members are also able to authorise
these if they fall within their threshold. The Chief Executive (CE) has an
overall limit set of 5k, after which the approval will be subject to Department
for Education (DfE) approval.
Please refer to the Special payments/Write Off section on the intranet under
Finance Department/Finance Manual/Financial Control/Special Payments and
Write-offs to ensure all supporting documentation is attached to the Business
Case before submission for approval.
The Four levels of authority are as follows:
1 : Non financial compensation worth under 100
2 : Financial payment/WO Up to 500
3 : 500 - 5k
4: 5k and above
For further assistance please contact Finance on 0844 353 3357.

Corporate Contingency Bids
The completed Business Case must be submitted by the CMT member as
originator and sent to the Director of Finance for approval as Approver 1. This
request will then be considered and signed off by the Chief Executive for final
approval as Approver 2.
Please note: The final approved Business Case must be sent to National
Office Finance for action.
Please complete this form electronically with reference to the 'Business Case
Guidance' to ensure all relevant information is provided in order to assess
and approve the proposal.
(d) Details : Proposer (Name & Job title)
(e) Service Area:
Centre:
Cost
(f) Cost () :
Date:
Section 2 Details
Please mark X in the relevant box and complete the relevant document:
2.1 Local Losses and Write offs
2.2 Fruitless Payments (Court Orders and Compensation)
2.4 Corporate Contingency Bids
Please complete this section to help us consider the Value for Money
element.
(a) What is the alternative Option to what is being proposed and why is this
not being considered?
(b) What risk do we face if this Business Case is not approved?
Please rate the risk:

LOW
HIGH
MEDIUM
Approver 4 Only for Write Offs, Losses and Fruitless payments over
5k
Name
Position
(c) What benefit will be received if this Business Case is approved?
(d) How will these benefits/improvements be maintained in the long run?
Please sign and authorise electronically according to the 'Business Case
Guidance'.
Originato
r
Name
Approve
r1
Name
Position
Position
Date
Date
Approver
2
Name
Approve
r3
Name
Position
Position
Date
Date
Date
Costs orders: what to do about them

Costs orders in children proceedings are relatively rare. It is essential for the service
manager to contact Legal via the duty line immediately, whenever the issue of a
costs order against Cafcass is raised.
Steps to take to avoid parties asking for costs
If we are unable to comply with a filing date
o Inform the court and parties well before the deadline.
o Offer an alternative date to file the report, and invite the court to revise the
timetable.
Always inform the court and parties well in advance if the FCA is going to be unable
to attend a hearing.
Warning signs can include the following A judge says the court is considering making a costs order against Cafcass
A party or solicitor warns that they are going to apply for a costs order
You receive a court order telling us to show cause why we shouldnt pay costs:
these need urgent action and should be sent to us straight away.
Sometimes the terms "wasted costs" or costs thrown away are used.
Court powers
Costs orders against us are made under the court's discretion to make such order as
to costs as it thinks just.
It is very important to remind the court and lawyers that Cafcass is NOT a party to
court proceedings, even if there is a guardian who is represented.
The distinction is really important, because special rules apply if the court is
considering making a costs order against a non party.
Cafcass must be added as a party to the proceedings for the purposes of costs only
and must be given a reasonable opportunity to attend a hearing at which the court
will consider the matter further.
What to do
If an application is made while the FCA or SM is at court, they need to ask for
Cafcass to be joined, limited to costs.
Try to get at least 14 days to take legal advice. A few days isn't enough.
If the application is being made in the middle of a case, ask for the costs issue to be
put over to the final hearing, or at least to another hearing in the proceedings.
It is better to have it dealt with at the final hearing because by then the situation
should be clearer and the trial judge would be able to put the actions or inactions of
Cafcass in context.
Notify Cafcass Legal straight away even if the hearing is months away. This is
essential
Provide Legal with the information set out in the checklist below: we can only advise
you when we know the specific circumstances.
Common reasons for costs orders
The usual reason for costs orders is the court considering that the FCA failed to do
their job professionally and caused the parties to incur extra legal costs, for example:
The FCA failed to turn up to a hearing at which they are supposed to give evidence
Failure to provide a report for a hearing
A report which does not address the issues it was directed to deal with
There had to be more hearings than there would have been if everything was done
right and on time.
What if a costs order has already been made?

If the order was made without going through the proper procedure we may wish to
appeal against it, and there are strict time limits so please make sure the order is
sent to us immediately.
Checklist of information needed by Legal

The names and addresses of
o the court,
o the parties
o any solicitors and the phone/fax details of the solicitors.
If time allows, a brief written summary of the reasons costs are being sought/have
been ordered.
Any court order about the possibility of Cafcass paying costs.
All relevant court orders (e.g. order(s) requesting report(s), orders adjourning
hearings because FCA failed to attend or report not ready).
Any other of the court documents which relate to the issue about costs.
An attendance note of what happened at any relevant hearing.
Correspondence from solicitors/parties either raising the issue of costs, or about any
criticisms of Cafcass which are relevant to the reason a costs order is being sought.
Any correspondence Cafcass has sent to the court or parties about the relevant
issue/alleged failings.
Details of anything Cafcass has done to try to avoid legal costs being incurred by the
parties (e.g. if the report wasnt ready by the hearing, did we write to the court and/or
parties suggesting that the hearing was adjourned?)
If costs are being sought because of criticism of the analysis in any report, copies of
all Cafcass reports in the case.
Guidance on Compensation for Complaints

1. Introduction
1.1 This guidance applies when, following a complaint, there is reason to believe
that Cafcass has behaved in a way which amounts to maladministration.
1.2 Maladministration occurs when we fail to provide a proper service, e.g. causing
unnecessary delays, making mistakes or causing wasted hearings. When this
happens, the Customer Service Team (CST) should identify whether it is
possible to put things right by
apologising;
offering an explanation;
offering compensation; and/or
taking other action appropriate in the circumstances of the case.
1.3 While most cases will be put right with an apology, an explanation of what
happened and, where appropriate, a summary of steps taken to prevent the
problem occurring again, sometimes an offer of financial compensation is also
appropriate. This guidance considers when it is appropriate to exercise the
discretion to offer payment following assessment of a complaint, and if so how
the payment should be calculated.
2.
Deciding whether to offer compensation
4.1 A decision to offer financial compensation may be made even if the complainant
does not request it, if compensation is assessed by the CST as appearing to be
necessary to put things right.
4.2 If, following a recommendation by the CST the Head of Service (HoS) believes
that compensation should be offered, the HoS forwards a business case to the
Chief Executive (CEO). If the CEO approves the payment, the CST makes the
offer of compensation to the complainant.
3.
COMPENSATION FOR FINANCIAL LOSS
3.1 Financial loss occurs when a complainant is for any reason out of pocket as a
result of Cafcass maladministration. The CST should always seek advice from
Cafcass Legal before recommending to a Head of Service that financial loss
compensation should be paid.
3.2 Cafcass aim is, wherever possible, to place a complainant in the position that
s/he would have been in if the maladministration had not occurred. So
compensation for actual, financial loss should be offered if the complainant is
financially worse off as a result of maladministration, and the payment is
necessary to reimburse the complainant for that loss.
4.
CONSOLATORY COMPENSATION
4.3 Where a complainant has not suffered financial loss but has suffered injustice as
a result of Cafcass maladministration, a consolatory payment may sometimes
(though not always) be appropriate. The CST may wish to seek advice from
Cafcass Legal in such situations, but is not required to do so. The guidance
below should be used.
4.4 A decision on whether to make a consolatory payment should have regard to
the impact that the maladministration had on the complainant;
the length of time Cafcass took to resolve the complaint; and
the time and trouble the complainant had to take, to get it resolved.
4.5 Consolatory payments will usually range between 25 and 300, although higher
payments may be appropriate, depending on the circumstances of the case.
4.6 The figures in the examples below are taken from recommendations by the
Ombudsman with other examples by way of contrast, and can be used as a
rough guideline when making a decision on how much should be offered.
An Introduction to Accounting Accruals

More detail on the issues covered in this document can be found in Monthly Returns A
Guide for Budget Managers and Administrators on the Intranet under Finance/Financial
Management/Month-End
What do we mean by accruals accounting?
Accruals accounting is a system whereby the goods and services are accounted for in the
period they are used, rather than the period the invoice is paid.
Accruals accounting is referred to as the matching principle. Expenditure is matched

with resource usage.
The term Accruals accounting, relates both to accruals and prepayments. Prepayments
are, in effect, negative accruals. Any reference to accruals in this paper includes
prepayments.
Accruals accounting is also referred to as Resource Accounting and Commitment

Accounting.
The accruals are the accounting entries (debits) to reflect goods and services which have
been used in the period to date, but for which no cash expenditure has been incurred.
Accruals add in missing expenditure.
Prepayments are the accounting entries (credits) to reflect goods and services that have
been paid for in the period, but the benefit will not be received until future periods.
Prepayments remove expenditure.
Which areas of expenditure should be covered by accruals?
Ideally we should make adjustments for all areas of expenditure, however, the key is to
focus on areas of significant expenditure, i.e., those that if ignored would result in a
misleading view of actual expenditure.
The 80/20 rule (supported by yearend accruals data) tells us that a small number of
budget areas (20% say) will represent the majority (80% say) of the missing expenditure.
Our attention and effort should therefore be concentrated on the key areas where accruals
will have the largest impact on expenditure.
For Operational areas/local teams the four key areas are:
Flexible staffing i.e., SEC, bank staff, overtime and temporary staff
Accommodation costs i.e., rent, rates and service charge
T&S
Partnerships
The above covers the minimum Service Areas should be considering. Service Areas are
of course free (and encouraged) to expand the scope of the accruals exercise to include
further categories of expenditure, where they feel they can achieve this.
Unlike year-end, there is no de-minimis limit i.e. no lower limit on: the value of monthly
accruals although as above the focus should be on significant items.
If these items are accrued, the monthly reports will provide a more accurate view of the
service areas and organisational resource usage. This will lead to a position where both
the monthly reports and the year-end Accounts, provide a true and fair view of Cafcass
activity.
The accruals made in any month are cumulative accruals and should cover any goods
and services used in period one (April) to the current month, for which no payment has
been made.
How do we arrive at the accruals?
Ideally we should be able to generate automated accruals from EBIS using information on
outstanding PO and GRNs and this process is used by a limited number of budget holders
where appropriate..
We are not in a position to do this across all budgets however, as PO coverage is

insufficient for this approach to provide comprehensively robust results.
Given the issues above, a manual review needs to be undertaken informed by the system
information available and local knowledge.
The accruals will be loaded on to the system on a reversing journal. Full final (2 cut)
h
monthly reports will be issued around the 6 working day of the month. These are the
reports that will be used to report Cafcass position both internally and externally.
Monthly accruals and year end accruals follow the same principles. Year end accruals
form part of Cafcass's annual accounts and are the subject of external audit scrutiny. As
such all year end accruals must be fully supported by comprehensive supporting
documentation. Internal and external audit will be interested in monthly accruals, but they
do not require the same level of certainty and supporting documentation. Monthly accruals
require a clear rationale and supporting documentation however this is more likely to be
based on estimates, assumptions and workings, than actual invoices/claims.
nd
NO Finance
st
Written: 1 June 2006
Updated by: Julie Brown
Updated on: July 2012
Budget Management for Non Financial Managers

Introduction
The aim of this guidance is to promote a consistent and effective approach to
financial management across CAFCASS. This guidance aims to:
Show you the financial context in which Cafcass operates

Explain the delegation process
Outline the budget process/financial cycle
Make you aware of the issues to consider when preparing and
reviewing budgets
Explain the approach, key principals and need for on-going budget
monitoring
Help you to understand what to consider when interpreting budgetary
information
Help you to appreciate what effective budget management achieves
You can work your way through the guidance or click on each section below
to be taken to it.
Contents:
1. Overview
2. Delegation of Cafcass Budget
3. The Budget Process/Financial Cycle
4. Budgetary Information
5. Budget Monitoring
6. Interpreting Budgetary Information
7. Financial Accountability
8. Conclusion
9. Further Information
Overview
Overall financial context in which Cafcass operates
As a Budget Holder you will be primarily concerned with your own budget.
However, it is useful to know the "big picture" when managing and monitoring
your budget.
Each of the headings below will tell you more:

H.M Treasury
H.M Treasury controls the Governments overall purse strings and is
concerned with macroeconomic planning and strategic direction of funds.
Government
Assembly budgets are set each year allocating resources to spending
priorities. It is monitored through a process known as the Spending Review.
Department of Education (DfE)
Cafcass is an executive non-departmental public body, accountable to the
Secretary of State in the Department for Education (The Department). The
Department sets out the financial framework within which Cafcass is required
to operate. Every year DfE will send the annual budgetary provision allocated
in the light of competing priorities across the Department.
Transfer to Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
The Government has also signalled that sponsorship of Cafcass is to be
transferred from the Department of Education to the Ministry of Justice by the
end of this spending review period (which ends in March 2015). Planning is
currently underway with both Departments to facilitate a smooth transfer of
sponsorship.
Delegation of Cafcass Budget

How does Cafcass delegate the budget?
CAFCASSs budget is delegated from DfE to the Chief Executive as
Accounting Officer. It is then delegated to the Service and Corporate Directors
and further to Head of Service (HoS)/Dept. by issuing a delegation letter. The
HoS has ultimate responsibility for the Service Area budget
Budgets are delegated to managers accompanied by a statement setting out
how much budget has been delegated and their responsibilities for its
management. In particular, this includes being clear about how much of the
budget has been spent and what commitments are planned over the
remainder of the year. This is captured in regular budget monitoring returns
which we will come to later.
Only those staff authorised to incur expenditure on behalf of Cafcass (via a
delegated budget) should be set up as Authorisers in EBIS so that they can
approve expenditure they are committing to on behalf of CAFCASS.
Authorisation to spend letters can also give people the authorisation to

approve expenditure that is detailed in the letter, such as authorisation to
approve expenditure on I-Trent. However, HoS has ultimate responsibility for
the budget.
Here is the delegation chart:
Click this link for more information on Financial Delegation:
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual
_new/financial_control_new.aspx
Budgetary responsibility of the Line/Office Manager (OM)
Generally HoS has overall budget responsibility for staffing costs, whilst OM
has budget responsibility for running costs. However, Service Managers
(SMs) and other line managers have responsibility for costs such as Bank,
Overtime, Sessional hours etc which they approve via I-Trent.
It is important that practitioners and Service Managers work closely with the
Office Manager to provide them with the relevant information so that they can
raise purchase orders and approve costs for which they are responsible for.
If budget holders (HoS and OM) are not aware of decisions SMs make which
have a financial impact then they cannot manage their budgets effectively.
The below terms explains more about OM responsibilities.
Purchase Orders (PO)
It is the Office Managers responsibility to ensure that purchase orders are
raised before the receipt of an invoice/before the cost is incurred, for all
running costs they hold budget responsibility for. If the PO is raised before
the order is placed then the PO number can be provided to the supplier which
will mean that the PO number will appear on the invoice once received.
Purchase orders are used to confirm approval; indicate types, quantities, and
agreed prices for products/services.
The Office Managers must arrange for purchase orders to be raised before
an expense is committed or soon after (but before the receipt of an invoice)
for all costs that they manage as this shows that they have control of their
budgets (by approving the costs before it is incurred) and this is also a finance
performance indicator used in the annual accounts and is reported on a

monthly basis.
Petty Cash (PC)
The Petty Cash is also the responsibility of the OM; therefore staffs need to
ask for authorisation to use the PC and not assume its okay to do so without
receiving authorisation from the OM. There is guidance available on the
intranet on the use of PC i.e. what PC can be used for. Please see link
below:
Link to the Finance Intranet page - Finance Management section where the
PC policy can be found
The Budget Process/Financial Cycle

What is a budget?
A budget is a plan expressed in monetary terms. Traditionally, it is prepared
for a 12 month period, the financial year being from April to March. It helps
the organisation to make more effective use of the money available, to
provide more and/or better services for the children we work with. However,
this can only be achieved if it is managed effectively.
The Head of Service/Department is the prime source of information when
preparing budgets.
The budget setting exercise is an opportunity to review service provision and
identify future efficiency savings. However, the efficiency process should be
ongoing throughout the year with efficiency savings being highlighted as they
are identified, as part of the budget monitoring exercise.
Financial Cycle
The financial cycle is a series of stages which link together. See each bullet
point below for the various stages in the financial cycle:
Budget Preparation Exercise
The budget preparation exercise is part of an on-going process. Technically

budgeting follows priority-based budgeting principles.
Prior to the start of each financial year (which runs from 1st April to 31st
March), the budget for the current year is reviewed and amended as
appropriate to produce a anticipated budget for the coming year taking into
account future factors. This is done via meetings between finance and budget
holders, a safe minimum/adequate budget is agreed following a formal
discussion each year about future needs of the service in question, taking into
account workload points, commitments, demand, risks etc.
Budget Estimates -
The budget is based on estimating the future needs and level of service
required as well as incorporating issues identified and agreed from the
business plans, thus ensuring change is budgeted for. This does not
necessarily mean an injection of new money but could mean the
reassignment of existing resource or even a possibility of a reduction in
budget.
Estimate Assumptions
The estimate for the coming year, which is approved by CMT, will be based
on various assumptions. Some will be of a general financial nature requiring
input from the Finance Department eg: Inflation, salary increment
assumptions etc. Others will be of a more service specific nature requiring
input from Service Managers eg: Staff Numbers/workload/Demand. Thus, the
budget setting process should be considered a corporate exercise.
Budget Monitoring
Once the Budgets are set, these will be monitored against the expenditure on
a monthly basis.
The Accounting Officer obtains assurance that arrangements agreed when
setting the budget are working properly through the Expenditure Control
Group, the Budget Approval Panel, and Star Chamber sessions directly with
Budget Holders, as well as routine monitoring by managers and finance staff
working together.
Monitoring of Budgets is dealt with in more detail in the next section.
Final Accounts
The annual cycle ends with the reporting of the actual performance
(management accounts outturn) for the year, and the reporting, publication
and audit of the final accounts of Cafcass. The final Annual Report and
Accounts of Cafcass will be presented to Houses of Parliament via the DfE.
The final accounts process should be a seamless continuation from the

production of the budget.
Budgetary information
Issues to consider when Preparing and Reviewing Budgets
When preparing and reviewing budgets there are many different issues one
must consider.
The largest proportion of Service Area budgets will be for staffing costs.
The main issues to consider overall when preparing a budget are summarised
below:
Efficiencies - We need to consider what service efficiencies are planned?

o
o
Existing staff productivity/case management

Existing asset obligations/rationalisation
o Improvements in technology and changes in its usage i.e.

ECF/wireless devices.
Staffing
o Have there been or are there likely to be any staffing changes? This
could include redundancies, retirements, maternity leave, sickness and
changes in hours, ongoing recruitment, vacancies etc.
o What is the productivity of existing staff?
o Are there going to be/or have been any redeployment costs? (due to
change in area structure) i.e. increase in Travel costs
Assets
What assets are you responsible for and is there any health and safety or
other unavoidable commitments which cannot be met from National budgets?
One off costs
Is there any significant one off costs coming up?
Changes
o Are there any legislative, demographic or social changes that could
impact on the caseload/budget?
o Are there any changes planned for the Service Area in terms of
restructuring/relocation and its impact?
o Are there any planned changes in the way we work as an
organisation? Will this have an impact? I.e. changes in approach to
work due to change in culture or technology.
Key information for a Staffing Budget

In order to set a staffing budget, a Budget Holder requires:
1. Details of the approved established posts and the actual situation including
review of all posts including vacancies.
2. The salary grade and salary point for each post and details of increments due in
the year for example, Golden Hello or enhancements.
3. If the department/area is due to be restructured, approved restructuring plans
must be incorporated in the budget. Information required will include the date the
restructuring comes into effect, details of new and reviewed posts.
4. Details of pay awards.
5. Any additional known allowances i.e. Home working. It is not usual to include
overtime in the budget except in exceptional circumstances where there is
planned overtime for specific duties.
6. Details of long term sickness or maternity leave and details of temporary staff
providing cover if required.
7. Details of any flexible workforce budget, such as Bank, Sessional, Agency and
SEC.
Budget Monitoring
Purpose
Budgetary control in the broader sense is more than the scrutiny of historic
expenditure and income. It is a continuous management process reviewing:
management information which compares estimated performance against

actual achievement in delivering the services.
the assumptions regarding cost, thereby facilitating corrective action to be
taken as required (amendments to budget or updates of forecast).
The regular review of the budget against actual committed spend, is obviously
an integral part of this process.
Approach
The budgetary control process is a partnership between the
Area/Departments (who are responsible for controlling and monitoring service
budgets and the performance assumptions underpinning them) and Finance,
who provide technical assistance in compiling budgets, interpreting
information, providing financial performance data and assisting managers in
solving finance related business problems as they occur throughout the year.
The ultimate responsibility for managing and monitoring financial
performance is the Budget Holders.
Key Principles
Managers need to establish a budgetary framework which takes account of
the following principles:
I.
Robust In-Year Reporting Requirements

Directors/Heads of Service must establish reporting procedures which identify
high risk areas and concisely produce the key information upon which they
need to focus. They should ensure the officers responsible for budget
monitoring are appropriately trained and that there is continuity if long term
absences occur.
II.
Consistent Application and Prioritisation
The monitoring process should be a continuous process throughout the year.

Local processes and procedures should be reviewed at least annually or after
major restructuring to ensure they are still relevant. Budget monitoring is part
of good corporate governance and as such must be allocated the time it
demands.
III.
Clear Definition of Responsibility
Directors/Heads of Service have overall responsibility for their budgets. Head

of Service will assign relevant responsibility for area budgets to Office
Managers and Service Managers.
National departments may appoint a dedicated budget manager.
In both cases, it is important that the person who is the nominated budget
manager understands that he/she is directly accountable for that budget and
all the budgetary control issues.
IV.
Learning and Development
Budget managers should have a thorough knowledge and understanding of

the principles and assumptions regarding resources underlying the budgets
for which they have responsibility. They also need to understand IT and other
systems and procedures that are in place to assist with the monitoring
process. It is the Directors/Heads of Service responsibility to ensure the
staff(s) tasked with budgetary control are adequately trained.
V.
Clear Analytical Reporting
Budget Managers should be capable of focusing on the important issues and

follow a principle of exception reporting based around guidelines established
by Directors/Heads of Service.
VI.
Empowerment of Budget Managers
Wherever possible, budget managers, under the overall supervision of senior

managers, should be empowered to take appropriate action to avoid potential
budget problems. However, empowerment should not take place until senior
managers have established satisfactory operational guidelines and are
satisfied that budget managers are adequately trained.
VII.
Corporate Awareness
The action or inaction of one budget manager can impact on the performance
and service delivery of another area or Cafcass as a whole e.g. Budget
Managers should be aware of the Bank worker costs for their service area as
overspends in one service area may have to be met by reduced spending in
other services.
VIII.
Service Improvement
Successful budgetary control facilitates the automatic production of some of

the information required for service improvement purposes. For example, nonfinancial data is fed into the Value for Money report which produces unit costs
and financial performance indicators (from the financial data held there
automatically) as well as other information which is used for evaluating
performance.
How is the budget monitored?
The Budget is monitored on a monthly basis by analysing reports which are
products of the following monthly process:
Accrual These are monthly adjustments made to capture costs in the

correct month. This adjustment is based on estimated cost of
goods/service we have received the benefit for but not paid for yet. This
information is captured at month end so that the monthly expenditure
reported for the month is as accurate as possible leading to a more
accurate forecast.
Click here to learn more about the Accruals Principal:
G:\CAFCASS\Shared Data\Finance\MySkills\Finance for Non-Financial
Managers\An_Introduction_to_Accruals_Accounting[1].doc
Variance Analysis (VA) - On a monthly basis, after the month end

adjustments have been captured, the finance team will make available a
report for the Budget Holder and Service Director which compares the
current months expenditure to the budgeted expenditure and Year to Date
(YTD) expenditure v YTD budget. It is the HoS/Depts responsibility,
working closely with the OM and SM to look at any variances that have
occurred, provide an explanation to the finance team and to take any
action if required to control the variances.
Forecast This is an estimate of future financial expenditure. The

budgets are set and based on assumptions made at the beginning of the
financial year. So by analysing the monthly/YTD variances we can
estimate what the level of variation is likely to be between the budget and
expenditure by the end of the year. The forecast is updated regularly
according to the month end results as it can move depending on the actual
events/expenditure.
Why is the budget monitored?
Budget monitoring leads to better decisions by budget holders. This is

because month end adjustments lead to more accurate month end
information that is analysed.
Understanding the monthly variances leads to a more accurate forecast for
the future months and hence the annual outturn expected.
The forecast helps Budget Holders to:
Maintain expenditure within budget.

Make better decisions about Over/Under spends and can ensure safe
level of service is maintained by using public funds effectively.
The forecast also helps finance teams and Directors to understand the
pressures within all service areas so that budgets can be prioritised
accordingly by them to ensure all areas remain at a safe level of funding
across the operational area.
The monthly results are also analysed by National Office so that they can
report to DfE.
Interpreting budgetary information

Assumptions
Budgets are plans expressed in monetary terms, of how we are going to use
the resources to deliver a service. Because they are estimates, assumptions
have been made in their construction about the number of people employed,
their pay levels, the cost of their travel, the cost of other services
(interpretation etc) and the level of demand expected for our service. If these
assumptions are realised, then the actual expenditure position will reflect the
budget/estimate set at the start.
Key Questions for a Budget Manager
A Budget Manager must consider the following:
Estimated Figures:
1. Do I understand the assumptions behind the figures?
2. Have I identified my high risk areas? E.g. an office with high demand and which
cannot cut its costs easily.
3. Do I know what costs I can directly control and what are agreed annual charges?
E.g. Operating Lease charges.
Actual Figures
1. Do I understand what information I am looking at? When was the information last
updated?
2. Do I understand the pattern of expenditure throughout the year? Are contract
payments made at the start, the end, or each month? Are any payments missing
which appear to produce an under spend, or have any payments been made
early which appear to give an over spend?
3. Have any commitments been entered into which have used up the budget but
which are not reflected in the actual figures?
Technical Terms
When dealing with budgetary information you may come across technical
terms you are unfamiliar with, some of these are explained below:
Virements These are transfers of budget from one place to another within
financial limits. This can be an amount from or to a cost centre or natural
account code.
Journals This is a method used by finance staff to make adjustments to the
accounts once a cost has been realised. It is used to transfer the expenditure
from one place to another. This can be an amount from or to a cost centre or
natural account code.
Commitments These are future costs which have not yet been paid but for
which there is a commitment to pay at a later date or in other words they are
forecasted costs which are committed. This is more relevant for National
Office Departments.
Cost Centres (CC) These are numbers assigned to a team/local office e.g.
CC006 is the code for HQ Finance.
Natural Account Codes (NAC) - These are numbers assigned to an item of
expenditure e.g. 350100 is the code for Travel and Subsistence expenditure.
A comprehensive list of CC and NACs can be found on the intranet by
clicking here.
Reading monthly financial reports
Part 2 of this module (on MySkills) will help you gain an understanding of what
monthly reports look like and what they are telling us. The Screen cast will
take you through a report and show you how to manipulate the report and
what to look out for.
In the meantime if you would like to learn more about what the reports look
like and what to look out for then you can access the Monthly Returns Guide
for Budget Holders and Administrators here.
Information and Communication
Failing to plan is planning to fail!

Budget monitoring can be seen as part of our daily life. Everyone holds
monetary resource from pocket money to wages to savings or loans. To make
effective use of the money, you plan what you are going to do with it.
Failure to plan can lead to problems - blow all the pocket money on sweets
and there is nothing left to pay for the cinema!
Remember Failure to monitor the plan can lead to difficulties.
Communication of issues is vital. If there are any areas of concern, it is
imperative that your Finance Team is notified as soon as possible.
Financial Accountability
Why follow procedures?
Here is a brief insight of why we need to ensure that financial procedures are
followed.
Integrity and Efficiency This is reinforced by internal and external audit
and inspection regimes. Included in these are Financial Regulations which are
part of the governance regime to ensure income and expenditure are properly
accounted for and controlled.
Financial Regulation - Financial regulation in the United Kingdom is divided
into three departments:
1. The Bank of England,
2. The Financial Services Authority, and
3. The Treasury.
These three departments regulate various facets of British financial life. The
Treasury regulates Local Government. As Cafcass is accountable to the
Secretary of State in the Department for Education (the Department) Cafcass
must also abide by these regulations.
It is therefore extremely important that any employee who undertakes an

activity which affects Cafcass's finances is made aware of the requirements of
those regulations and understands them.
Statutory Framework - Local Government can only undertake the functions
for which it has the appropriate powers; otherwise it is acting "ultra vires" i.e.
beyond the law.
Financial Memorandum This forms part of the management statement for
Cafcass and sets out the relationships between the DfE and Cafcass. It sets
out in greater detail certain aspects of the financial framework within which
Cafcass is required to operate. It highlights that Cafcass shall prepare
accounts for the financial years in accordance with Government Financial
Reporting Manual (FReM):
The Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) This is the technical accounting
guide that complements guidance on the handling of public funds published
separately by the relevant authorities. The Manual is prepared following
consultation with the Financial Reporting Advisory Board and is issued by the
relevant authorities in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Public- They have the right to inspect the financial and other records of
Cafcass as we are financed by the public purse!
Requirements of the Financial Memorandum

Some of the main aspects of the Financial Memorandum within which
Cafcass must operate include:
Budgeting and budgetary control Ensuring that the correct method and
procedures are followed in respect of budget setting, monitoring of the annual
budget and other cash procedures. It also outlines the provision of monitoring
financial information to The Department and the monthly requirements.
Value for Money (VfM) - Ensuring that Cafcass' limited resources are used
as effectively as possible.
This is evaluated via comparing unit cost and performance points for each
service area to see how efficiently they use their funding. It also helps
managers understand where they stand relative to the value for money
benchmarks in place at any one time and assists the Chief Executive in
determining individual service area budget allocations. Value for money is
also achieved via the procurement process.
Risk Management- Identifying the key strategic risks which may prevent
Cafcass achieving the objectives outlined in the Corporate Business Plan via
a Corporate Risk Register (CRR). The CRR is regularly reviewed by the
Board and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
The service area risk register provides a tool which aides the management in
identifying the risks that may hinder the delivery of objectives in the service
area business plan. The Head of Service owns the risk register and has the
responsibility to identify, evaluate and manage operational risks. They are
ideally placed to pick up on those early warning indicators that could identify
where problems are developing and this is an important responsibility.
Staffing Conditions Ensuring that the correct staffing conditions in respect
of salary (banding/ scale), pensions, redundancy and compensations are
followed.
Capital Expenditure How to deal with Capital expenditure, in terms of
recording and dealing with disposal/acquisition of assets. This is for National
Office Finance use only.
Others Dealing with transfer of funds, write-offs, gifts and many more
issues. You can access the full Financial Memorandum on the Finance
intranet page.
Conclusion
Getting the best for our service users.....
Remember we can get the best for our service users by:
Efficient budget management - In other words using money efficiently. This
means focusing it on outcomes for service users.
Good financial information Producing good financial information means
good decisions will be made.
Following procurement guidelines This ensures money is used wisely

and that we are obtaining Value for Money.
Effective Risk Management - Managing risks that may otherwise hinder the
delivery of service objectives.
Effective communication See below
Getting the best for our service users via effective communication
HoS hold overall budget responsibility and are aware of over/under spends
forecasted. Therefore their authorisation in approving additional costs such
as overtime or commissioning Bank, Agency or SEC work/hrs is imperative as
these costs have an impact on the forecast and the ability to then recruit to
permanent posts. The SM and OM also need to be involved in key decisions
as they can provide up to date knowledge of workload pressures and costs
involved.
Hence, effective communication between the management team will result in
better decisions by HoS as they will be better placed to understand the
Service Areas needs and make a decision that will assure a safe level of
service is maintained.
Finally.....
We work in a highly regulated and closely scrutinised environment. The
challenge is to have in place processes that automatically minimise risk and
allow us to focus on delivering the services our users require in a way that
derives the most value from the available resources.
All Budget Holders are accountable for the budgets they manage and Cafcass is
accountable to the DfE.
Remember: its public money- we have to be able to prove weve used it

well!
Your role as a Budget Holder is an essential one in ensuring financial controls
are maintained and the finances are kept in order via effective budget
management as this leads to better outcomes for our service users.
Hopefully you now have a clear idea of your important role as a Budget
Holder and feel confident in taking on this task.
Further Information:
Contact Information:
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch
with your finance team. They are at hand to help you with your finance
queries.
For general queries you can email the Area Finance inbox.
If you need to speak to a finance colleague then you can contact them on the
below contact numbers.
NO Finance contact details: Christiana Iwalesin 0844 353 3357
Area Finance Manager: Heather Jefferies 0844 353 1764
Estates, Accommodation and NIS Business Support Finance Officer:
Natalie Padfield
07854113118
Area Business Support Finance Officer's:
A1-A5:
Aisha Mahdi
A6-A8 & A15 :
Mark Everard 0794 412 2069
A9, A10, A12, A13:
Marie Barry
0844 353 3463
0844 353 1763
A11, A14, A16, A17: Anna Sheffield 0844 353 2192
Back to top
Created : March 2013 by ZS
Natural Account Code / Cost Centre Maintenance Form Procedures

Notes
Where can I find the Natural Account Code / Cost Centre

Maintenance Form??
The form can be downloaded from the CAFCASS intranet. The form can be
found under FORMS/FINANCE FORMS/Natural Account Code-Cost Centre
Form.
When do I need to complete a form?

There are two occasions when a Natural Account Code / Cost Centre
Maintenance Form needs to be completed:
To set up a new Natural Account Code / Cost Centre which is currently not
in use
To amend the details of an existing Natural Account Code / Cost Centre
How do I know if a Cost Centre already exists?
Log into Open Accounts

Select the GL option
From the list open the Maintenance Routines file
Select Cost Code Maintenance, this will show you all current Cost Codes,
their Name and their Short Name.
How do I know if a Natural Account Code already exists?
Log into Open Accounts

Select the GL option
From the list open the Maintenance Routines file
Select Expense Code Maintenance, this will show you all current Expense
Codes, their Name and their Short Name.
Who can Originate a form?

Anyone can complete a Natural Account Code / Cost Centre Maintenance
Form within your Team, Office or Service Area. This task may be assigned to
certain individuals or posts please check with the Service Area. You should
firstly check with your Area Finance Manager to ensure work on this has not
already been done. The originator should sign and date the form.
What do I do once I have completed the form?

Once the originator has completed the form, it should be passed to the
Area Finance Manager for monitoring and strategic decision making
purposes and then sent to Finance HQ for approval. Finance will
contact you to advise you either when the code has been created or an
explanation why it has not been created.
How to Complete the Form
Action
Type N in the action box if you are creating a new code and A if you are
amending an existing one.
Natural Account Code

This is filled in by Finance if you are creating a new code, but for amendments
to existing codes, you will need to complete this section.
Natural Account Code Name

You need to give the new code a name. The name should not exceed 40
characters including spaces. Type the name in the spaces provided.
Reason for Creation

You need to give a valid reason as to why a code/centre is being created or
changed. For new Natural Account Codes you also need to enter a budget
head i.e. suggest where this code best fits into the chart of accounts.
Cost Code Centre
In the spaces provided, you need to enter the cost centre you wish to be
created. This should be completed by the Area Finance Manager or by
Finance HQ. Enter one digit in each box and if, for example, the cost centre
you require is a two-digit number i.e. 55, enter it as 055.
Linked to Service Area/Dept
You need to enter which service area/dept the Cost Centre will be linked to.
This will be the Service Area e.g. S1, or the Department e.g. Finance, that the
cost centre code relates to.
Cost Centre Name
You need to give the new code a name. The name should not exceed 40
characters including spaces. Type the name in the spaces provided.
Short Name
You need to enter a relevant logical short name for example; a possible short
name for University of Glamorgan could be Uniglam. The short name must
not exceed 16 characters. If this section is left blank, Finance will enter a
short name using the first 16 letters of the filename.
Requested by
The person requesting the new account code/cost centre needs to sign and
date here.
All other sections will be completed by Finance. Please contact Finance HQ
on 0844 353 3350 should you have any queries.
MONTHLY RETURNS
A Guide for Budget Holders and Administrators
1.
2.
AIM .......................................................................................................... 81
SOME USEFUL ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS ......................................... 81
a. Cost Allocation ................................................................................... 81
b. Journals............................................................................................... 82
c. Accruals Basis .................................................................................... 82
3. MONTH-END TIMETABLE ...................................................................... 83
4. WHAT WE GIVE YOU 1st Cut ........................................................... 84
a. 1st Cut MPS (Example - Appendix 4) ................................................. 84
b. 1st Cut Transaction Report (Example Appendix 5) ....................... 85
c. Outstanding Purchase Order Report (Example Appendix 6) .......... 85
d. SEC Reports........................................................................................ 85
e. PO Compliance and Prompt Payment Reports ................................ 85
f. Payroll Reports ................................................................................... 86
5. WHAT TO LOOK FOR............................................................................. 86
a. Things that just look wrong ............................................................... 86
b. Significant overspends ...................................................................... 86
c. Significant underspends .................................................................... 86
d. General review of transaction listing ................................................ 87
6. JOURNALS ............................................................................................. 87
a. How to complete a journal ................................................................. 87
b. What to do when the journal has been completed .......................... 88
c. What happens after I have emailed the journal ................................ 88
7. ACCRUALS ............................................................................................. 88
a. How do I know when to raise an accrual? ........................................ 88
b. How do I complete the accruals sheet on the return?..................... 89
8. REACCRUALS ........................................................................................ 90
a. How do I know what needs to be reaccrued? .................................. 90
b. How do I complete the reaccruals return? ....................................... 90
9. PREPAYMENTS ...................................................................................... 91
a. How do I know when to raise a prepayment? .................................. 91
b. How do I complete the prepayment return? ..................................... 91
10.
SUBMITTING YOUR RETURN ............................................................ 92
11.
AFTER SUBMISSION .......................................................................... 92
12.
THE 2ND CUT........................................................................................ 92
a. What is the 2nd Cut? ........................................................................... 92
b. What should I do with the 2nd Cut? ................................................... 92
13.
THE MONTHLY MONITORING REVIEW ............................................ 93
a. Why do I need to prepare a monthly monitoring review? ............... 93
b. How do I prepare the monthly monitoring review? ......................... 93
c. What do I do with the review once it is completed? ........................ 94
14.
FURTHER GUIDANCE ........................................................................ 95
Appendices
1.
2.
3.
4.
List of cost centres

List of natural account codes (NAC)
Common NAC errors
st
Example 1 cut MPS
st
5. Example 1 cut transaction report

a. Current month
b. Year to date
c. Pivot
6. Journal
a. Example
b. Template
7. Example outstanding PO Report
a. PO no GRN
b. GRN no Invoice
8. Example Return
a. Accruals
b. Reaccruals
c. Prepayments
Document Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Director of Finance
February 2011
Julie Brown
1. AIM
The aim of the monthly report cycle is:
o To have results that reflect the activity for that month.
o To report performance to senior managers, the Board and the DFE.
o To be able to accurately assess performance against budget.
o To be able to use the results to make informed decisions about future spending.
o To make sure costs are in the right place (through use of journals) and the right period
(through use of accruals and prepayments).
2. SOME USEFUL ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS

a.
Cost Allocation
Finance uses a number of different ways of organising costs. These enable us to analyse
costs by department (i.e. cost centre) or analyse costs by type of expenditure across the
organization. The main ways costs are allocated are as follows
Cost Centres (CC) Each local office and national office department is a cost centre.
These are denoted by a 3-digit number followed by a hyphen (-). For example Durham is
062- and KLD is 015-. Local offices are currently grouped into 19 Service Areas. A full list
of cost centres has been included in Appendix 1 and can be found on the intranet under
Finance. A list is also included within the monthly return excel file under tab CC.
Natural Account Codes (NAC)/Expense Code All expenditure is coded to an NAC or

expense code on Open Accounts (OA - our accounting software) which link related
expenditure together. The NAC is a 6-digit number with a dash on the end. For example
the NAC for temp staff is 375000-. A list of NACs is in Appendix 2 and can be found on
the intranet under finance. A list is also included within the monthly return excel file under
tab NAC.
Expenditure should be coded to the NAC, which describes it best, not where the budget
is!
If, after reviewing this list, you are unable to identify a NAC that matches the nature of the
cost, please consult your local office Finance staff or member of the Finance team who
will be happy to provide advice.
Budget head/Expenditure Types These are broad categories of expenditure which

group like types of expenditure, for example Pay Costs, Accommodation, they will be
made up of a defined list of NACs. These are the headings that appear on the MPS
report.
An example of how the costs of a train fare and sandwiches might be allocated is given
below:
Expense
Cost Centre
Budget Head/ Expenditure Type
NAC/ Expense Type
Train Fare
027- Partnerships
Travel and Subsistence
350100- T&S UK
Sandwiches
008- Customer Services
Supplies and Services
425000- Catering
Coding invoices to the correct cost centre/NAC helps to:

o
o
o
o
Accurately monitor and control spending against budget.

Allows comparisons across teams/areas.
Aid in forecasting annual spend
Act as an indicator when setting next years budget.
To help ensure correct coding Finance has developed a list of common coding errors and this
is included as Appendix 3. The list is not exhaustive, however, it does cover the major
problem areas. A copy can also be found on the Intranet under Finance/Financial
So we place an order i.e. raise a PO it will be allocated to a cost centre and a NAC. When the
invoice is paid it will be charged to this CC/NAC On the basis of this information it will appear
within a cost centres monthly results included within the expenditure type related to that NAC.
b.
Journals
It is possible that expenses may get coded to the incorrect cost centre or expense code and it
is part of the month-end returns process to check whether this has happened.
Journals may also be required where you do not have eBis access to another cost centre but
need to split out an invoice between various cost centres. E.g. HR may pay a hotel bill that
includes charges for 5 staff members (each from a different Regional cost centre). HR can
raise the PO and pay the invoice in full, then afterwards complete a journal to split out the
invoice between the various staff members cost centres and allocate costs to local budgets
c.
Accruals Basis
The CAFCASS monthly accounts are prepared on an accruals basis. This means that they
should reflect all the costs that relate to the current month not simply the costs for which
invoices have been received or been paid. The idea is that the accounts and expenditure
should match the activity in the period.
Accruals relate to when we have had the benefit of a good or service but we have not yet
been charged for the good or service.
It may be useful to consider the expense life cycle as shown below. We start accruing when
the good or service is received and stop accruing when the invoice is entered on the
accounting system, which is when it will appear on the monthly transaction listing.
1
2
3
4
5
6
PO Raised
Good received/Service delivered
Invoice received
PO GRNd on eBis
Invoice sent to Cafcass Finance
Cafcass Finance enter invoice on Open
Accounts (OA) and pay it. It will then appear on
the monthly transaction listing (see 4b below).
Accrue
Accrue
Accrue
Accrue
Example In April 10 we raise a PO for an external company to provide training in May 107
at cost of 10k. They send the invoice in and it is entered onto the system and paid in June
10.
We should accrue for the cost of the service in May, as this is the month the organisation
gains the benefit and the invoice has not yet reached the accounts. Once the invoice is
entered on the system and paid in June and it appears on the transaction report there is no
need to accrue further.
Therefore we raise accruals to in effect put missing costs into the accounts in the month.
At CAFCASS the term Reaccruals is used to refer to accruals that were outstanding at the
last year-end. Conceptually these are no different to other accruals, but they are identified
separately to give them increased visibility so they can be easily monitored to check they are
being released and test the accuracy of the year-end accruals.
Prepayments relate to when the invoice has been entered on the system and paid but we
have not yet had the whole benefit of the good or service.
Therefore prepayments would be raised at the following points in the expense life cycle. We
start prepaying when the invoice is entered and appears on the monthly transaction listing
and stop when the good/service is received.
1
2
3
4
5
PO Raised
Invoice received
PO GRNd on eBis
Invoice sent to Cafcass Finance
Cafcass Finance enter invoice on Open
Accounts (OA) and pay it. This will then appear
on the monthly transaction listing
Good received/Service delivered
Prepay
Example - In June 10 we raise a PO for 6k for a conference stand for a conference to be

held in September 10. The supplier sends an invoice in July 10, which is due for payment in
July, and it is entered onto the accounting system and paid.
We should raise a prepayment in July 10 for 6k at the point it appears on the

transaction listing. This should continue to be prepaid until September 10 when the
conference takes place. In this way the cost of the conference will be matched to the
benefit of the attendance.
Sometimes a good or service is supplied over a period longer than a month. In these cases
the prepayment should be adjusted each month for the proportionate amount of the service
that has not yet been received.
Example In April 10 we receive and pay a rates bill for 12k for the year from April 10 to
March 11.
We should prepay the element of the invoice for which we havent had the benefit. In April we
th
have only had 1/12 of the benefit, so we should prepay 11k (i.e. 12k/12mtns *11mtns).
Each month the prepayment should reduce by 1k. In December 10 the prepayment should
be 3k (i.e. the remaining unused benefit from Jan 11 March 11).
Therefore we raise prepayments to take costs out of the accounts in the month for goods
and services which have been paid for but we have not had the benefit of.
Accruals and prepayments are always reversed at the start of each new month so we should
always consider the cumulative accruals and prepayment adjustment required.
3. MONTH-END TIMETABLE
Task
Responsibility
(Finance or Cost
Centres
Deadline - Working Day

(WD) of Following
Month
1st cut Monthly Management Reports saved in

Finance Folders
Outstanding PO Report sent by email
SEC Analysis saved in Finance Folders
Payroll Report saved in Finance Folders
Monthly Returns to be saved in Finance Folders
Performance Reports (PO, Invoice Rej, Prompt
P/ment) sent by email
Accruals posted into GL
Monthly Accounts Review
Adjustments (if required) posted to GL
2nd cut Monthly Management Reports saved in
Finance Folders
Monthly Monitoring Report due back from Cost
Centres
Finance
1WD
Finance
Finance
Finance
Cost Centres
Finance
2WD
2WD
5WD
5WD
5WD
Finance
Finance
Finance
Finance
6WD
7WD (PM)
8WD (PM)
8WD (PM)
Cost Centres
18WD
A full Finance Timetable is included on the Intranet under Finance/Financial

4. WHAT WE GIVE YOU 1st Cut

st
st
The 1 Cut is in effect the 1 draft of the results for the month. For the month under review
they will include any expenses that have been invoiced and put on the accounting system in
st
the month. All in year accruals will have been reversed, so in effect the 1 Cut shows cash
spend less year-end accruals.
st
These reports will be saved in your finance folder during the 1 working day of the month.
1st Cut MPS (Example - Appendix 4)
a.
An MPS report is a budget statement that shows actual spend in the month and year to date
against a list of expense codes and then compares these to the spend budgeted. Other
terms that are sometimes used to describe this kind of statement are Income and
Expenditure Statement or Profit and Loss Account.
st
The 1 cut MPS shows for each cost centre..

Comparison of expenses in the month to budget
Comparison of the year to date expenditure to the year to date budget
Shows Forecast Expenditure for the full year this is a system generated forecast
that shows year to date actual expenditure plus budget for the remainder of the year.
It is NOT the forecast as prepared by the Budget Holder in Q1, 2 or 3.
Shows Budget for the full year
Compares Forecast expenditure to Budget
All variances are given in s and as a %. A negative variance shows expenditure is greater
than budget i.e. an overspend. A positive variance to budget shows that less than budget has
been spent an underspend.
In accounts, when we say has been spent or over/under spend we are referring to whether
the expense has been accounted for in a particular month not whether the budget money was
physically spent. This is because we prepare accounts on an accruals basis as discussed in
section 2c.
The expenditure types are listed in the first column. If the +sign is clicked the expenditure
types are ungrouped and you will be able to see the NACs expenditure against each expense
code.
b.
1st Cut Transaction Report (Example Appendix 5)
The transaction report is produced directly from the accounting system and shows all the
individual transactions for each cost centre these may be invoices, credit notes, journals,
accruals or prepayments,
The Transaction report has three sheets:
Cost Centre_Current_Trans list of expenditure posted to the accounts in the
current month.
Cost Centre_YTD_ Trans list of expenditure posted to the accounts in the
financial year so far.
Pivot a summary of expenditure in the financial year so far, analysed by month, by
budget category (i.e. expenditure type) and by name (i.e. NAC/expense code).
If you double click on any number within the pivot table it will explode out a new sheet giving
you details of the individual transactions that make up that expenditure. Please note that all
values include VAT.
In the transaction lists the key columns to look at are
E - Name (i.e. expense code)
I - Description
J - Value
c.
Outstanding Purchase Order Report (Example Appendix 6)
This report is emailed out on the first working day after month-end (WD1). There are two
spreadsheets
POs No GRNs lists details of purchase orders for which a goods received note
has not yet been processed on eBis. See Appendix 6a.
GRN No invoice lists details of purchase orders for which a goods received note
(GRN) has been processed but for which an invoice has not yet been received. See
Appendix 6b
The examples in the appendix go through what each column in the reports refers to. Where
these reports cover more than one department or cost centre you can easily filter for those
that relate to your department cost centre by clicking on the downward arrow in column B and
selecting your cost centre number.
These reports are useful to help in deciding what needs to be accrued and this will be
discussed in more detail in the accruals section.
Detailed guidance on understanding and using this report can be found on the Finance
manual on the Intranet Understanding and Using the Outstanding Purchase Order Report.
d.
SEC Reports
This report is issued via email on the 2nd working day of the month by NO Finance. The
purpose of this report is to give regions detail of their spend on Self-employed Contractors
(SECs). Detailed guidance on understanding and using this report can be found in the
Finance manual on the Intranet Understanding the SEC Expenditure Report.
e.
PO Compliance and Prompt Payment Reports

th
This report is issued via email on the 5 working day of the month by NO Finance. The
purpose of the report is to give service areas and National Office departments information on
their compliance with Cafcass compliance targets for raising POs in advance of invoices and
paying invoices within 30 days of receipt.
f.
Payroll Reports
This report is saved in the Finance Folders of regions and National Office departments on the
th
5 working day of the month by NO Finance. The report provides details on all payments to
employee through the payroll system in the month. This includes both the main and
supplementary payroll includes these payments a breakdown of the cost to Cafcass by
splitting the salary paid into its constituent parts.
5. WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Start by looking at how the actual results of the month, in month and year to date, compare to
the budget. Look at the and % variances. As a rough guide you should be interested in
variances to budget that are greater than 10% of budget.
It is useful to do this with a print of the transaction report for the current month to hand, as this
will give you the detail of what makes up each balance.
This first review will give you an indication of where you will need to raise journals, accruals or
prepayments and areas it may be useful to make a note of in your commentary. Each of
these will be looked at in more detail later.
In particular look at
a.
Things that just look wrong
b.
Significant overspends
c.
Expenses in a category that you dont normally use

o E.g. Temporary staff when there are none currently working in your
department.
o E.g. Fuel and utilities charges in HR cost centre
o Check transaction report for expenditure type (can explode this from pivot
table) to see detail of what has been paid.
o If something has been misposted a journal will need to be raised.
Negative amounts in an expense category
o Could be reversal of an accrual does an amount need to be accrued this
month?
o Could be receipt of a credit note
o If its correct give explanation in commentary
Mispostings?
o Check transaction report for detail of expenditure type
o Are expenses in right category?
Need to prepay?
o Check transaction report
o Do expenses relate to future periods?
o If so include in prepayments
Overspend correct, why?
o Compare whats happened in month to what was expected in budget
o E.g. Timing difference cost is budgeted in a future month
o E.g. Unforeseen circumstances explain
o E.g. Use of temps rather than full time staff
o Include reason in commentary
Significant underspends
Mispostings?
o Check transaction report for detail of expenditure type.
o Have costs been included in another expenditure category.
d.

Need to accrue?
o Should there be a cost in this month, has a benefit been received by the
business for which an invoice is not on the transaction report?
o E.g. Temp costs
o If so include in accruals
Underspend correct, why?
o Compare whats happened in month to what was expected in budget
o E.g. Credit received in month.
o E.g. Timing difference cost will appear in a future month
o E.g. Unfilled posts
o Include reason in commentary
General review of transaction listing
Consider whether expenditure belongs in your cost centre.

o E.g. rates expenses in IT would appear to be a misposting.
Consider whether expenditure been posted to the correct expense code does
the description match the expense code account code.
o E.g. Description Travel costs Name Fuel and Utilities would appear to be
a misposting.
Raise journals to correct if misposting uncovered.
6. JOURNALS (Example Appendix 7)

If you have identified costs that have been incorrectly allocated to your cost centre or to the
wrong expense code during your review of the MPS and transaction report, you will need to
raise a journal to correct this. An example journal in included in Appendix 6a. This has been
annotated to help you in completing your own journals. A template is included in Appendix
6b.
Journals are not only raised at month-end. If you are aware of a misposting during the month,
perhaps when authorizing an invoice for payment, you can raise a journal immediately.
Detailed guidance on how to raise journals and a template and example journal can be found
on the Intranet Finance/Financial Management/Month-End
a.
How to complete a journal
An example of a journal can be found in Appendix 7a. This has been annotated with notes to
aid completion.
Key points to remember when preparing journals are:

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Only enter information in the cells that have been highlighted red in the example in
the Appendix
Enter cost centre codes in the format xxxEnter expense codes in the format xxxxxxEnter line descriptions that give a meaningful description of the journal. These will
appear on the transaction report so it is useful to put in as much information as you
will need to understand why the journal was raised.
Only the first 40 characters will appear on the transaction list.
Amounts in the debit column will increase expenditure in the cost centre and expense
code.
Amounts in the credit column will decrease expenditure in the cost centre and
expense code.
The journal must balance the sum of all the items in the debit column must equal
the some of all the amounts in the credit column.
Dont leave any blank lines between entries
b.
Dont use more than one worksheet per journal.
What to do when the journal has been completed
1. Double check that the journal is formatted correctly. The journal voucher is an
electronic form which is imported into Open Accounts. If the journal is not formatted
correctly, the form will not load into Open Accounts.
2. Common formatting errors include missing dashes (-) after CC and NAC codes, blank
lines between entries, debit and credit columns not balancing, missing Journal
Description, more than one worksheet per journal.
3. If the journal is moving costs to another cost centre authorization in the form of email
confirmation of acceptance by the relevant budget holders must be included with the
journal.
4. All journals should be accompanied by back-up where possible. For example when
correcting mispostings you should attach a spreadsheet showing the relevant lines in
the transaction report. This is necessary for the audit trail and will also help NO finance
provide a double check of the transactions.
5. Journals should be emailed to CAFCASS NO Finance by the budget administrator or
budget holder; except for GPC journals, which should be sent to the GPC Administrator
(Cafcass Finance). Only Journals from Area Finance Manager/Finance BSOs will be
accepted, any journals prepared by any other individual should be sent via the budget
administrator or holder.
c.
What happens after I have emailed the journal
You will receive an email confirmation from Finance that the journal has been posted. If
there are any queries, the journal will be sent back along with the queries that require
rectification before the journal can be posted.
Finance will review the journal for any major errors; however, it is ultimately the Service
Areas responsibility to ensure all entries are correct.
When you receive the second draft of the monthly results, you will be able to see that the
journal has been posted, as it will appear on the Transaction Report.
7. ACCRUALS
a.
How do I know when to raise an accrual?
As discussed in accrual theory in section 2c accruals need to be raised when you have
had the benefit of the expenditure but an invoice has not yet been processed for the cost.
There are a number of ways that you may become aware that you need to accrue for
something. You do not need to accrue for every single cost to the penny that you havent
yet been expensed for the idea is just to get a reasonable reflection of your expenditure
in the month.
The steps to go through when thinking about what accruals need to be raised are.
1. Focus on large cost items. For Service Areas these are likely to be
Flexible staffing i.e., SEC, bank staff, overtime and temporary staff
Accommodation costs i.e., rent, rates and service charge
Partnerships
For National Office the large cost items will be more varied but the following are likely to
impact on a number of the departments and should be considered:
Temporary Staff Costs
External consultancy
2. As discussed in section 5 look at areas where you are underspending to budget

or forecast is a possible reason that you havent been charged for some expenses
that you have had the benefit of.
3. Think about the main areas of spending in your cost centre. Review the
transaction report of these expense areas. Think about whether all the expected
costs are included. For example if you are currently employing temp staff are there a
full month of costs for that temp on the transaction listing if not you will need to
accrue for the missing costs.
4. Look at the outstanding PO reports for your cost centre (see guidance on Intranet
Understanding and Using the Outstanding Purchase Order Report), particularly the
one that shows items that have been goods received but have not been invoiced.
As discussed previously in section 2c, accruals are raised when the good or service
has been received but the invoice has not yet been processed. Thus it would be
expected that items on this report would need to be accrued.
In theory simply raising accruals for all the items on the GRN no invoice report should
be sufficient to cover all the accruals you need however unfortunately in practice this is not
the case. This is for three main reasons
a. Goods or services are ordered without a PO being raised, therefore a GRN
will not be raised on receipt. This is a key reason why it is important that
POs are always raised for expenditure to help the accuracy of the monthly
results.
b. Goods or services are not GRNd on receipt. It is therefore also useful to
review the report PO- no GRN to check whether there are any items that
have been received that havent been GRNd. If this is the case you should
GRN the PO on eBis and also raise an accrual for the expenditure.
c. There are quite a lot of old POs on the reports for which goods or invoices
will never be received. The report should be reviewed regularly (see PO
Guidance?) and POs that are old or no longer required should be deleted.
5. Look at the accruals that were raised last month and consider whether they are still
required in the current month. They will no longer be required if
a. The invoice for the cost is in the transaction report.
b. The order for the good or service has been cancelled (in this case the accrual
should really not have been raised in the first place).
c. For whatever reason it is not expected that the cost will be invoiced.
It may also be possible that you now have a better idea of the expected cost and therefore
might need to adjust the amount accrued in the previous month up or down.
b.
How do I complete the accruals sheet on the return?
An example of an accruals return is included in Appendix 8a. This has been annotated to
explain what should be included in each column and how to present the accruals.
Key points to remember are
You need to include the cumulative amount to be accrued not just the costs that
havent been invoiced for the current month but also for previous months where
invoices have not yet been processed.
It is useful to leave the accruals history (the entries in the previous months in the year)
in the spreadsheet. This will give a record of how the accrual has moved over time and
show clearly when accruals were raised and released.
It is useful to use a different line for each month of an expense that needs to be
accrued as this will make it easier to see which accruals are no longer required. For
example each month of a temps costs that have not yet been invoiced to show on a
separate line.
It is useful to add the related PO number to this sheet. You can then check these
numbers against the transaction report each month to check whether the invoice has
been received.
8. REACCRUALS
a.
How do I know what needs to be reaccrued?
Reaccruals are accruals that were outstanding at year-end and have not yet been released.
Each month they are reaccrued unless they are marked as paid. You should not add any
new reaccruals to the list but you may need to release (i.e. remove) some that are there
already. Reasons to remove a reaccrual would be:
a. The invoice that relates to the cost has appeared in the transaction listing for the
month.
b. An invoice is no longer anticipated to be received for the cost.
If there are still reaccruals after Q1 (June), a full check should be undertaken to ensure that
the invoice has not been received and missed. A full check should then be done every
quarter end. This can be done by looking at the full cumulative transaction listing for invoices
that have gone against your cost centre. If there are other invoices that you would have
expected to have received by this point talk to someone in finance to help you check on the
accounting system as perhaps the invoice has been charged against another cost centre.
b.
How do I complete the reaccruals return?
An example of a reaccruals return is included in Appendix 8b. The return lists all the
accruals that were in place at the year-end.
Select the month of the return from the drop-down box in the top left hand corner.
If a reaccrual is no longer required type paid in column G and then that accrual will no
longer be reaccrued each month.
9. PREPAYMENTS
a.
How do I know when to raise a prepayment?

Following your review of the MPS report and the transaction listing you may have come
across costs that relate to future periods. These might be spotted as:
the costs for one month seem a lot higher than budgeted as it may be that the cost
relates to more than one month, for example rent, quarterly utility charges,
maintenance charges
you are aware that you have purchased something in advance of its use for
example external training costs, external room bookings, marketing campaigns or
conference space
you notice on the transaction listing that the narrative relates to a future time period.
These costs need to be prepaid so that the costs are deferred until the benefit of the cost
is taken in the business.
b.
How do I complete the prepayment return?
An example of a prepayment return is included in Appendix 8c. This has been annotated to
explain what should be included in each column and how to present the prepayments.
Key points to remember are:
You need to include the cumulative amount to be prepaid not just the costs that
have been invoiced in advance in the current month but also for previous months
where the company has not yet received the benefit.
It is useful to leave the prepayment history (the entries in the previous months in the
year) in the spreadsheet. This will give a record of how the prepayment has moved
over time and show clearly when prepayments were raised and released. It should
help each month in deciding how much of a prepayment may need to be released.
It is useful to use a different line for each month of an expense that needs to be
prepaid as this will make it easier to see which prepayments are no longer required.
10.
SUBMITTING YOUR RETURN
The return should be saved in your finance folder by the end of working day 5 after the
month-end.
Please do not change the name of the file or change the formatting of any of the sheets within
the returns as they are all linked up to centrally kept spreadsheets.
11.
AFTER SUBMISSION
Finance creates journals to post the returns into the accounting system. When the journals
nd
have been processed a second version of the monthly results is run the 2 cut.
nd
Finance will undertake a brief review of the 2 Cut and the NO returns and they may contact
you at this time to clarify any queries. As review time is limited between receipt of the returns
nd
(WD5), their processing (WD6) and the issue of 2 Cut (WD8), finance only have time to
undertake a brief review. They may undertake a more detailed review of some cost centres
after WD8 and if any changes arise these will need to be processed in the following month.
THE 2ND CUT
12.
What is the 2nd Cut?
a.
nd
The 2 cut is made up of the following documents

nd
2 Cut MPS
nd
2 Cut Transaction Listing
st
These are the same as 1 cut with the additional postings of the information within your
return related to accruals, reaccruals and prepayments and any journals that have been
raised to correct mispostings or reallocate expenditure.
nd
2 Cut is thus the final results for the month.
What should I do with the 2nd Cut?
b.
You should review the MPS report and check that the numbers look reasonable and meet
your expectations of what they should be following the posting of the return and journals.
One quick way to check that the postings have been put through correctly is to take your
st
spend figure from 1 cut, add on all your accruals and reaccruals, deduct your
prepayments, add/deduct any costs that have been journalled in/out of your cost centre
nd
and this should give you the total spend in 2 cut.
st
Total Spend per 1 Cut

Expenditure in month Total (net)
Accruals
Reaccruals
Prepayments
Costs journalled IN to cost centre
Costs journalled OUT of cost centre
nd
Total Spend per 2 Cut
Expenditure in month Total (net)
25,000
5,000
12,500
(3,000)
1,000
(1,500)
39,000
If you think anything has been posted incorrectly or have any queries on your
numbers please contact NO finance to discuss.
nd
2 Cut can then be used to help prepare the monthly commentary.
13. THE MONTHLY MONITORING REVIEW (Example

Appendix 9)
a.
Why do I need to prepare a monthly monitoring review?

This review was introduced following internal audit recommendations. The purpose of the
review is to
Ensure that the monthly results are reviewed by the budget holder who has
responsibility for the expenditure within the budget.
This has a number of benefits:
It can act as a check for budget administrators to make sure all monthly reviews have
been undertaken.
It helps ensure that both budget holders and administrators are aware of their
expenditure and if necessary can take action regarding over/underspends
It gives NO finance early visibility of any significant variances to forecast.
It can assist budget holders and administrators with budgets and forecasts by
ensuring familiarity with variances to budget and the reasons for these
b.
How do I prepare the monthly monitoring review?
The form is designed to be as self-explanatory as possible. It has 5 main sections:

Section 1 Sign-off
This needs to be signed (or initialed and emailed) by the Budget Holder at a minimum
(Budget Administrator sign-off optional but desirable) to confirm that the reports have
been received and reviewed in full.
Section 2 Use/Dissemination
This section should be completed to explain how the information has been used within
the Department.
Section 3 Overview
This section asks you to complete some details regarding your expected full year position.
Latest Forecast you can take this figure from your latest quarterly forecast (Q1, Q2 or
Q3). Please note this is NOT the same figure as the Forecast Expenditure column in the
MPS report.
Budget This can be taken from the MPS report the total of column M.
Var & % - You need to calculate the difference between the budget and the forecast
put a forecast overspend in brackets.
Outturn As explained on the form, the outturn is a calculation of what the full year spend
would be if spend in the month was the same as the current month for all future months.
To calculate this you would take the total from column G of your MPS and then add to this
the total of column B multiplied by the number of remaining months in the financial year.
For example if in August the monthly spend was 24k and the year to date spend was
140k, then the outturn would be calculated as follows:
140,000+(24,000*7 remaining months) = 308,000
i) You are then asked to give reasons if there is a significant (+/-50k, 10%) variance
between the outturn and the latest forecast. Reasons for such a variance might be:
Profiling e.g.s.
- Your departments spend is not even throughout the year therefore this
months spend is not representative of the monthly spend for the remainder of the
year.
- There is a one-off cost this month or in a future months which means this
months spend is not representative. Please identify the relevant cost.
Over/understated forecast
- The months spend is probably representative of future spend, therefore the

forecast has been over/understated by approx xx. If possible identify the cost
area that this relates to.
ii) The next question asks if you aware of any significant changes (+/- 50k, 10%) that
will affect the full year position that havent already been taken into account in the
latest forecast. If there are please give details of what they are and how much they
are.
Section 4 Review
This section considers the detail of the monthly results.
MPS Report
nd
First you need to complete the table from the information in the 2 Cut MPS report with
regard to monthly and year-to-date actual spend compared to budget.
It then asks you to give details of any significant variances (+/-10k, 5%) to budget
relating for the month relating to one cost line for example Travel and Subsistence.
Please give details of what was spent and what the budget was and give a reason for the
variance for example expense claims received relating to a prior period that had not
been adequately accrued for or conference expenses that had not been anticipated in the
forecast.
It then asks you to do the same for year-to-date significant variances (+/- 20k, 5%)
relating to one cost line. This is useful year-to-date figures wont be so susceptible to
timing differences and thus are more likely to indicate actual variances that may not be
offset later in the year. It is thus important that the budget holder and NO finance are
aware of such variances, and they should be factored into future forecasts if there are
considered to be likely to continue.
The next question asks you to give details of any action that is being taken to manage
areas of over/underspend. For example this might include limiting items of expenditure for
the remainder of the year if in an overspend position, or identifying areas that the
overspend could be offset against an underspend. If in an underspend position
consideration should be given to whether a portion of the budget should be passed back
so that it is fully utilized within the organization.
Transaction Report
This section seeks to confirm that the transaction report has been reviewed and asks for
confirmation that journals, accruals and prepayments have been raised appropriately. If
nd
any were not raised prior to the 2 Cut please give details in this section.
Payroll Report
This section seeks to confirm that the payroll report has been reviewed and asks for
details of any issues found and how they have been dealt with.
SEC Report (Service Areas Only)
This section seeks to confirm that the SEC report has been reviewed and asks for details
of any issues found and how they have been dealt with.
c.
What do I do with the review once it is completed?

The completed review should be emailed to NOFinance@cafcass.gov.uk in accordance
with the deadlines in the Service Area Requests calendar. The review is typically due 18
working days after month-end.
The review should also be saved in your finance folder.

The review should be used to assist with forecasting in future months.
14.
FURTHER GUIDANCE
If you require further guidance or have any specific queries please contact National Office
Finance on 020 7510 7000 or at NOFinance@cafcass.gov.uk.
There are also lots of useful documents on the Finance Section of the Intranet.
Also if you have any suggestions for improving this guidance please let us know!
PETTY CASH POLICY

1.
Summary
1.1
Petty Cash is used to claim reimbursement for small items of incidental

expenditure where it is not practical to make payment by any other
means. It must not be used to circumvent the procedures for claiming
travel and subsistence expenses nor must it be used to bypass
purchase order requisitions, which require prior authorisation.
1.2
Office Managers and Administrators need to ensure that petty cash

reconciliation/reimbursement returns are forwarded via Area Finance
Team to the Accounts Department on a monthly basis. In order for
reimbursements to be made, accurate reconciliation/reimbursement
forms must be submitted on a monthly basis. Also from an audit
prospective, because the reimbursement has to be equal to spend,
then there is a better audit trail linking money issued to money
reimbursed to spend. Electronic copies of the forms can be found on
the Finance Section of the Intranet.
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_ne
w.aspx
1.3
Other electronic forms are also available for opening and closing a
petty cash account, increases and decreases in a petty cash account,
and closing a petty cash account.
2. Principles
2.1
Petty Cash is a small fund retained in the local office for day-today expenditure on small miscellaneous purchases or incidental
office expenses, where payment by any other means is not
economical or practical. Examples of items usually purchased
with petty cash are minor office supplies and cleaning products.
2.2
Petty cash advances may be made to staff for occasional travel

costs and should be immediately accounted for once the full
travel claim has been made and receipts have been provided.
Claims for taxi fares may only be met for journeys for which there
is no other suitable form of public transport, or where heavy
luggage has to be transported to and from the place of departure
or arrival, or where saving in official time is important. Petty cash
cannot be used for subsistence payments.
2.3
Petty cash should not be used as a means of bypassing payment

procedures. The maximum limit for individual petty cash payments is
50. Petty cash must be accounted for in detail and kept secure.
2.4
Entertainment expenses must not be met from petty cash.
2.5
Petty cash records should only be amended by: drawing a single line
through the original entry, initialling the deletion and entering the
amendment either above or below it. Erasers or correction fluid should
never be used.
2.6
The cash box should be checked against the balance shown in the
cash book at the end of each month and spot checks should be
carried by the Area Finance Manager. The box on the PC2 form
indicating that the cash box has indeed been counted should be ticked
before sending the form to the Area Finance Manager for review. Any
discrepancies found should be investigated and reported immediately
to the Accounts Department. Under no circumstances should you
attempt to top up any differences/discrepancies to make the physical
cash balance agree to the authorised float from your personal funds.
2.7
All Petty Cash Vouchers should be signed by the recipient, authorised

by his/her immediate Manager and deposited with the person
responsible for administering Petty Cash. At all times, the total of the
Petty Cash Vouchers and remaining cash in hand must equal the
amount of the original Petty Cash Float.
2.8
Only one person should have delegated responsibility (i.e. Office

Manager or Administrator) for processing all Petty Cash Claims. Each
person claiming payment from the Administrator or Senior
Administrator must complete a Petty Cash Voucher, which should give
reasons for payment and must be attached to any necessary proof of
incurring the expense (e.g. receipts, which must be retained locally in
the Office)
3.
Petty Cash Monthly Returns
3.1
In order for your Petty Cash Float to be topped up each month,

monthly reconciliation & reimbursement forms must be completed
and authorised by the Office Manager, or the Head of Service in
the Office Managers absence, and sent via Area Finance Team to
the Accounts Department within 10 working days of month-end.
All monthly returns received after this time frame will only be
processed in the following month. The reconciliations achieve
the following objectives:
Collates monthly spend by Natural Accounting Code

(NAC) type, facilitating easy and timely coding of
expenses onto the accounting system
Refunded cash replenishes float up to agreed level

every month, rather than when the cash runs out
In the event of any fraudulent activity, the timely

reconciliation enables any concerns to be
immediately investigated rather than at the next

reconciliation, which could be several months away.
3.2
Analysis will indicate to the Finance Manager and

Accounts Department whether or not cash balances
are adequate, relative to the level of expenses, are
adequate.
For example, if the month-end cash
balances are too high, it needs to be reduced and
vice versa. The objective being that cash balances
ought to be kept at the minimum level required to
meet the needs of the local office.
Undertaking Petty Cash reconciliations each month

eliminates the urgency for reconciled returns at yearend as the annual reconciliation becomes the final
month, which is helpful for Finance and External
Auditors.
The Petty Cash Forms (found on the Intranet) are to do the

following tasks:
Opening a Petty Cash Account (PC1)

Petty Cash Reconciliation & Reimbursement of Petty Cash
Expenditure (PC2)
Increases in a Petty Cash Account (PC3)
Closing a Petty Cash Account (PC4)
Reducing a Petty Cash Account (PC5)
Completing these Petty Cash forms are detailed in the Petty Cash
Explanatory notes.
3.3
Late Returns
Any late petty cash returns will be chased in the first instance by the
Finance Bureau to the Area Finance Team, whom in turn will chase the
Office manager.
Any return that is outstanding for more than 2 months will be escalated
by the Finance Manager / Financial accountant to Head of Service or
CMT Director.
Owner:
Issued date:
Revise date:
Finance Department
July 2012
November 2012
Next revise date:
July 2013
Guide to AR1 Form

Procedure Owner:
Julie Brown
Procedure Deadline/Frequency:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
When Required
September 2013
Heather Jeffries
Introduction
On occasion you will need to raise an Invoice to an individual, or an
organisation, as they owe Cafcass an amount of money. To raise an invoice
you need to complete an AR1 form.
Process
The AR1 form can be found on the Intranet under the following links:
Forms > Finance Forms > AR1 Form.
Once from the intranet, save the file in Excel
Close the Intranet and open the Excel AR1 form.
In Section A enter the details to whom the invoice is to be made out
to and their address.
In Section B enter any special instructions you may have. This could
include a purchase order number or where to send the invoice to if a
different address. Invoices may be rejected by organisations if a
purchase order number is not quoted.
In Section C select whether the invoice is to be a one off or if it is to
be a recurrent invoice. If it is to be recurrent, you will need to enter the
date of the 1st and last invoices.
In Section D enter the Cost Centre and Natural Account Code of
where the invoice is to be coded to and the value of the invoice. If you
are unsure of the VAT treatment please refer to the relevant section in
the finance manual or contact a member of the NO finance team or
CAFCASS FINANCE for advice
In Section E enter the value that is to be shown on the invoice and
the description that is to appear on the invoice. This needs to describe
the reason for the invoice and where necessary give quantities and
dates etc.
In Section F, the authoriser must date the form and add the address
details and contact details as required. The authoriser must be a
signatory for the cost centre on the AR1
Once completed, email the AR1 form and all backing documents to
CAFCASS Finance with the following statement I authorise the
attached AR1 form and conform that Cafcass is entitled to this income.
Please raise an invoice.
Guide to MR1 Form

Procedure Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Julie Brown
When Required
September 2013
Heather Jeffries
Introduction
On occasion you may receive a cheque from a supplier or member of staff. In
the case of suppliers, these will normally be to reimburse CAFCASS for an
invoice paid in error. Where we received a cheque from a supplier, we should
expect to have the invoice/statement that it relates to attached to the
cheque.In the case of staff, these will normally be received to reimburse
expense on GPC cards or for agency staff to reimburse personal phone calls
made on Cafcass mobiles etc. In the case of service users these will
normally be received for Subject Access Requests.
NB Insurance excess cheques must be passed to the Finance car lease
contact in the first instance.
Process
Download MR1 Form from the intranet

In the top left box, enter the office name, the address, the date, your
name and your contact number.
In the top right box under Receipts Details/Nature of Receipts box,
enter the cheque number, sort code, account number and reason i.e.
Mobile Phone Reimbursement.
Enter the correct cost centre and natural account code. These can be
found in the chart of accounts.
Enter the amount of the cheque in the Amounts box, and then copy it
to the Total Amount, and again into the Totals line in the same
columns. Do not enter a VAT amount.
Print off the completed form and sign it. This must be signed by an
signatory for the cost centre quoted on the form.
Photocopy all paperwork including the cheque.
Post the Original and backing documents to Cafcass Finance at the
Basingstoke office
File all copies in the MR1 folder
Debtors and Recovery Policy
1. Aims of Policy
The Debtors Policy refers to all debts owed to Cafcass. Cafcass will
actively recover debts by making early contact with individuals,
suppliers and organisations.
2. Definition of a Debtor
A debtor is someone or an organisation that owes Cafcass money.
How to request an invoice to be raised?
Once a debt has been identified, an invoice must be raised as soon as
possible via an AR1 form. The AR1 must be fully completed,
authorised by the budget manager and sent to the Accounts
Processing Team for processing.
Payment terms
The invoice date and due date are the same, as all invoices are
payable immediately upon receipt. Payment should be received within
30 days from the date of the invoice.
3. Debt Recovery Procedure
Outstanding debts will result in prompt and decisive measures being
taken.
Should no payment be received within 35 days, the following actions
must be taken by the Accounts Processing Team:
35 to 40 days
First letter of demand
40 to 50 days
Second letter of demand
50 to 60 days
Final letter of demand
61 to 70 days
Accounts Processing Team to refer debt
back to Budget Manager for advice, with the view of chasing
directly or pursue via legal action.
71+ days
Matter referred to the Area Finance
Manager to make a recommendation to pursue via legal action
or write-off.
4. Legal Action
Where efforts to recover the debts have been unsuccessful, the Area
Finance Manager may decide to pursue the recovery through legal
actions. The Director of Finance will make the ultimate decision upon
recommendation from the Area Finance Manager to pursue recovery
via legal action.
Where the debts are referred for legal actions, the Accounts
Processing Team are required to forward all documentations (invoice,
purchase order, letter of demands and phone conversation notes) to
the Area Finance Manager.
Any legal and associated costs incurred for debts recovery will be
passed on to the appropriate customer. However, where the recovery
is unsuccessful, the costs will be transferred to the budget manager.
5. Write-offs
Debts should only be written-off after following decisions that it is
fruitless to pursue the debt any further. All applications to write-off the
debts should be done using the special payment and write-off business
case which can be found in the Finance Manual on the intranet then
forwarded to the Director of Finance via the Financial Accountant.
The write-off amounts will be charged to the relevant cost centre.
6. Debt Monitoring
At the beginning of each month, a list of current debt outstanding will
be placed in the shared drive for Areas and National Office by the
Accounts Processing Team.
NO Finance
Issued: November 2012
Review due:
November 2013
Hotel & Conference booking

Policy & Procedures
Owner
Finance
Issued
December 2008
Approved by
Julie Brown
Version No
3.0
Next review date
July 2013
Ref
2012 CAFCASS
Contents
Page No.
1.0
Introduction
2.0
Booking Process
3.0
Monthly Processing Requirements
4.0
Conditions of Use
5.0
Disputes and Discrepancies
1.
Introduction
This document details the arrangements for booking hotels and meeting rooms. The
contract procedure in place will save CAFCASS significant time, effort and resource by
placing all of its requirements through a specialist service provider at pre-agreed
preferential rates.
The contract with Redfern is secured as part of the OGC framework and as such provides
a significant saving for Cafcass. To ensure we realise the full cost and efficiency savings
that working with Redfern can provide, all your hotel and meeting room requirements are
to be placed with Redfern.
1. ALL hotels bookings must be booked through Redfern. Any hotels booked on GPC
cards or through invoicing, evidence must be provided that Redfern were unable to
provide a hotel for you on the day that you requested.
2.
Booking Process
2.1
Bookings
can
be
made
via
https://www.trips.uk.com/js/SABS/Corporate.html
2.2
A unique reservation number will be provided.
2.3
Any hotel booking above the Cafcass budget policy, as noted below, must be
approved by the line manager prior to booking. The line manager approval must be
obtained before booking if above the budget limit. The agreed budget limits are:
London
All other areas
the
Redfern
website
130
90
2.4
Late arrival is automatically guaranteed but no-show fees will be charged.
2.5
Cancellations must be made in accordance with the individual hotel policies. You
must contact Redfern if you are unsure of the cancellation policy.
2.6
Where possible please book hotels using the Crown Programme. These are indicated
with a small gold star to indicate participating hotels in the main display and the
specific rate in the rates display
2.7
Please be aware that hotels booked outside the Crown Programme, may not include
VAT (in London) and breakfast. Please make sure you read the Hotels policy.
2.8
Hotels booked outside of the Crown Programme may not be refundable.
3.
Monthly Processing Requirements
3.1
Redfern will provide one consolidated invoice for the whole of Cafcass. It is the
responsibility of the Accounts Payable to process and pay the invoice.
3.2
Any queries in relation to the charges should be raised by the Cost centre directly with
Redfern via accounts_mail@redfern-travel.com, copying in, the Redfern contract
manager.
4.
Conditions of Use
4.1
Hotel accommodation cannot be used for personal travel. Hotels will only be provided
when staff is travelling on Cafcass business and this requires an overnight stay as part
of the business.
4.2
Hotel accommodation must be booked through Redfern. Any hotel accommodation

booked outside of Redfern will be subject to query and staff must provide evidence
that Redfern were unable to provide accommodation.
4.3
Staff who continues to use GPC for hotel accommodation without first contacting
Redfern, will have their GPC access reviewed.
4.4
If Redfern are unable to provide a hotel within the agreed budget limit, line manager
authority must be obtained and provided to Redfern.
4.5
Any expenditure that is incurred during the hotel stay is to be settled at the time of
departure from the hotel and claimed as expenses where appropriate. This includes
breakfast if this wasnt included within the original rate booked
5.
5.1
Should you have any complaint or should you experience any difficulty with the hotel
in question and you are unable to resolve this during your stay - DO NOT CONTINUE
TO DEAL WITH THE HOTEL DIRECTLY, but contact Redfern immediately who are
available 24 hours a day.
5.2
It is the responsibility of the Area Finance Team and National Office Departments to
handle disputes on their cost centre charges and follow up with Redfern directly.
August 2012
VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT) Guidance

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
VAT Registration Details ......................................................................................................... 4

VAT Status .............................................................................................................................. 4
Ordering Goods and Services on eBis ................................................................................... 4
Self-Employed Contractors (SECs) ........................................................................................ 5
Further Information ................................................................................................................. 5
Document Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Director of Finance
July 2012
Julie Brown
1. VAT Registration Details

Cafcass is registered for VAT under registration number 774 1613 27. Quarterly returns are
prepared by Cafcass Finance and checked by NO Finance. Quarter-end months are March,
June, September and December. VAT returns are due one month after the quarter end date.
2. VAT Status
As Cafcass is a Non Departmental Public Body it is unable to reclaim any VAT it is charged
by suppliers (unlike Local Authorities and Government Departments). However Cafcass does
have to charge VAT when it raises invoices for taxable supplies.
3. Ordering Goods and Services on eBis

When ordering goods and services Cafcass staff should ensure that they are quoted a price
that is inclusive of VAT. As part of raising a Purchase Order it is necessary to include a VAT
code to denote the VAT status of the supply. The eBis tax codes are as follows:
eBis
Tax
Code
E
Description
Rate
Comments
Exempt
0%
Reduced
Rate
5%
Not VAT
Registered
0%
Standard
Rate
20%
Travel &
Subsistence
0%
Zero rated
0%
Some types of expenditure are exempt from VAT. This includes certain
types of education and training and some property transactions (selling,
leasing and letting land and buildings). Please also see note on SECs
below.
(Shown as Electricity & Gas on eBis)
Some categories of expenditure are subject to a reduced rate of VAT at
5%. Examples are domestic fuel or power, installation of energy saving
materials, children car seat.
Not all businesses are required to be VAT registered. Businesses with an
annual turnover exceeding the current VAT threshold (70,000) must be
VAT registered and show a VAT registration number on their invoice.
Some self employed individuals such as SECs may not be required to be
VAT registered because their turnover is below the VAT threshold. This
code should be used when there is no VAT number shown on invoice.
This is the standard rate of VAT applicable on the majority of VAT
registered businesses. The standard rate of VAT will apply in respect of a
good or service received from a VAT registered business, which does not
fall in any other category. (Examples: Agency Staff, advertisements). A
VAT registration number must be shown on the suppliers invoice.
This code should only be used when there is no VAT shown on the invoice
in respect of T&S. Some examples are when a payment is being made
through eBis for interview candidate travel expenses or clients T&S.
Some types of expenditure are zero-rated, some examples are childrens
clothing and footwear, most food and drink (but not catering or takeaway).
4. Self-Employed Contractors (SECs)

Based on VAT guidance re Exempt Welfare Services (EWS), Cafcass
believes that regardless of an individuals VAT status they should not charge
VAT on EWS provided to Cafcass. Some SECs continue to charge VAT on
their invoices. VAT is a self-assessed tax i.e. it is the suppliers responsibility
to determine the appropriate VAT treatment on the goods and services they
provide and Cafcass cannot therefore refuse to pay the VAT on an properly
constituted VAT invoice. A letter was sent to all SECs in 2006 highlighting
this issue and requesting that they cease to charge VAT on their invoices. A
copy of this letter is included as an Appendix to this document. It is the
responsibility of Cafcass staff to raise this issue with any SECs who charge
VAT on their invoices. The following provides some further context:
Exempt services
Following an EC Directive to exempt the supply of services and goods linked to welfare and
social work there were changes to VAT regulations. Schedule 9, group 7 of the VAT Act 1994
exempts welfare services provided by state regulated private welfare institutions or agencies.
As SECs are required to be registered with the General Social Care Council, we believe this
satisfies HM Revenue and Customs criteria that all SEC case related activities for CAFCASS
are state regulated. This being the case, services supplied by SECs to CAFCASS (in the
course of their case related work) are exempt from VAT.
As VAT is a self-assessed tax, CAFCASS cannot instruct SECs that they should not or
cannot charge VAT, nor can we refuse to pay VAT where a supplier charges us VAT (albeit
we believe this in error). Under the VAT regulations it is the supplier i.e. the SECs
responsibility to determine the correct VAT liability of their supplies. Any incorrect clarification
of supplies should in due course be picked up by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as part of
their review of returns etc.
We expect that SECs will no longer be charging VAT on the services they provide to
CAFCASS. Where a SEC continues to charge VAT on a properly constituted VAT invoice,
CAFCASS is obliged to pay. Where SECs continue to charge VAT, contract managers should
be raising this with SECs to understand why VAT continues to be charged and encouraging
the SECs to seek advice from HMRC, referring them to the CAFCASS letter and the guidance
highlighted in the letter.
VAT Registration, Deregistration
The SEC may decide to remain VAT registered or they may decide to deregister, either way
we believe they should be classifying the services they supply to CAFCASS as VAT exempt.
Similarly their VAT status does not affect their ability to make a claim for a VAT refund in
relation to the erroneously charged/paid VAT and this refund can be backdated (i.e. from the
date of legislation where applicable). The decision to deregister is a personal decision for the
SEC and will be determined by their personal circumstances. We cannot advise SECs about
their VAT status, this is something they will need to discuss with HMRC and their
accountants.
5. Further Information
HMRC Website -
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/
VAT Helpline -
0845 010 9000
Appendix A Letter to Self-Employed Contractors 17 March 2006
Government Procurement Card

(GPC)
Policy & Procedures
This Policy provides guidance and information for GPC cardholders and the
reviewers and authorisers of GPC returns. To ensure the success of the
GPC scheme it is essential that GPC cardholders comply with the GPC
policy & procedures. All Cafcass staff involved in the GPC scheme must
ensure that they are familiar with this policy.
Owner
Chris Iwalesin
Financial Accountant
Issued
June 2012
Approved by
Julie Brown
Director of Finance
Version No
6.3
Next review date
Sep 2014
Ref
Sep 13
2007 CAFCASS
Contents
Page No.
1.0
Introduction
2.0
Overview of Process
6.0
Obtaining a GPC
7.0
Cardholder Best Practice Guide
8.0
Conditions of Use for Cardholders
9.0
Line Manager Requirements
10.0 Operational Area Requirements
11.0 GPC Coordinator/Administrator Responsibility
12.0 Disputes and Discrepancies
13.0 Lost and Stolen GPC
14.0 Cancellation of GPC
15.0 Revocation of GPC
10
16.0 Increase to Credit Limit
10
17.0 GPC Queries
11
Appendix
Page No.
1.0
Operational Area Lines of Authorisation
12
2.0
National Office Lines of Authorisation
13
3.0
Key Dates
14
4.0
GPC004: Request for a new GPC
15
5.0
GPC001: Receipt for a GPC
16
6.0
GPC002: Monthly Transaction Log
17
7.0
GPC003: Operational Areas Monthly Summary
18
8.0
GPC005: Request to Increase Credit Limit
19
9.0
Lost Receipts Memorandum
20
6.
Introduction
2
6.1
The Government Procurement Card (GPC) is a branded VISA Purchasing Card

designed principally to help the Public Sector meet Efficiency Review Targets.
The card enables UK Public Sector organisations, such as Cafcass, to remove
or at least minimise many of the routine administration and costs relating to
purchase transactions.
6.2
As more Government Departments and Agencies have signed up to the GPC,

collectively they have also managed to negotiate substantial discounts from
major suppliers. These discounts will be automatically available to all GPC
users.
6.3
The GPC allows for greater flexibility in areas of expenditure where a Purchase
Order or indeed the use of Petty Cash for certain low value transactions is not
appropriate. However the GPC must not be used to circumvent existing
procurement rules.
6.4
For Cafcass the GPC will aide in alleviating costs and administration relating to
supplier set-ups, raising of purchase orders, GRN of purchase orders, multiple
BACS payments etc. Further benefits of GPC programmes are outlined by the
Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in the link below:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/tools_services_government_procurement_card.asp
7.
Overview of Process
7.1
Just like an ordinary credit card, National Westminster (our card issuer) debits
each card transaction against the cardholders individual account. The
transactions are then aggregated on to a single statement. On the 28 th of each
month National Westminster will send out memo statements directly to all
cardholders. An electronic consolidated statement/invoice will also be sent to the
GPC Administrator. They will make arrangements for the National Westminster
invoice to be paid. The GPC Coordinator will oversee this process by
coordinating and managing this scheme.
7.2
The GPC Administrator will send the Area Finance Manager and National Office
Line Managers a monthly log of cardholder expenditure for all cardholders under
their remit. This will act as an aide for checking cardholders submissions and
reviewing expenditure.
7.3
GPC002 is completed by cardholder on a monthly basis.
7.4
Completed electronic GPC002 is forwarded by email to Line Manager for

authorisation by 10th working day of the month. It is the cardholders
responsibility to retain all backing documents i.e. original receipts and statement
for 7 years for audit purposes. The email forwarded with the return must contain
an auto signature with the following statement:
I am the preparing officer for this form GPC002 and can confirm I am satisfied
that the entries made are correct and reflect appropriate goods and services
received. Please approve for processing. Name of GPC holder/preparing
officer
7.5
The Line Manager must forward the electronic version of the GPC002 to the
Area Finance mailbox in the Operational areas and to the GPC Administrator
3
for National Office with authorisation message by 15th working day of the month
contained within an auto signature:
I am the approving manager for this cost and have thoroughly checked this form
GPC002 and can confirm I am satisfied that the entries made are correct and
reflect appropriate goods and services received. Please process for payment.
Name of approving line manager
7.6
For the Operational area the Area Finance team checks the E-GPC002
particularly about details of transaction and coding of the expenses to make sure
everything is correct. E-GPC002 and email authorisation is saved in relevant
folder in G drive.
7.7
GPC003 is prepared by Area Finance team according to the GPC002 received

and checked by Area Finance team.
7.8
The Area Finance Manager (AFM) conducts final checks and authorises the
GPC003 and submits to the GPC Administrator at the end of the month, in PDF
format. The AFM should submit an electronic copy using the authorisation
statement:
I am the AFM for the Operational Area and confirm that Area Finance have
thoroughly checked GPC returns and can confirm I am satisfied that the entries
made are correct and reflect appropriate goods and services received. Please
process for payment.
8.
Obtaining a GPC
8.1
The major consideration when deciding who will be given a card is effectiveness
in local purchasing. Cards will only be issued to staff with a continuing need to
purchase goods and services. They will not be issued to staff that may have
occasional use for such a facility.
8.2
A GPC will not be issued to temporary member of staff unless there is an

exceptional circumstance. In those such cases the Core Management Team
(CMT) member will need to demonstrate that extra controls have been put in
place to mitigate the risks.
8.3
The Line Manager must complete and authorise a Request for New GPC form
(GPC004) electronically, this must then be sent electronically to the CMT
member for authorisation before being forwarded to the GPC Coordinator.
8.4
Once approval is confirmed a National Westminster GPC application form will be

sent out to the proposed cardholder to complete. This form should then be
forwarded back to the GPC Coordinator. The new card will be sent via the GPC
Coordinator (for logging) to the relevant Head of Service copying in the Area
Finance Manager for information.
8.5
The proposed cardholder will receive the pin details a few weeks ahead of
receiving the card.
8.6
On receipt of the new card, the cardholder must sign it straight away. The
cardholder should complete a form (GPC001) acknowledging they have read
and agree to abide by the cards conditions of use - they will also receive training
4
when the card is issued to them. The GPC001 form should be emailed to the
Area Finance Manager who will then forward this electronically to the GPC
Coordinator. A copy of this form should also be retained on the employee
personnel file. The cardholder should record the contact telephone number for
Nat West in the event of the card being lost or stolen.
9.
Cardholder Best Practice Guide
9.1
It is the cardholders responsibility to reconcile all purchases against their

respective statement. The cardholder must review the statement for accuracy
and verify purchases.
9.2
When completing the transaction log (GPC002) you must record each
transaction on the National Westminster statement of account on a separate
line. All details must be completed, including the expense coding under the
heading Natural Account Code. The transaction log must be completed
electronically. The total amount of expenditure on the transaction log must
always match the National Westminster statement.
9.3
Cardholder should record on the transaction log details of their expenditure as

and when it happens i.e. upon their return to the office.
9.4
No submission is required for a zero return, i.e. if no transactions in the month,

no statement will be issued from National Westminster.
9.5
Original receipts should be kept by the cardholder for 7 years. The receipts
should be numbered as per the return and kept in an envelope with the
cardholder name and month of the statement written on it.
10.
Conditions of Use for Cardholders
10.1
The cardholder must not use the GPC for personal expenditure. However if an
exceptional circumstance does arise and it is not possible to meet the cost any
other way, a cheque for that sum should be made out in favour of Children and
Family Court Advisory Support Service. The cheque and completed MR1 form
should be supported with a calculation, and an explanation as to what it relates
to, and enclosed with the claim. The overall total of your Transaction Log
(GPC002), prior to any adjustments for personal expenses, MUST equal what
the National Westminster Cardholder Statement.
10.2
Ensure all expenditure is for legitimate business purposes only and in

accordance with GPC guidelines and procedures.
10.3
Ensure that the GPC is used only if it is impractical to use other existing
methods of payment, and/or it is more cost effective to do so.
10.4
Use preferred contracted suppliers wherever possible. Alternative suppliers may

be used provided there is good reason to do so e.g. the goods/services can be
provided at a lower agreed price.
10.5
Ensure that the prices paid for goods and services are fair and reasonable.
10.6
Ensure that all goods and services are received. It is the cardholders
responsibility to verify that the goods received are indeed what were ordered.
5
10.7
Ensure that purchases are within the credit limits agreed.
10.8
Take all reasonable steps to secure and safeguard the GPC as you would your
own personal credit card. Ensure that the card is kept in a secure location at all
times.
10.9
Ensure that no one else uses the card bearing your name and that you never
disclose your pin to another person.
10.10 Hand in their cards for destruction by their Line Manager if they cease to be an
employee of Cafcass, or have been transferred to another division where the
use of a GPC is no longer required. The Line Manager will then ensure that the
GPC Coordinator is notified and the cards will then be cancelled with immediate
effect.
10.11 Ensure purchases are not split into multiple purchases when the total purchase
price would exceed the credit limit.
10.12 Cardholders must not authorise their own statements or have a subordinate
counter-sign them.
10.13 Receipts/supporting documentation must be kept by the cardholder. If receipts
are missing, the cardholder is required to provide an electronic signed memo
(Appendix 9) to their Line Manager within their monthly return, acknowledging
the expense(s) incurred. This memo must be printed and kept with the relevant
months receipts.
10.14 Cardholders must be able to produce receipts on demand for audit purposes.
10.15 Under no circumstances can the GPC be used for the following:
Personal Use, unless in exceptional circumstances such costs cannot be

avoided. These costs will need to be fully explained in your monthly return,
accompanied by a cheque reimbursing Cafcass for these amounts.
Subsistence i.e. the purchase of food when away from the office on Cafcass
business. Personal meals purchased whilst on Cafcass business must be paid
for by the cardholders own means and claimed back through the T&S claim form
process. Subsistence may be authorised on an exceptional basis only. Preapproval must be sought by the Service Director and authorised by the Chief
Executive Officer on recommendation by the Director of Finance.
Fuel/Petrol. The cardholder must not use their GPC to purchase fuel including
fuel for hire cars. This should be paid for by the cardholders own means and
claimed under the T&S policy.
Purchase of IT hardware. The card must not be used for purchasing ITC
hardware or software as these are procured centrally through National Office
ITC.
Cash Advances.
10.16 Authorised expenditure, subject to the limits defined in the Travel & Subsistence
rules, and the conditions set out in this policy, include the following:
UK & foreign travel

Car parking
6
Office equipment
Membership fees
Conference costs
Catering for meetings when required for external purposes
Redfern must be used for all trains, flights, hotels and accommodation bookings.
The GPC can only be used for train travel in exceptional circumstances and the
reasons for this should be properly documented on the returns.
11.
Line Manager Requirements
11.1
Training must be provided to the cardholder before the GPC is handed over.
Area Finance Manager and National Office Line Managers have been trained to
provide this. For further information please contact the GPC Coordinator.
11.2
Line Managers are responsible for ensuring all expenditure incurred is correctly
coded, narrative completed and expenditure is legitimate Cafcass expenditure,
and is incurred within the cardholders authority. The Line Manager should
speak directly with the cardholder if there are any queries with the return.
11.3
Whilst verifying cardholder returns Line Managers must do the following:
Verify that the cardholder has complied with all procedures as outlined in this
document.
Verify that the cardholders statement of account and transaction log is
reconciled.
Ensure the Natural Account and Cost Centre Code details on the transaction log
are correct.
All other details on the log have been correctly completed and authorised.
Ensure that transaction descriptions provide enough detail to ensure an audit
trail.
Ensure that for any personal expenditure a copy of the cheque and completed
MR1 form have been sent to the Finance Bureau.
11.4
Line Managers must also compare monthly logs against conventional travel and
subsistence claims, to ensure there is no double claiming/payment is occurring.
11.5
For National Office, Line Managers must check the GPC002 returns received
from the cardholders; authorise these electronically with the appropriate
statement as per section 2.5 and submit to the GPC Administrator by the last
working day of the month.
11.6
For Service Areas, Line Managers must check the GPC002 returns received
from the cardholders; authorise these electronically with the appropriate
statement as per section 2.5 and submit to the Area Finance by the 15th working
day of the month.
11.7
An MR1 form must be sent to Finance Bureau for any cheque received from the
cardholder for personal expenses incurred on the GPC. The cheque(s) should
be attached to the MR1. The total of the cheques received from the cardholder
must equal the Total of Cheques amount entered on the transaction log
(GPC002). The MR1 form should be submitted to Finance Bureau by the last
working day of the month. A copy of the MR1 form and the cheque must be held
with other receipts for audit purposes. Spot checks will be conducted as part of
7
the Business Assurance Health check at which point requests may be made to
see copies of cheques and MR1 forms.
11.8
Operational Area lines of authorisation can be viewed as Appendix 1. National

Office lines of authorisation can be viewed as Appendix 2. A list of key dates can
be viewed as Appendix 3.
12.
Operational Area Requirements
12.1
The Area Finance Manager (AFM) must have in their possession, all GPC
submissions from his/her Operational Area, checked and signed by 17th working
day of the month.
12.2
The (AFM) must ensure appropriate systems are in place for the monitoring and
tracking of GPC returns. They must also ensure that spots checks of returns as
per requirements of the Line Manager are performed on a regular basis and
logged. Any issues with compliance must be raised immediately with the Line
Manager.
12.3
Once all documentation has been reviewed, the (AFM) must then prepare an
electronic copy of a fully reconciled cardholder summary (GPC003).
12.4
An electronic copy of the cardholder summary (GPC003) must be submitted to

the GPC Administrator by the last working day of the month with the appropriate
signature as per section 2.8.
12.5
The GPC Administrator will post the monthly GPC journal for all areas and
National Office, on to the Open Account system. The monthly journal must be
posted in the same month of spend, for example the March 28th statement must
be posted in the March accounts.
13.
GPC Coordinator/Administrator Responsibilities
13.1
The GPC Coordinator is responsible for the coordination and management of

the system and is supported by the GPC Administrators who deals mainly with
the processing of returns and invoices. The split of duties is as follows:
13.2
The GPC Coordinator is responsible for:
13.3
The overall coordination, administration, and management of the GPC scheme.

Coordinate the application process for new cards, and make all necessary
arrangements for the delivery of new cards, replacement cards, and making
amendments to cardholder details.
Receiving the completed GPC001 forms
Ensure that the GPC policy & procedures are updated with regards to any
changes and that all staff involved in the scheme are notified of any changes.
Cancellation of cards
Dealing with requests to increase the credit limit
Fielding Queries
The GPC Administrator is responsible for:
Authorise payment to National Westminster Bank on receipt of the consolidated
statement (usually the 28th of each month). All reasonable steps should be taken
8
to ensure prompt payment of the account in order to avoid finance/late charges

when settling the account.
Prepare and send to the Area Finance Manager and National Office Line
Managers a monthly log of cardholder expenditure within 3 working days of
receipt of the master consolidate statement.
Ensure that the GPC holding account (Natural Account Code 356000) is cleared
on a monthly basis.
14.
14.1
It is the responsibility of the cardholder to handle disputes and follow up on them

promptly. In most cases these can be resolved directly between the cardholder
and the vendor.
14.2
If items or services procured with the GPC are found to be defective or in

dispute, the cardholder has the responsibility to return the item(s) to the
merchant for replacement, or to make arrangements to receive credit on the
purchases. If the merchant refuses to replace or correct the faulty item/service,
then the purchase will be considered to be in dispute. A disputed item/service
must be noted on the cardholders statement and monthly log and bought
forward to check against the following months statement.
14.3
Where National Westminster credits (clears) the sum of previously disputed

transactions back to the monthly statement, the cardholder should note in
manuscript that this information has been resolved next to the entry. If a refund
appears on your monthly statement, it should be entered on your transaction log
(as a negative figure) to assist the GPC Administrator reconciliation of the log
against the consolidated bill. Should the transaction remain in dispute, please
contact the GPC Administrator before taking further action.
15.
Lost and stolen GPC
15.1
If your card is lost or stolen, you must immediately telephone National

Westminster Lost and Stolen Cards on 0870 6000 459 (24 hours a day, 7 days a
week), or call (+44) 1423 700 545, if abroad. Please also inform your Line
Manager and the GPC Coordinator as soon as possible. A new card will be
issued via the GPC Coordinator in a matter of days.
16.
Cancellation of GPC
16.1
All requests to cancel a GPC must be emailed to the GPC Coordinator by the
cardholders Area Finance Manager (for the regions) or by the cardholders Line
Manger (for National Office) as soon as notification is received that the
cardholder is leaving or no longer requires the card due to a change of role. In
addition to this the Line Manager must:
Ensure that the GPC is handed in and destroyed.

If the cardholder is going to be away for an extended period of leave i.e.
maternity leave, long term sick leave, the Line Manager must notify the GPC
Coordinator immediately so that a temporary freeze can be placed on the card.
The Line Manager must ensure that the GPC is handed in and kept in a secure
place with restricted access i.e. a safe.
Ensure that the cardholder is making regular use of the GPC and as per the policy and procedures have systems in
place to identify and report to the GPC Coordinator any GPCs not used over a period of four consecutive months and
therefore require revoking.
17.
Revocation of GPCs
17.1
Misuse of the card can result in revocation, or indeed disciplinary action being
taken against the cardholder. The following may result in the GPC being
revoked:
Failure to adhere to the conditions outlined in this policy and procedures

document; or
The cardholder is charged with a criminal offence or with fraud; or
Have otherwise engaged in activities that bring Cafcass into disrepute; or
Over a period of six months, failure to submit on three occasions the appropriate
transaction logs to your Line Manger within the agreed timeframe; or
Have a change of role or responsibilities, where the use of a GPC is no longer
appropriate or necessary; or
Failure to use the card over a period of four consecutive months.
18.
Increase to Credit Limit
18.1
The table below outlines the GPC credit limits based on the current levels of
usage. The current limits allow for flexibility whilst balancing the risks of the
organisation. Limits will only be increased above the standard credit limit where
there is evidence of a genuine need.
Job Title
Office Manager
Service Manager
Head of Service
Area Finance Manager
Service Director
Corporate Director
CEO
Credit Limit
1000
2000
3000
18.2
A request to increase a credit limit must be raised through the Area Finance
Manager (for the Operational Areas) or the CMT member (for National Office) by
an electronic completion of a GPC005 Request to Increase Credit Limit
(Appendix 8). This form should then be sent electronically to the GPC
Coordinator.
18.3
All requests will be reviewed and if the reasons are considered to be valid,
authorised by the GPC Coordinator.
19.
GPC Queries
19.1
For most queries e.g. replacement cards, changes of address, National

Westminster Cardholder Services can be contacted directly by the cardholder
(you will need the password you provided on your application). Cardholder
Services can be contacted on 0870 909 3702 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm,
and Saturday 9am to 1pm.
10
19.2
Any other issues or queries in relation to the use of the GPC should initially be
raised with your Line Manager. Should any matters still remain unresolved, they
should be directed to Operational/National Office for further consideration.
Finally, the GPC Coordinator (see contact details below) can be contacted for
assistance on issues that cannot be adequately addressed at the operational
level.
GPC Coordinator contact details:
Chris Iwalesin
Cafcass National Office Finance
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel: 07500 553 897
GPC Administrator Jamie Wates
11
Appendix 1
Operational Area Lines of Authorisation
GPC
Holder
Line
Manager
GPC
Administrator
Area Finance
Manager
OM
Service
Manager
Area
Finance
Manager
Head of
Service
GPC
holder
(left)
must
have
their
returns
authorised
electronically
by their line
manager
(right) with the
appropriate
statement
contained
in
the email
The
Line
Manager checks
and
electronically
authorises
all
returns,
and
then
sends
electronically to
their
Area
Finance by the
15th
working
day
of
the
month.
Head of Service
Service
Director
Service
Director
Cardholder
Summary
(GPC003) is
prepared &
signed by the
Finance
Manager
The
signed
Cardholder
Summary must
be forwarded
electronically
to the GPC
Administrator
as
per
the
timetable.
Appendix 2
12
National Office Lines of Authorisation

GPC Holder
Line Manager
Service Director
Chief Exec
Head of Service
Corporate
Directors
Chief
Executive
Chairperson
The
GPC
holder
(left),
must have their
returns
authorised
electronically
by their Line
Managers
(right) with the
appropriate
statement
contained in the
email
Corporate Director/
Chief Exec
Chief Executive
Chairperson
Chief Executive
13
GPC
Administrator
The
Line
Manager
checks
and
electronically
authorises all
returns,
with
the appropriate
statement
contained in the
email and then
sends
electronically to
the
GPC
Administrator
by the last
working day of
the month.
GPC
Administrator
will check all
documents are
received.
Prepare and post
the journal for
the month.
Appendix 3
Key Dates
Date
Operational Area Timetable
National Office Timetable
28th
National Westminster sends

central statement to the GPC
Administrator and memo
statements to individual
cardholders.
National Westminster sends

central statement to the GPC
Administrator and memo
statements to individual
cardholders.
2nd
Individual cardholder memo

statements received by
cardholders.
Individual cardholder memo

statements received by
cardholders.
2nd
GPC Administrator send

cardholder expenditure log to
Area Finance Managers.
GPC Administrator send

transaction breakdown to N.O
Line Managers.
10th Working
Day
Completed transaction logs

(GPC002) to be submitted to
Line Manager.
Completed transaction logs

(GPC002) to be submitted to
Line Manager.
15th Working
Day
Line Manager to have checked

returns, and sent electronic
copies to Area Finance
Manager.
Line Manager to have checked

all logs submitted to them.
17th Working
Day
Area Finance Manager to have

in their possession all
electronic GPC002
submissions from within their
Operational Area
Area Finance Manager to have
prepared the Cardholder
Summary (GPC003) and
Operational Journal for the
month.
Electronic copies of the
Cardholder Summary GPC003
to be submitted to the GPC
Administrator.
Last Working
Day
5th Working
Day of new
month
GPC Administrator to have

received completed
Cardholder Summaries so a
journal can be prepared and
posted into the general ledger.
14
Line Manager to have submitted

all Electronic copies of GPC002
with the appropriate statement to
the GPC Administrator.
Monthly journal to be prepared

and posted into the General
Ledger by the GPC
Administrator
15
App
endix 4
GPC004
Request for New Government Procurement
Card
CARDHOLDER DETAILS
Proposed Card Holder Name
Position
Office Address
Cost Centre
Reason for Application
AUTHORISATION DETAILS
16
Cardholders Line Manager

(NAME)
Position
Date
N.B: This form must be completed electronically by the proposed cardholders Line
Manager and sent via email attachment to the CMT member for authorisation with a copy
to the Area Finance Manager before being forwarded to the GPC Administrator.
App
endix 5
GPC001
Receipt of CAFCASS Government
Procurement Card
CAFCASS CARDHOLDER DETAILS
NAME
JOB TITLE
OFFICE ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
17
GPC CARD NO
Please mark the box with a X to confirm you agree with the below statement
I, the Cardholder, have read and agreed to abide with the CAFCASS Policy regarding
Government Procurement Card use, and the Terms and Conditions of the Government
Procurement Card. I can also confirm that I have received training for the appropriate use of
the card.
DATE
Return this form electronically to your Finance Manager to be forwarded to the GPC
Coordinator, and retain a copy on your employee personnel file.
18
App
endix 6
GPC002 MONTHLY TRANSACTION LOG (PLEASE RETAIN A COPY OF YOUR MONTHLY STATEMENT &
RECEIPTS)
Name:
Mike Anybody
Card Number: (NO

SPACES)
Statement Month:
Cost Centre:
1122334455667788
Jun 13
062-
Transaction
Transaction Description
Car parking at court

12/06/13
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Desk Fan
Catering for judges
meeting 15/06/13
Durham Alport House

Journal Description
(Automatically
Updated)
Jun 13-GPC-Mike
Anybody
Jun 13-GPC-Mike
Anybody
Jun 13-GPC-Mike
Anybody
Cost
Centre
(Journal
Format)
Natural Account Code (Journal

Format)
Total
(Inc.
VAT)
062-
350100
8.00
062-
430100
10.00
062-
425000
20.00
Total (Must Equal Statement

Total)
38.00
Total of Cheques
0.00
Grand Total (Statement Total

less Cheques)
38.00
Less: Cheques for Personal Expenditure

1
2
3
Cardholder:
Please send completed form via email to your line manager with the following statement contained within the body of the
email:
I am the preparing officer for this form GPC002 and can confirm I am satisfied that the entries made are correct and reflect
appropriate goods and services received. Please approve for processing.
19
Name of GPC holder/preparing officer.

Line Manager:
Please check and forward the electronic copy of this form as per section 2.5 of the policy, the email must contain the
following auto signature:
I am the approving manager for this cost and have thoroughly checked this form GPC002 and can confirm I am satisfied
that the entries made are correct and reflect appropriate goods and services received. Please process for payment.
Name of approving line manager.
App
endix 7
GPC003 - GPC CARDHOLDER SUMMARY FOR OPERATIONAL AREA ONLY
Statement Month:
Area:
Cardholder
Card Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
20
Cost Centre
(Journal
Format)
Monthly
Statement
Total (Inc.
VAT)
0.00
Less: Cheques for Personal Expenditure
1
2
3
4
5
0.00
0.00
This Summary is to be check by the Area Finance Manager and submitted to the GPC Administrator in PDF format.
The AFM should submit an electronic copy using the authorisation statement:
I am the AFM for the Operational Area and confirm that Area Finance have thoroughly checked GPC returns and
can confirm I am satisfied that the entries made are correct and reflect appropriate goods and services received.
Please process for payment.
Name of Area Finance Manager
App
endix 8
GPC005
Request to Increase Credit Limit on
CAFCASS Government Procurement
Card
CAFCASS CARDHOLDER DETAILS
CARDHOLDER
CARD NUMBR
POSITION
OFFICE ADDRESS
21
TELEPHONE
COST CENTRE
PREVIOUS CREDIT LIMIT
REASON FOR INCREASE
AUTHORISATION
PREPARED BY (CARDHOLDERS MANAGER) NAME
POSITION
DATE
N.B This form should be completed by the cardholders Line Manager and sent electronically
to the Area Finance Manager (for the Operational Areas) or the CMT Member (for National
Office). This form should then be forwarded electronically to the GPC Coordinator.
22
Appendix 9
Memorandum
To:
Line Manager
CC:
From: Cardholder
Date:
Re:
Missing Receipts for Insert Month & Year GPC Statement
This note is to confirm that I incurred the following expenditure whilst on

legitimate Cafcass business however no receipts are available. I can confirm
I have not claimed this expenditure via T&S or any other means. My missing
receipts are detailed below: No
Date
Description
Acc Code
Reason for missing receipts:
CONFIDENTIAL
23
Total (Inc
VAT)
N.B Cardholders must complete this form and email it to their line
manager with their monthly GPC002 and retain a printed copy with the
monthly receipts.
24
E-bis User Guide 2006
Produced by E-bis Review Group

st
V1.8 - Updated 1 August 2006
Section Contents
Intro. How to open eBis and Amend Personal Settings
1. Raising a Requisition (Commitment)
2. Raising a Requisition to Cover Multiple Invoices
e.g. Annual or Quarterly / Rent/Rates, Mobiles
etc.
3. A Guide to Blanket Purchase Orders
4. Sending for Authorisation and View All Orders raised
5. Viewing/Printing Authorised Purchase Orders
6. Entering a Goods Received Note (GRN)
7. Cancelling a Purchase Order
e.g. No longer required, Duplicate etc.
Authoriser Contents
8. Authorising a Requisition
General Contents
9. Procedure for Invoice matching
10.
How to Produce Reports
25
11. Mail Merge Purchase Orders (PO Printing)

Appendices
Appendix 1.
eBis VAT Codes
Intro: Getting Started:

From your desktop Double click on the Live eBis icon
The screen below will open
Enter your Username and Password and then single click on Login
You will now be presented with the following screen. If you want you may now
amend your settings Including changing of your password. To enable this, click
on My Settings
26
Using this screen you can enter a New Password and Contact Details then
+Save
27
You are now ready to use the system for transactions and requisitions.
Proceed to Step 1 on the next page.
Step 1. Raising a Purchase Order Commitment for goods or

services:
1.1 Click once on Requisition Entry
28
1.2 Click on Add
29
1.3 Make sure Company is 1-CAFCASS and Cost Centre is your office. Click
OK
If you now click on Keep Company/Department for future Adds theneach
time you open this screen, these settings will be saved and you will
automatically proceed to the next screen as shown below in 1.4
Selecting a Supplier and Goods Description

1.4 Complete the form by Tabbing through
1.4.1 Only type in the
box
or clicking in each Box in turn and using
box
the Lookup button to find the correct entries
30
when the Lookup

is greyed out
1.5 When this page is complete click on More to add a product or Service
Goods Description and Cost Detail
1.6 Entries in Blue/Underlined Click on the Actual Text and Select Entry from
Listing
1.7 Entries in Black text should be entered/typed in manually (Quantity, Unit
Price etc.)
1.8 The text you enter in the Description box is printed on the Purchase Order
so include suppliers catalogue or product numbers here. Also refer to Note
on 1.11 below.
1.9 If the order is an annual one change the Due Date to cover the whole year.
1.10 Fill in all the boxes then click on click on Save. Add a new line for each
type of product or service.
31
1.11 When all lines complete click +Save

Note. Before saving you can add extra detail by clicking on +Free Text,
Type detail and
Save this text will also appear under each Product Line on your printed PO.
1.12 For Tax Code guide, see appendix 1 at the end of this guide. This relates to
whether VAT is payable on the order towards
Step 2. Raising a Requisition With Multiple Product Group Lines

Follow steps 1.1 to 1.10 as above then follow steps below
32
2.1 To manually enter a second line, Click on +Add and a second Line will
appear below the first, now follow steps 1.5 to 1.11 for each line you enter in this
way.
Alternatively, if second and subsequent lines are similar, Click on +Copy
and previous
line details will be carried down which
you may edit by clicking on More
When you send the requisition off for authorisation, note the Item Number that
will appear as this will help to match up the order when authorised.
Also once it is sent a box appears with the name of the person the requisition has been sent to
and the ID number. This has to be OK'd before the requisition is actually sent and therefore,
gives a chance to change the name of the authoriser at this point if need be. If the authoriser is
correct then click OK to send the requisition.
Unless you require instructions on BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS

NOW PROCEED TO SECTION 4
33
Step 3. A Guide to Blanket Purchase Orders

3.1
What is a Blanket Purchase Order (PO)?
A Blanket (or Bulk) PO is used for the committing and recording of expenditure
for a time period within a financial year.
3.2
Why would you need to raise a blanket order?
A blanket order would need to be raised in two situations;
1) Periodic/Fixed Invoices
Where the frequency and fixed of the invoice is known i.e. annually, quarterly,
and weekly.
E.g. Rent, Rates, Utilities, Mobile phones rental, Video Conference line rental,
telephone line rental, cleaning costs, photocopier hire and vehicle rental.
2) Variable Invoices
Regular invoices are received yet at varying amounts yet on a regular basis.
E.g. Temporary staff, phone call charges, Recruitment, Occupational Health and
catering.
3.3
How do you enter a blanket PO onto eBIS?
For both types of Invoice follow the initial process detailed in Steps 1 and 2
above, then proceed to the following;
1) Periodic/Fixed Invoices
As the amount per period is known the PO can be set up using the
appropriate amount of lines (i.e. one for each month)
E.g. Rent- 1000 per month set up 12 lines at 1000 each. When an invoice
is receive simply GRN that appropriate line for the corresponding month)
See Step 2 for details of how to raise this type of Invoice.

1) Variable Invoices
34
It is recommended that you set up the PO using suitable units. (Tip: its useful
to use the same value unit for all POs to avoid confusion) The value of the PO
should be calculated using the NET amount.
For example- Temporary staff- If you anticipate committing 10,000 in total
on temporary staff throughout the year the following calculation can be made
to determine the NET value of the PO and the number of units required
Calculation
NET VALUE = Total commitment * 85% / (chosen unit value) =
number of units
DESCRIPTION
3.4 General information describing the PO and the period that it covers i.e. Annually or 6
months and Office details.
UNITS
Units of 5 have been used in this
example. You are free to use
whatever value of units suits you
QUANTITY
The quantity is based on the Net amount.

If you have an expected expenditure of
35 10,000 in total for the calculation is as
follows;
10,000 @ 85% = 8500
8500 divided by 5 = 1700
Step 1
Wherever possible, the Invoice Number should always
be available. It should be entered into the GRN Step 4
SAVE CLICK ON HERE AFTER ENTERING
Reference Box
THE UNITS RECEIVED
36
For info
DO NOT
CLICK ON
THIS AS IT
WILL GRN
THE WHOLE
PURCHASE
ORDER
3.7
Step 3
RECEIVED
CLICK RECEIVED
AFTER THE UNIT
AMOUNT HAS BEEN
ENTERED INTO THE
PURCHASE ORDER
AND SAVED
For info
For info
TOTAL NET COST
OF BLANKET
PURCHASE
ORDER
Step 2
GRN UNITS RECEIVED
NET COST ON INVOICE /
UNIT PRICE (5.00)
What happens when there are only a few units left to GRN
on a Variable Invoice?
If the value of the invoice is within 20% or 500 (whichever is less) of the
remaining value of the PO then you can click on Complete. If not then you
will need to raise a new PO. (Tip: It is better to make provision to raise a
new order if you anticipate that the current PO will not cover the next
invoice).
37
DO NOT CLICK
ON UNTIL ALL
UNITS ARE
USED UP BY
INCOMING
INVOICES
3.8
What are the Benefits of using Blanket Orders?

Saves time-By entering one PO per year for all of your regular
suppliers you are being much more time efficient.
Avoids duplicate entries
Less activity on the eBis system which should result in quicker
processing times
Enables each team to manage their budgets and expenditure more
effectively and aids movement towards a fully accrued budget
system.
Alleviates Service Manager workload through avoiding regular PO
approvals
Solves authorisation issues when Service Managers are not available
i.e. on Annual leave
Allows fast and effective payment to our suppliers therefore

maintaining sound contacts and by doing so also helps meet Treasury
targets of invoice payments
Step 4 - Sending for Authorization

After completion of Purchase Order click on Send (Circled in Blue on step
2.1 above). This will automatically forward the Purchase Order Request to
your Manager for approval (note the Item Number that will appear as this will
help to match up the order when authorised). When the order has been
approved the named users (Originators) e-mail address in My Settings will
receive an e-mail to inform you that the order number xxxx is waiting.
4.1 Go to Cafcass Requisition and select Approved from the drop
down list.
38
4.2 To find your Cost Centre entries enter your 3 digit code in the Dept:
box.
This will show orders made by you and on your behalf by Regional
office.
Or:To search for your own entries click on Advanced
39
4.3 If you have used Advanced Click in the 2nd box down (Circled)
Search All Stages Once Owned By Me. Then Find
40
4.4 The next screen will list all the orders you have created and the stage
they are at e.g. Entry, Approval or Approved. Use this screen to find
orders and their status. Click on the ID number quoted in the e-mail
warning and open it to see the order.
4.5 Click on Request Print. An e-mail will arrive in your in box with a
Word attachment. This is the Purchase Order.
41
4.6 Open the Word document. You can save it in your G drive under your
own e-bis directory. File them in Supplier folders or type of order. If
you want, print off a copy and file until the invoice or goods arrive
The above G: drive storage guideline is optional. Not all regions do this, although
Some find it helpful as it gives them easy access to copies of PO's without having
to 1) Start up eBis or 2) Dig out paper copies from files.
4.7 A copy of the purchase order should be sent to the supplier by post or
fax.
42
Step 5. Viewing/Printing Authorised Purchase Orders

5.1 Click on Requisitions Entry.
43
5.2 Click on Drop Down Box and Choose Approved.
44
5.3 The following screen will appear, Click on ID button.
45
5.4 The following screen will appear, Click on Exact button.

Then enter 5 figure number recorded when item first sent off for
authorisation
(as mentioned in section 4) Then click on Find
Please note, you can Request Print (Purchase Order) at this stage,
however, to ensure the order is all correct (Proof Read), I suggest you
carry on as below.
5.5 The following screen will appear, Click on Your chosen Entry
Number.
46
5.6 Check the details of the Approved Item, if all o.k. Click on Request Print
47
An Email will be sent to your Outlook inbox containing a Word Document

Attachment of the Purchase Order.
Step 6. Entering GRN

When the goods you have ordered have been delivered or you have received an
invoice for on-going services like phone, rent, gas etc, we need to update eBis so
that the invoice can be paid by Cafcass Finance in Basingstoke.
6.1 Find the correct purchase order in the G drive eBis directory (this will
always begin with your Cost Centre Code) or the hard copy in your file.
6.2 Click on GRN Entry
48
6.3 Click on +Add. Make sure the correct Cost Centre is selected. Click OK
You can now see all outstanding Approved orders for your cost centre waiting
for delivery or the latest invoice
49
6.4 Click on the Order number link on the left hand side
Note. If Invoice does not show order number refer to part 3.3 and repeat process
In the Qty Received box enter the number of goods (e.g. 2 desks) or invoices
received against an annual or ongoing order whichever is appropriate. If the
Outstanding quantity is nil a
tick will appear in the Completed box.
Complete all the
lines of the order.
Please Re-enter the
Invoice number (or your original GRN Ref)
50
For Multiple Line

below
Entries
that need GRNing at same time, see 6.6
6.5 Finally, Click on Received at the top

The order will remain in the GRN section until all the items have been cleared.
A message box will show When the GRN process has been completed,
photocopy the invoice and send the original to CAFCASS FINANCE with the
eBis Purchase Order clearly marked on it in case the PO goes missing. You
should wherever possible send a hard copy of the purchase order.
6.6 If a Requisition is to be GRNd and there are multiple line entries to be OKd,
then you can speed up the process by following steps 6.1 to 6.4 above then,
instead of performing step 5.5 on each line you can click on +Auto
51
This will copy all Qty Ordered amounts into Qty Received column.
Only perform this function if you are certain all items or services have indeed
been received.
Finally, follow step 6.5 above.
52
6.7 How do I GRN a Blanket Purchase Order Variable Invoice (e.g. a

weekly Temporary staff invoice or a catering invoice)
Step by Step process of Goods Receiving Units for a variable
invoice;
1. Enter the eBIS site
2. Go to GRN
3. Click on ADD
4. Click onto the appropriate office (e.g. Lincoln)
5. Click onto the appropriate supplier pre-set up PO (e.g. Adecco)
6. Divide the NET total on the invoice by your single unit value
7. This figure is the amount of units (rounded up to whole number) you are to
GRN
8. Enter that figure into the Quantity Received Box (which always shows as 0.00)
9. DO NOT Press AUTO or COMPLETE
10.Click on SAVE
11.Take note of the GRN and copy it onto the Purchase Order master with
the date, Units used and units remaining
12. Click into the GRN entry and then click on Received
13. Write the PO number onto the invoice
14. Copy the invoice as usual and send original to Cafcass Finance for payment
(Tip: write the GRN number on the invoice too. This will aid Cafcass Finance in
matching the invoice correctly)
15. Attach the copies to the master PO for your files
16. When next invoice(s) is received do exactly the same until the units have all
been used (if at that stage, there are more invoices anticipated within the
financial year ensure another blanket PO is set up prior to units on the existing
order running are exhausted.
53
Step 7: Cancelling PO at GRN stage

7.1 Follow steps 6.1 to 6.4 above
7.2 Type the word Cancelled in the GRN reference field
7.3 Overwrite Quantity received with number 0 this ensures that we
know we did not
receive the product ordered.
7.4 Tick in complete field
7.5 You can also click on notes, and type in reason for cancellation and
save
54
7.6 Finally click on received which will inform CAFCASS FINANCE that
this order will no longer be required.
7.7 If the GRN has already been raised for a PO but needs to be reversed,
you will have to contact Cafcass Finance by Email with: PO number,
Values, Supplier details, and they will cancel the PO for you.
Step 8: Authorising a Requisition

8.1 Select Requisitions for Approval by clicking once
55
8.2 EBIS now shows you the list of requisitions that are waiting for you to
approve.
By clicking on the box marked APPROVAL you can choose to see any
that you have raised yourself (unlikely), waiting for approval.
56
8.3 After selecting approval, and you will be restricted to those waiting for your
decision now. Click on the ID number relating to the requisition that you
wish to process.
57
8.4 As shown in the image below, you now have access to the requisition details
of supplier.
You are able now to change any of the details by using the procedure for
raising a requisition as shown in sections 1 and 2 of the guide. However,
we will concentrate on enabling you to authorise and go straight to dealing
with the details of the requisition itself. Scroll down.
58
8.5 The following details will have been included by the originator who raised the
requisition, Ensure they are clear enough to be able to make a decision as
to approve or not. If not you may need to look at further details, to do this
you should click on the MORE box.
59
8.6 This opens up the details of the order. By clicking on the boxes with Blue
Font underlined, you can change the details by using the look-up facility.
However it is best practice that if you do need to make changes to use the
Next>> button, insert message and then close this detail, and select
reject.
60
8.7 If you need to use the notes column, click on notes and the following free txt
window opens. Simply type in your message and then save. You will note
that a pencil will appear to the top right hand corner of the requisition.
61
8.8 You can choose, +Save Rejected or Approved to do later. Click on one of
the three options at the top.
62
8.9 The requisition now goes into Open accounts for the first time and
undergoes the transformation from requisition to an Order and also a
Commitment.
An email will be sent back to the originator saying that the order has been
approved and is ready to be printed out.
It is at this point that you, as the approver, have committed the service to
spend the value as stated on the order. By selecting approval, this is the
same as signing a hard copy with your name.
63
Step 9. Procedure for Invoice matching requests
64
9.1 What is the Invoice Matching Procedure?

Under our current payments systems, purchase orders must be raised for all items of
expenditure. In many cases, such as SEC's or Utility bills, the Purchase Order value may
necessarily be an estimate. When the actual invoice is sent to Cafcass Finance for payment
there may be a difference between the value of the invoice and the value on the Purchase
Order for which a Goods Received Note has been raised.
When this happens, and the difference is not greater than 20% or 500 (whichever is the
lesser), the invoice can be matched and paid automatically.
However, if the difference is greater than these tolerance limits, the invoice can only be paid
with the authorisation of the first authoriser of the Purchase Order. Cafcass Finance will send
them what is known as an Invoice Matching Request, asking them to authorise (in eBis)
payment of the invoice amount.
9.2 How do I access and use Invoice Matching?

There are two ways of accessing invoice matching.
The first is through the email request sent by the payments Team at Cafcass Finance. If
you click on the blue underlined link in the email, it will take you directly to the invoice
matching screen. If you are not logged into eBis, it will ask you to do that first.
The second method is to log into eBis by clicking on your desktop icon. Once you have
entered your user id and password you will be presented with the My Forms screen.
Invoice matching is the fourth option under the standard menu.
If you have any requests they will show be on the next screen, the Invoice Matching Requests
screen.
Click on the blue underlined "ID" number, if the stage says request. Anything marked as
Completed you have already dealt with.
The next screen will show a summary of the invoice to be matched. Maximise the screen
to see all the fields.
The 'Requested by' box at the top of the screen is the user ID of the person in the
payables team at Cafcass Finance in Basingstoke who sent you the invoice matching
request. The 'Refer to' box on the other side of the page is not used.
The next box down is the requesters E-mail address. The Supplier box displays the name
of the supplier the invoice relates to and clicking on the blue link next to their name takes
you to a window that lists their transactions to date.
The Matching ID box on the other side of the page is the number that is used to identify
the transaction in Open Accounts by Cafcass Finance.
The next box down, Invoice Total is the value of the invoice that needs to be matched.
The box across the page, Goods Total is the value on the Purchase Order for which a
Goods Received Note has been. The box directly underneath, Variance Total is the
difference between the two and is the cause of the matching request being generated.
The request dialog box contains the narrative from Cafcass Finance. The approver reply
box lets you send a message back to Cafcass Finance.
65
The password box is where you enter your Invoice Matching Password.
To see the details of this request, click on the Show Details of Matching link at the bottom
of the screen. This will show a summary of the invoice and the Purchase Order including
their reference numbers, supplier, invoice amount, purchase order amount and the
difference.
If you wish to see more details of the invoice and/or Purchase Order, click on the
reference numbers highlighted and underlined in blue.
Close these screens by clicking on "X" in the right hand corner.
If you are satisfied that there is a genuine reason for the discrepancy and would like
Cafcass Finance to go ahead and pay the amount on the invoice, you should enter your
Invoice Matching Password in the Password box. If you do not have an Invoice Matching
Password, you should speak to National Office Finance dept.
After that, click on Generate Override Password. A password for this matching session
will be automatically generated (your own password will not be seen by anyone else).
The override password takes the form of a random collection of letters and numbers that
appear in a box next to the password box.
Finally click Respond by Open Messenger. This will send the authorisation password to
Cafcass Finance who will then be able to pay the invoice.
You can now click on any remaining, outstanding invoice matching request on your list
and repeat the process above.
When they are all done, log out.
If the invoice matching request has been sent to you in error or does not relate to you, let
Cafcass Finance know by typing a message in the Approver Reply Box and then clicking
on the Respond by Open Messenger button. This will alert them to the situation.
If you have any queries or problems with this procedure, please contact
National Office Finance Dept. on 0207 510 7006.
66
Step 10. How to Produce Reports
10.1 From the front menu, select Reports
10.2 There are 2 reports that you will use most often:
Purchase Order Report or Single Supplier Details Report
67
10.3
Purch
ase
Order Reports
Search Supplier to Identify PO numbers, or
Identify PO line content and value - Quick ref, or
Identify Origin of the original requisition and the
s
t
a
t
u
s
o
f
t
h
e
P
O
.
68
10.4 Purchase orders can be located using a PO / Order number or by using

combinations of your Cost Centre (Branch), the Supplier and your eBis
ID (e.g. MMAG).
We will now look at searching by supplier.
69
10.5 After clicking the blue supplier link (See above), the screen on next page
will appear.
Search for the supplier as one would when raising a requisition (See
Section 1.4)
Enter first few letters of the supplier in SUPPLIER NAME: and click on
+Find, then
select the correct Supplier by clicking once on the coloured number
adjacent to the name.
The supplier box is then

populated with the
appropriate supplier
number
(See 10.6 Below)
10.6 At this point, you can press +Submit, or if you wish to narrow the
search, enter some Order Dates. You must click both Order Date and to
and select dates from calendar. Or use an eBis ID (Our Ref) if other eBis
users use the supplier.
70
10.7 You will now be able to view all orders raised against your chosen
supplier, and if specified, between certain dates.
A PO number can be obtained in this way and used to print off a PO.
71
Please note that all amounts exclude VAT.
10.8 Single Supplier Details Report Used to identify if a supplier is set up,
clarify an existing
suppliers details, to identify payments to specific supplier in a certain
period or to view
scanned images of invoices that have previously been paid!
We will look at Mail Merge Purchase Orders in Section 11
72
We will now look at an example of viewing a suppliers details and looking at

invoices either paid or about to be paid.
10.9 After selecting Single Supplier Details from the Reports section of eBis the
screen below will appear. Select the supplier as described previously (10.4)
then select
Document Type Click +Submit for the next page of options.
10.10 Now select PINV / AP Invoice Line
73
10.11 Ensure the Include Matched and Include Unposted boxes are checked
and enter the year and period as appropriate.
Tip Current year is 2006, period 1 is April. Lastly, click +Submit.
10.12 Below the suppliers details is a list of all invoices received by Cafcass
Finance in the period.
You will note that some invoices have the status Paid, whilst others do
not.
74
10.13 This report can be used to establish if an invoice is paid or if an invoice

has been received by Cafcass Finance but is yet to be paid. Select an
invoice to view more details.
10.14 These further details will show how the invoice was paid, and when.
Select the Image button at the bottom to view scanned versions of the
actual invoice.
10.15 Now click Open when presented with this message.

75
Click Open if presented with this message again.
10.16 Finally click the printer icon to obtain a hard copy of the invoice.
Use the arrows ( ) to scroll through pages.
76
Step 11. Mail Merge Purchase Orders

Used to print off purchase orders individually or in a series in MS Word format
11.1 The POs are split into Un-printed or Reprint - If for example you request a
reprint of an unprinted PO it will not work and vice versa.
Branch always needs to be filled in with the relevant Cost centre code. Clicking
on the
Order number gives you a selection of all the POs available on the mail merge
(Below)
11.2 If you have only recently completed order and not printed PO off then
select Un-printed
77
11.3 You may now click the first and last purchase orders you require (see
above).
This will then include for printing all the visible purchase orders in between
your selections. Then click on OK
Press +submit and an email with attachment will be sent to your outlook
account. The POs can then be edited or printed off as required.
The same process is used for Reprint purchase orders.
78
Appendix 1.
eBis Tax Codes
EBis
Tax
Code
Description
Rate
Exempt
0%
Reduced Rate
(Shown as Electricity
& Gas on eBis)
5%
Not VAT Registered
0%
Standard Rate
20%
Travel and
Subsistence
0%
Zero Rates
0%
T
Z
Comments
Some types of expenditure are exempt from VAT. Including
certain types of education and training and some property
transactions (e.g. selling, leasing and letting land and
buildings). This will also include Occupational Health
(Mayfair) Invoices.
Some categories of expenditure are subject to a reduced
rate of VAT at 5%. Examples are domestic fuel or power,
installation of energy saving materials, safety equipment i.e.
childrens car seats
Not all businesses are required to be VAT registered.
Businesses with an annual turnover exceeding the current
VAT threshold of 60,000 must be VAT registered and
show a VAT registration number on their invoices. Some
self employed individuals such as self employed guardians
may not be required to be VAT registered because their
turnover is below the VAT threshold.
This code should be used when there is no VAT
number shown on the invoice.
This is the standard rate of VAT applicable on the majority
of VAT registered businesses. The standard rate of VAT will
apply in respect of supply to, or a service received from a
VAT registered business that does not fall into any other
category. (Examples: Self Employed Guardians who are
VAT registered, Agency Staff, Advertising and most other
goods and services including Telecommunications,
Stationery stores orders etc.)
This code should only be used when there is no VAT shown
on the invoice in respect of T & S. Some examples are
when payment is being made through eBis for interview
candidate travel expenses or clients T & S.
Some types of expenditure are Zero Rated. Some
examples are childrens clothing and footwear, most food
and drink (but not Catering and Takeaways)
th
Version 1.1, Finance Department, 8 August 2005

Version 1.2 Finance Department 2 January 2008 minor formatting and numbering
updates. Full review still required
A huge Thank
You for all the help in the compilation of this guide.

79
I wont list all the contributors by name as this is an ongoing piece of work and the list will
eventually
end up requiring more space than the instruction pages!
Thank You All Regards from Roy Dudley
BSO Southern and South East
01256 392790 roy.dudley@cafcass.gov.uk
80
Accounts Payable Guide
Document Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Julie Brown
October 2013
Zubeda Seedat
Contents
1. Introduction 82
2. Overview
82
3. Accounts Payable Flowchart

4. Processes
84
85
(a) Supplier Set-Up & Amendment ............................................................. 85

(b) Raising a Purchase Order ..................................................................... 85
(c) Raising a Goods Received Note ........................................................... 86
(d) Invoices ................................................................................................. 87
(e) Credit Notes .......................................................................................... 88
(f) AP1 Form .............................................................................................. 89
(g) Payments .............................................................................................. 89
(h) Remittance Advice ................................................................................ 90
(i) Supplier Statements ............................................................................... 90
5. Accounts Payable Definitions
92
6. Contact Information 93
81
1. Introduction
Accounts Payable is an area which is monitored via reports. The two main
reports used as finance performance indicators and which are reported on a
monthly basis are:
Purchase Order (PO) before Invoice Target of 85% of PO to be raised

before invoices are received.
Prompt Payment Report Target of less than 10% of outstanding invoices to
be over the payment terms, this performance measure is also used to
determine the amount owed to trade creditors in the annual accounts.
The above reports allows us to understand whether correct procedures are being
followed when making purchases and payment, this is vital in ensuring that
appropriate financial controls are in place,
Understanding the Accounts Payable processes and procedures should help to
improve performance, hence this Accounts Payable Guide should be used in
conjunction with the various procedure notes.
Items highlighted in blue in this guide are clickable links to documents on the
Cafcass Intranet or the definitions section of the guide. If you have any queries,
comments or suggestions regarding this guide, or the Accounts Payable process
in general, please e-mail the National Office Finance Dept.
2. Overview
Accounts Payable (AP) refers to process used to pay suppliers from whom
Cafcass receives goods or services on account, i.e. payment of invoices.
An effective Accounts Payable service has several important roles within the
organisation:Internal Controls
If set-up and followed correctly the AP process can help to mitigate the risk of
fraud and unauthorised expenditure. This is achieved through appropriate checks
and the segregation of duties. An example of this is the purchase order process
on the eBis system whereby a PO cannot be raised and approved by the same
person.
82
Prompt Payment
Cafcass has an obligation to ensure that payments to our suppliers are made in a
timely manner and in accordance with their payment terms. Failure to make
payments on time can result in Cafcass having to pay interest and/or late
payment fees. It can also damage the reputation of the organisation and in
extreme cases lead to suppliers refusing to supply Cafcass with goods or
services.
Budget Monitoring
Another important function of Accounts Payable is to ensure that Cafcass can
maintain control over its budget. By raising Purchase Orders we are able to
identify not only expenditure that we have already incurred, but also expenditure
to which we have committed ourselves in the future. This is one of the main
reasons that it is essential to raise a PO as the first step in ordering goods or
services from a supplier.
Audit
As a public funded organisation, Cafcass Annual Accounts are audited after each financial year. Only by following the AP
process correctly we can ensure that we have all supporting documentation and checks to satisfy the audit requirements.
83
3. Accounts Payable Flowchart

From order of goods
Dept. identifies a need for Goods or
Services.
Dept. obtains quote or estimate

from supplier and confirms if
budget is available.
YE
S
Dept. Raises Purchase Order
on eBis.
Dept. sends PO to supplier

with instructions to quote PO
number on invoice.
NO
Is the supplier
set-up on eBis?
Dept. obtains supplier info and

completes Supplier Set-Up Form
and sends to Area Finance
WHEN
SUPPLIER IS
SET-UP
The Good or Service is
received by Cafcass.
GRN is raised by
PO Originator on
eBis
From receipt of invoice

Scenario 1:
Supplier sends invoice directly to Finance
Bureau.
Scenario 2:
Supplier sends invoice to
local office/Dept who
check if goods/service is
received and raise a
Goods Received Note on
Ebis and then send to
Finance Bureau.
Has a Goods Received

Note been raised prior to
receipt of invoice?
YES
NO
Finance Bureau notify
relevant PO Originator by
email that an invoice has
been received and a GRN is
required
Originators raise GRN if

good/service received.
84
Finance Bureau match the invoice to a

GRN on the relevant PO.
4. Processes
Finance Bureau make BACS payment

or issue cheque to supplier based on
details on Ebis set-up form.
The AP process is made up of many steps, some of which are performed by

Cafcass staff. Below is a list of the main stages and a brief description of the
purpose of each.
(a) Supplier Set-Up & Amendment
Cafcass can only make payments to suppliers who are set up on our Accounts
Payable system. Hence, when we are looking to order goods or services from a
supplier, the first step should be to check if they are already set up by checking
on the eBis system. If they are not then we need to go through the supplier set
up process.
This process is very important from a fraud prevention and payment control
perspective, as we need to ensure that we are only making payments to genuine
suppliers and that the payment details we hold are correct. In order to achieve
this, the process involves some checks and segregation of duties.
The first step involves obtaining from the supplier, in the form of a letter on their
company letterhead, trading and payment information. This should then be used
to complete the Supplier Set Up and Maintenance Form, which can be found on
the intranet under Finance Forms.
The completed form then needs to be appropriately authorised and sent to Area
Finance who check them before sending them to Finance Bureau with the
suppliers original letter.
From time to time we may also need to amend suppliers details e.g. name, bank
account or address, in which case the same form and process as above applies.
(b) Raising a Purchase Order
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The eBis User Guide on the intranet provides comprehensive instructions on how
to raise a Purchase Order correctly. This guide should give staff an
understanding of what a Purchase Order is and its applications within Cafcass.
Purchase Orders may sometimes seem to be an unnecessary bureaucracy, but
they are in fact a vital part of the AP process. They serve several functions:
Ensure that any expenditure is appropriately authorised by the person

responsible for the budget.
Form a clear record of the type, quantity and price of Goods/Services
ordered.
Provide a simple way for Cafcass to identify money we have committed to
spending.
From an accounting point of view the last function is vital. In order to monitor
Cafcass expenditure against our budget, we need to be able to identify money
that we have committed to spending or we run a great risk of significantly under
spending or overspending.
Areas and National Office Departments are required to produce Accruals on a
monthly basis. If used correctly, Purchase Orders and Goods Received Notes
can greatly simplify this task. For this to be achieved it is not only essential that
POs are raised in advance, but also that they are raised correctly with attention
to completing the Due Date field correctly for each line.
To monitor compliance with this requirement, Cafcass produces monthly reports
on the proportion of POs that have been raised in advance, i.e. before the
invoice date. Departments should use these reports to identify problem areas
and improve compliance.
(c) Raising a Goods Received Note

As with POs, the eBis User Guide provides detailed instructions on how to raise
a Goods Received Note (GRN) using the eBis system, whereas this guide should
give staff a better idea of what a GRN is and how it is used. In general the GRN
should be raised by the originator of the PO.
As the name suggest, a Goods Received Note is a document that we create to
show that we have received some or all of the goods/services on a PO and
confirms that these should now be paid for. If goods/services are received that
do not meet the standards expected as per the PO, then a GRN should not be
completed until the issue has been resolved. If the goods/services received are
satisfactory, a GRN should be raised on eBis. A GRN can be raised on eBis on
either the receipt of goods/service or invoice.
86
On receipt of goods/service
By raising a GRN on satisfactory receipt of goods/service we are able to use
reports such as GRN no invoice report to determine the monthly Accruals or for
the purpose of automatic accruals. If a GRN has been raised prior to the invoice
being received then the invoice can also be sent directly to the Finance Bureau
to process for payment preventing any delay in payment.
On receipt of Invoice
By raising a GRN on receipt of invoice, the invoice number can be used to keep
track of any issues that may have arrived on delivery of goods/service. The
invoice in this case will need to come to the local office first for the GRN to be
raised before it can be sent to the Finance Bureau for payment.
Both of the above procedures are acceptable. Please check with your
local/finance team which methods is being utilised.
(d) Invoices
Invoices are usually issued by a supplier either at or shortly after delivery of
goods or services. An invoice is, in effect, a demand for payment from a supplier
Cafcass can only pay invoices if they meet certain minimum standards. These
standards and a sample invoice can be found on the intranet. Some of these
standards are necessary to protect Cafcass from fraud or duplicate payments,
whilst others are HM Revenue & Customs requirements for tax purposes. These
standards include the requirement for a valid Purchase Order number to be
included on the invoice.
If the process has been followed correctly, when we receive an invoice, we
should already have raised a PO and therefore the invoice should state the PO
number which we would have provided to the supplier when placing an order. In
some instances a GRN for the relevant goods or services may also have been
raised by this point.
If an invoice is received and the PO has not yet been raised, the reason for this
should be identified and measures put in place to prevent, as far as possible,
future occurrences.
If the invoice arrives at the local office, the local office staff must check that the
goods/service has been received and the GRN has been raised on the system.
The invoice should then be sent to Finance Bureau for payment.
When Finance Bureau receives an invoice (either form the local office or directly
from the supplier) they will use the details to match it to a GRN on a PO. When
the invoice is matched they will then pay the invoice using the payment details
held on eBis.
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Copy Invoices
If the original invoice is missing and is unpaid, we should ask the supplier to
issue a copy invoice. Any copy invoices (this includes faxes, photocopies or a reissued invoice marked as a copy or duplicate) need to be signed by an
authorised individual before being sent to Finance Bureau for payment. By
signing the copy invoice, the authoriser is confirming that the original invoice is
not available and that the invoice has not already been paid. If there is any doubt
as to whether an invoice has been paid, this should be checked with Finance
Bureau before signing and sending the copy.
Rejected Invoices
If Finance Bureau receives an invoice that does not meet the requirements they
will send this back to the supplier with a note detailing the reasons for the
rejection. The main reasons that invoices are rejected are:
PO related problem (e.g. no PO number)
Invoice does not have a unique invoice number.
Invoice does not meet other minimum standards.
Late Payment
On a monthly basis, Cafcass generates reports on late payment of invoices.
Departments need to ensure that they use these reports to identify reasons for
delays in payment so that they can be avoided in the future.
Finance Bureau will pay an invoice as soon as there is a matching PO and GRN
for the invoice almost all delays in payment will be due to either the lack of a
PO number on the invoice leading to it being rejected or the lack of a GRN
evidencing receipt of the good or service.
(e) Credit Notes
From time to time a supplier may make a mistake when invoicing Cafcass or
goods may be returned or refunded. In this case the supplier will normally issue
Cafcass with a Credit Note. A Credit Note is, in effect, a negative invoice. If a
Credit Note is expected from a supplier for an invoice it is best to notify Finance
Bureau
of
this
as
early
as
possible
via
email
(Cafcass.finance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk ) with details of the original Invoice so that
it is not paid.
If a Credit Note is received and the invoice to which it relates has not yet been
paid a PO will need to be raised for the Credit Note (this is done in exactly the
same way as an Invoice but with negative amounts see eBis User Guide). The
Invoice and Credit Note should be sent together to Finance Bureau who will
process them and make a Net payment to the supplier (zero if it is a full refund)
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If a Credit Note is issued after an Invoice has been paid we should still raise the
PO as above. Finance Bureau will then process this and the resulting credit will
be netted off against any future payments. If we are not likely to use the supplier
again or we are approaching the end of the financial year, we would ask the
supplier to make a payment to us.
(f) AP1 Form
AP1 refers to a form to be completed when we need to make a payment to a
supplier where we do not have an invoice or where it is not appropriate to raise a
PO e.g. when we receive a Pro forma invoice or Subscription Notification.
(g) Payments
All payments are dealt with by the Finance Bureau. When Finance Bureau
receive an AP1 form or an invoice (and match it to a GRN), they will make a
payment to the supplier based on the information given when the supplier was
set up.
Cafcass can make payments to suppliers in three main ways:
BACS (Banks Automated Clearing System)

The majority of Cafcass supplier and payroll payments are made using
BACS. BACS is an account to account method of payment that is very
simple and reliable as it does not rely on the post. Finance Bureau make
one BACS payment run at end of each working day and the money will
usually show in the suppliers account on the third working day following
the payment day.
Cheque
Some suppliers (usually individuals) still prefer to be paid by cheque.
When we need to make a payment to a supplier by cheque Finance
Bureau will raise the cheque on our behalf and send it to the supplier at
the address specified when they were set up.
CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payments System)

CHAPS Payments are similar to BACS in that they are made from one
account to another. However, CHAPS payments arrive in the suppliers
account on the same working day. Another difference is that whilst BACS
payments to do not incur any bank charges to Cafcass, CHAPS payments do.
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For this reason,
CHAPS
payments
are
only made
in exceptional
circumstances and with appropriate authorisation.
For instruction on how to check if an invoice has been paid, please refer to
section 9.9 of the eBis User Guide .
(h) Remittance Advice
Finance Bureau will send a remittance advice with every payment. A remittance
advice lists the invoices that have been paid and the total amount paid. This
enables suppliers to allocate the payment received from Cafcass against the
correct invoices.
(i) Supplier Statements

From time to time suppliers will send us a statement of our account with them.
This normally comprises a list of outstanding invoices and credit notes and their
respective details.
When we receive a statement, we need to check the outstanding items. By
checking these statements routinely on their receipt we help ensure that any
outstanding or disputed invoices are highlighted early, thus helping to avoid
ongoing issues with a supplier or possible court action. The first step is to check
on eBis whether any of the outstanding invoices have been paid (see section 9.9
of the eBis User Guide). If they have been paid we should then contact the
supplier and give them the details of the payment.
If we have not made the payment and the invoice cannot be located or we do not
recognise the invoices, we should contact the supplier to clarify and ask them to
send us copies of the outstanding items. We must ensure that any copy invoices
90
that are sent to Finance Bureau for payment have been appropriately authorised
(see Copy Invoices).
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5. Accounts Payable Definitions

Accounts Payable
Accounts Payable is the term for a system of accounting where suppliers offer a form of credit to
Cafcass by allowing us to pay for goods or services after they have already been received i.e. on
account.
Supplier
A supplier is any organisation or individual that supplies Cafcass with goods or services for which we
pay.
Purchase Order
A Purchase Order (PO) is a document issued to a supplier that commits Cafcass to purchasing
specified goods or services. The PO indicates the type, quantities and agreed prices for goods or
services that the supplier will provide to Cafcass. Sending a PO to a supplier constitutes a legal
commitment by Cafcass to incur expenditure. The purchase order is also used to specify to which
budget and expenditure type the costs will be coded.
Goods Received Note
A Goods Received Note (GRN) is a document produced on the eBis system when goods or services
are received by Cafcass. Raising a GRN confirms that the goods/services received are satisfactory. It
is used to check against invoices before payment is made to the supplier.
Invoice
An invoice is a document issued by a supplier to Cafcass, indicating the products, quantities and
agreed prices for products or services with which the seller has already provided Cafcass. An invoice
indicates that payment is due from Cafcass to the supplier.
Credit Note
A credit note is a document issued by a supplier to cancel out or correct the amount of an invoice. It is
in effect a negative invoice.
eBis
Ebis is the web based system that Cafcass uses to raise Purchase Orders and Goods Received
Notes. When a PO is raised on eBis, this also specifies to which budget and expenditure type the
expenditure should be coded. The eBis system is linked to the main accounts system (Open
Accounts).
Cost Centre Code
Every National Office Dept. and Area Team has a Cost Centre code (sometimes called CC) that
represents their budget in the Accounting System. The Cost Centre code consists of three numerical
digits followed by a hyphen (-).
Expense Codes
Expense Codes (sometimes called Natural Account Codes or NACs) are used to define the type of
expenditure e.g. Temporary Staff or Stationery. Each type of expenditure has an expense code
consisting of six numerical digits followed by a hyphen (-).
The Cost Centre Code and Expense Code are used to identify against which budget and what
expenditure type any expenditure should be coded. For example, when raising a PO for a temp
working in the Customer Services dept we would use the code the PO on eBis to cost code 008(Customer Services) and expense code 375000- (Temporary Staff).
Open Accounts
Open Accounts is the accounting software that Cafcass uses to maintain the Accounts Ledger. The
eBis PO system and GRN system links with Open Accounts.
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Accruals
A simple definition of Accruals for AP purposes is that they are dummy transactions entered on the
ledger to represent expenditure for Goods/Services we have received in a particular financial month or
year that have not yet been paid for in that year.
6. Contact Information
Cafcass Finance
Cafcass Finance
Priestley House
Priestley Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG24 9NW
DX 159050 Cafcass South
Basingstoke 25
Please note that all mail MUST be marked as Cafcass Finance
Telephone: 0844 353 1627
Fax: 0844 353 1621
Email: cafcass.finance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk
National Office Finance Department

National Office Finance Department
CAFCASS
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel:
Fax:
0844 353 3350

0207 222 4687
E-mail: NOFinance@cafcass.gov.uk
Cafcass Payroll
Cafcass Payroll
Priestley House
Priestley Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG24 9NW
DX 159050 Cafcass South
Basingstoke 25
93
Please note that all mail MUST be marked as Cafcass Payroll

Telephone: 0844 353 1624
Fax: 0844 353 1621
Email: cafcass.payroll@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk
AP1 & AP2 Completion Guidance

Procedure Owner:
Last Updated:
Updated by:
Julie Brown
When Required
September 2013
Heather Jeffries
Introduction
Occasionally, Cafcass will need to pay for goods without receiving an invoice, for
example when paying for a publication subscription in advance. For these
payments, a Purchase Order is not appropriate and we need to complete an AP1
form to instruct CAFCASS FINANCE to make a payment to the supplier.
Process
Open the blank AP1 template. This can be downloaded from the intranet.
In Section A you will need to enter the Payees name and address details.
These should be taken from the suppliers supporting documentation.
Section B should be completed as follows: Invoice Date - This should be completed as the date on the
suppliers documentation e.g. the payment demand or subscription
notice.
Invoice Received Date - This is the date the document was
received
Invoice Number The document should have some form of
unique reference or subscription number you can use.
Cost Centre & Natural Account Code This is the Cost Code
and Natural Account Code to which the payment should be coded.
Please speak to Finance if you are unsure of the correct codes to
use.
Amount Exc VAT This will be the amount before VAT on the
documentation.
Amount of VAT This is the amount of VAT as on the
documentation.
Total Amount This will be automatically calculated from the
previous two items.
In Section C Part A the originator should type their name and the date
In Section C Part B the authoriser should type their name and the date
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In the top right corner of the form is a section called Special Instructions,
for example instructions that the cheque be sent to an address other than
that of the supplier.
Authorisation of AP1 forms

The originator should email the AP1 and supporting documentation to the
authoriser with the following statement in the body of the email:
I certify that the Goods/Services* invoiced for were a valid
Purchase/Service* and have been satisfactorily Received/Performed*
deleting the appropriate words.
The authoriser, who must be a signatory for the cost centre quoted, should
forward the form with supporting documentation to Cafcass Finance with
the following statement:
I am satisfied that Part A has been properly completed. Please arrange
for this payment to be made
If the AP1 relates to a special payment i.e. an amount to be paid is

following authorisation of a business case then the AP1 will need to
be authorised by the budget holder as above and then forwarded by
them to a CMT member.
The CMT member will need to forward the documentation and
previous emails to Cafcass Finance using the following statement: I
agree to the payment requested within this AP1.
95
CAFCASS Authorised Signatory Process including e-BIS and Open

Accounts Access
Table of Contents
1 Introduction .....................................................................................................96
1.1
General Policy - Financial Approval..........................................................97
1.2
AP1 Payment Approval ............................................................................97
1.3
eBIS Account Expiry .................................................................................97
eBIS Originator Setup and Maintenance ......................................................98
Signatory and eBIS Approver Setup and Maintenance ................................98

3.1
Delegate amendments .............................................................................99
3.2
Routing amendments .............................................................................100
Adding and Amending Accounts OpenAccounts user ................................100
Authorisation and Processing .......................................................................101
Contacts ........................................................................................................... 8
Version History
Version
1.0
1.1
Description
Process Guidance and policy
Document
Update of guidance
Author
J Wates / L Alade
Date
16.09.11
October 2013
1
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance when setting up an
individual on eBIS as an Originator or Approver, as an Authorised Signatory, or
as an OpenAccounts user.
When setup as a user on eBIS, an individual would be able to raise requests for
the expenditure of Cafcass funds (eBIS originator level) or authorise expenditure
of Cafcass funds (eBIS Approver level). Authorised signatories may sign off
various finance forms as indicated on their form, OpenAccounts access is used
by Finance staff for a range of purposes.
To setup an individual with the above access/authority, the Notification of
Signatory and eBIS user form needs to be completed. This can be found on the
Intranet via the following link and under Signatories
96
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_new/supplier
s_and_ebisnew.aspx
Please note: Authorisation of T&S expenses is not assigned via this form as the
authorisation for T&S is done via iTrent and not Ebis.
1.1
General Policy - Financial Approval
Only the Budget holder of a specific cost centre (as well as Area Finance
Manager, Head of Service, and Operational Director) should be able to authorise
expenditure for that cost centre. However based on local circumstances and
business need additional approvers may be setup for a cost centre, this should
be controlled by each CAFCASS area and kept to a minimum where possible.
There are four levels of approval authority which are restricted to the roles as
follows:
Up to 20k Approval Budget Holder

Up to 50k Approval Head of Service
Up to 100k Approval Operational Director
Above 100k Approval Director of Finance
Where these roles do not exist for a cost centre e.g. HQ or other non-standard
cost centres then appropriate managers may fill the roles below Head of Finance,
e.g. in the case of HQ the Operational Director level may be omitted and the
Department Head would fill the Head of Service role.
Purchase requisitions ought to be sent to the lowest level approver for approval
in the first instance, if the requisition is above 20k in value then it will progress
up the levels of approval automatically until it reaches the appropriate level, so a
purchase requisition for over 100k will be approved at all four of the approval
levels.
1.2
AP1 Payment Approval
Payments via AP1 form should be avoided where possible; when a payment via AP1 is
required the originator should email the completed AP1 form and supporting
documentation along with the appropriate statement to the authoriser, who must be a
signatory for the cost centre quoted, who should then forward the form with supporting
documentation and authorisation statement to Cafcass Finance.
If the AP1 relates to a special payment i.e. an amount to be paid is following

authorisation of a business case then the AP1 will need to be authorised by the
budget holder and then forwarded by them to a CMT member who will need to
forward the documentation and previous emails to Cafcass Finance.
Please refer to the detailed guide to completing and authorising an AP1
form here.
N.B AP1s related to Finance Bureau processes may be signed by the Finance Bureau
Manager.
1.3
eBIS Account Expiry
All eBIS users that have not used their account in 12 months or more will be
removed from the system. To enforce this policy a review of eBIS user accounts
97
will take place every 6-12 months and a list of all accounts unused for 12 months
will be sent to the Area Finance Manager and NO Finance, who will have the
opportunity to veto account closures if there is a valid reason for them remaining
open.
Payroll leavers will also be identified and their eBIS accounts (if any) will be
removed on a regular basis.
2
eBIS Originator Setup and Maintenance
In order to raise requests for the expenditure of Cafcass funds, individuals need
to be set up as an eBIS Originator. Complete the Notification of Signatory and
eBIS User form link above.
Please complete the following sections of the form:
Part 1: Details of individual
Enter the individuals surname, forename, employee number, email
address and direct telephone number.
Part 2: Action Required
Tick action required. I.e. to setup a new user, remove a user, or add to or
replace an individuals authorities.
Part 3: Type of Setup
Section a. Tick box:- eBIS Originator
Ignore section b.
Ignore Part 4
Part 5: Cost Centres and Expenses codes allowed
Enter cost centres and expense codes the individual is allowed to
originate purchase requisitions for.
Once the form has been correctly completed it needs to be emailed directly to the
Finance Bureau mailbox by the appropriate Signatory. Please note forms not
forwarded by the appropriate signatory will be rejected.
3
Signatory and eBIS Approver Setup and Maintenance
In order to authorise the expenditure of Cafcass funds, individuals need to be set
up as an eBIS Approver or an authorised signatory; by default, all eBIS
approvers are also authorised signatories. The Notification of Signatory and
eBIS user form needs to be completed.
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_new/supplier
s_and_ebisnew.aspx
The individual must give a specimen signature in the space provided.
98
If an amendment please provide current Authoriser code.
A Specimen signature must be provided for a new setup, but is not necessary for
an amendment unless the signature has changed.
Tick action required. I.e. New setup, removal, or add to or replace
individuals current authorities.
Note: Remove Individual will remove the individuals eBIS system access and
all authority.
Section a. Tick box eBIS Approver or Signatory only as appropriate.
Section b. Tick all appropriate boxes.
Note: There are restrictions on who can be setup to sign Supplier setup, Copy
invoices, and Notification of Signatory and eBIS user forms. Ask your area
finance team or the finance bureau if in doubt.
Part 4: Level of eBIS Approver (If Signatory only skip to part 5)
Tick relevant Level of eBIS Approver for the individual
Enter the name of the next level approver.
Note the next level approver will be the approver with the next highest authority
level, e.g. for a Line Approver their next level approver will be their Head of
Service.
Enter cost centres and expense codes the individual will be entitled to
authorise expenditure for.
Note: These costs are applicable for non-staff; AP1 & AR1 form expenses only.
Staff costs such as T&S which are approved via iTrent are excluded.
Once the form has been correctly completed it needs to be authorised and
passed to the Finance Bureau for processing, please refer to section 5 of this
document for details.
3.1
Delegate amendments
Approvers will have their next level approver set as their eBIS delegate by default
when they are setup, if this needs changing e.g. to a covering manager, then an
email may be sent to the finance systems mailbox:
Finance_and_HR_Systems_Admin@flex-r.gsi.gov.uk with a request.
Alternatively an approver may modify their own delegate via the following
procedure:
Click the Menu button
necessary.
to toggle the menu on the left side of the view on if
99
Select My Delegates on the WorkFlow menu.

If a delegate is listed, click Edit to change your delegate. Simply replace the current
delegate user ID with the user Id of the approver you wish to delegate to. Then press
Save.
If a delegate is not listed then click Add, then enter the user ID of the approver you wish
to delegate to in to the delegate field. The routing stage must be set to Approval. Click
Save to finish setting up the delegate.
N.B. assigning a delegate will not confer any additional authority to that approver,
they must already have authority on the necessary GL codes or they will not be
able to approve the requisitions sent to them.
3.2
Routing amendments
If the next level approver for an approver changes the Finance Bureau should be
notified as soon as possible, this will help ensure the integrity of the workflow
routing within eBIS and help avoid misrouting of purchase requisitions and
resultant delays in approval.
It is not necessary to complete a form to amend an approvers next level
approver as the routing does not confer any additional authority on either user, to
advise the Finance Bureau of a change in routing please email the finance
systems mailbox: Finance_and_HR_Systems_Admin@flex-r.gsi.gov.uk
N.B. An Approver may only have one next level approver and the next level
approver must have authority on all of the approvers GL codes. Requisitions that
exceed an approvers approval limit will automatically be escalated to their next
level approver, if their next level approver does not have permission on the GL
codes used in the requisition then the requisition will be stuck and a request to
redirect it will need to be emailed to the finance systems mailbox:
Finance_and_HR_Systems_Admin@flex-r.gsi.gov.uk
4
Adding and Amending Accounts OpenAccounts user
Finance staff may require access to OpenAccounts for system interrogation and
journaling. The Notification of Signatory and eBIS user form should be
completed to request this access. This access is generally restricted to relevant
finance staff.
Please note that for access to the OpenAccounts program within FLEX an email
request needs to be sent to FLEX by the users line manager requesting that they
be added to the necessary user group.
100

Tick action required. I.e. Setup or remove user, or add or replace
individuals authorities.
Tick box OpenAccounts user.
Ignore Part 4
Enter cost centres and expense codes the individual will have access to in
OpenAccounts.
Note: These costs are applicable for non-staff; AP1 & AR1 form expenses only.
Staff costs such as T&S which are approved via iTrent are excluded.
Please state in comments if you require access to be restricted to view only (I.e.
for reports and enquiries only). Please also state in the comments what profile
the user should be setup with, if youre not sure you can state another user to
copy or call the Finance Bureau for advice.
Once the form has been correctly completed it needs to be authorised and
passed to the Finance Bureau for processing, authorisation is restricted to senior
finance staff.
5
Authorisation and Processing
Once the Notification of Signatory and eBIS User form is completed, please
forward forms electronically to an appropriate signatory for approval.
For National office this would be the budget holder for eBIS originators, or
department director for eBIS approvers. For the operational areas the Area
Finance Manager (AFM) and designated senior managers or Area Business
Support Officers (ABSOs) may approve the forms. Ask your area finance team or
the finance bureau if in doubt.
The appropriate signatory should review the form and sign and complete part 6,
the form should then be scanned and the scanned document forwarded by email
to the Finance and HR systems mailbox below, this scanned document will be
taken as authorisation to setup/amend the user who will then be able to request
or approve spend for the cost centres indicated.
Please note forms to set up an individual as an eBIS Originator do not require a
signature, the form can be sent directly to Finance Bureau mailbox from the
appropriate signatory for processing. The email will be taken as authorisation to
set up the individual as an Originator.
Finance_and_HR_Systems_Admin@flex-r.gsi.gov.uk
In cases where there are forms for various individuals, please ensure each
form is scanned separately before forwarding to the Finance Bureau. This
is required because each form will be linked separately to each individuals
101
profile. Please note forms not completed in full or not authorised by an

appropriate signatory as detailed above will be rejected
The Finance Bureau will process the request and in case of a new setup forward
the login details directly to the new user. Typical turn around will be within 5
working days however if you mark the email as urgent every effort will be made
to process it on day of receipt, please only do this in cases of genuine urgency.
102
Finance Procedure
Title
Department
Author
First Issued
Last Reviewed
Last Updated
Supplier Maintenance Forms

CAFCASS ACCOUNTS
Robert Smith
10 October 2003
27 January 2012 Mark Everard
26 January 2012 Joanna Rich
Introduction:
Before a purchase order can be raised for a new supplier to Cafcass, a supplier
maintenance form must first be completed by a member of the Cafcass branch
and then authorised by the relevant Business Manager or 2 nd authoriser. The
form is then sent to Basingstoke Finance by post or by email.
Procedure:
Once received, supplier forms must be checked to ensure the authorising
signature is valid. Check this with the specimen signature held in the Authorised
Signatory log.
It is also necessary to check that the individual who has authorised the form is
set up to do so. Details of individuals who are set up to authorise supplier forms
can be found in Excel at G > Cafcass > HQ > FMS > Accounts> Authorisations.
Emailed forms can be accepted if scanned and received as a pdf.
Forms that contain any corrected mistakes either by correction fluid or crossings
out must be returned to the originating office with a request to re-submit the form.
Along with the supplier form, we should receive back-up documentation that has
been provided by the supplier. Check that the details provided on the supplier
form tally with those on the back-up document. Bank details must be provided
on the suppliers headed paper wherever possible. However, there may be
instances where the supplier is unable (or does not have the facility) to provide
headed paper, for example for Self-employed Contractors, Interpreters, and
some utility companies. Exceptions can be made in these instances
The back-up documents can be scanned and e-mailed. If it has not been
provided or if the details on the maintenance form differ from those on the backup then all documents should be returned to the originating office with an
accompanying note.
103
If the documents are satisfactory the information on the maintenance form must
then be entered on to the OpenAccounts system so that payments can be made
to the supplier accordingly.
To set up a new supplier:
1. Log into OpenAccounts
2. Select Payables > Maintenance Routines > Supplier Maintenance
3. Once in Supplier Maintenance it is necessary to check that the supplier you
will be logging is not already set up. To do this click on Query and then, in the
Short Name box
type the first part of the suppliers name. With some of the larger suppliers there
may be
more than one entry and a brief check through will be needed to ensure there will
be no
duplication of entries. Also check if its already set up by searching for the post
code.
4. In the main supplier selection screen click on Add.
You will notice that a supplier reference number has been allocated to the new
supplier. Write this number on the new supplier form.
Along the top of the next screen will be the following sections:
Supplier, Address, Payment, Codes, Tax, Pop, Mailmerge
All text should be in ordinary upper and lower case.
Complete the sections as follows:
1. Click on Supplier
Enter the full Supplier Name (ensure that no pronunciation marks are used in
the Supplier
Name and Short Name).
The Short Name must be entered according to the suppliers name. For
example, a company
name such as British Gas will be entered as the same, but an individuals name
will be entered
104
with the surname first. A supplier name beginning with The, such as The
Royal Mail, will be
entered as Royal Mail The. This only applies to the Short Name section The
main Name
section must appear as normal.
The ledger defaults to Accounts Payable.
Enter the currency to be used when paying the supplier. This defaults to GBP.
If the supplier is
to be paid in a foreign currency the Currency Code, Invoice Currency and
Payment
Currency sections should be amended to the relevant currency. Click on Find
and select
accordingly.
Click on OK
2. Click on Address
Enter the address, including the postcode.
Click on OK
(If setting up a self-employed guardian the address should not be entered here
but instead
the word PRIVATE should be typed on the first line once the supplier set-up
has been
completed click on oasystem > Company > Guardian Address Maintenance.
Click on
Query to locate the guardian, click on Modify, enter the address and click on
OK)
3. Click on Contacts
Enter the contact details that have been provided including email address.
4. Click on Payment
Tab down to Payment Method
Click on Find to choose the appropriate payment method. If the payment is to be
made in a
foreign currency then D (direct debit) should be selected.
105
If BACS is selected as the appropriate method of payment enter the bank sort
code and
account number ensuring there are no gaps in the figures entered and that the
account number
has eight digits.
There is no need to enter any account details if payment by cheque is selected.
Once completed, click on OK
5. Click on Codes
Tab down to Supplier Type
Click on Find to choose the appropriate supplier type (VEND for vendor, GUA for
guardian
etc).
Once completed, click on OK
6. Click on Tax
Enter Supplier Tax Registration number (if available)
Completion of the Pop and Mailmerge sections is not currently required.

Once all relevant sections are completed, click on OK
A supplier file print is required once the supplier details have been entered and
the system has
allocated a supplier reference number:
Payables > Maintenance Routines > Supplier Maintenance > Supplier File
Print
The supplier file print should then be attached to the original paperwork and
passed to another
member of staff on the section who will check that the details have been entered
correctly
before signing them off.
Once all the details have been checked as correct an email must be sent to the
originator of the
supplier form advising that the supplier has been set
106
up on the system. This does not apply to

amendments to an existing supplier.
supplier forms that contain only
All paperwork concerning new suppliers should be filed in the Supplier

Maintenance folder.
****
Amendments to existing supplier details

Supplier maintenance forms are also used to request the amending of existing
details held on the OpenAccounts system and are sent in by the local Cafcass
branches in the normal way.
The authorising details must be checked as normal.
Locate the existing supplier details by clicking on query, once in supplier
maintenance, and entering either the supplier reference number or the name. If
entering the supplier name ensure that the correct file is selected for amending
as some suppliers have more than one reference number. Amendments to Bank
details can be accepted with the suppliers invoice as backup.
When supplier details have been added or amended a supplier file print must
be printed:
Payables > Maintenance Routines > Supplier Maintenance > Supplier File
Print
In the Supplier Range enter the supplier reference number in the To and From
boxes and
change the Format to B (detailed print). Select Print Notes Yes. Print as
normal.
Also ensure that any changes have been recorded in the notes attached to the
account (By selecting the paper clip icon). Make a note of details changed, what
they have changed from, date and the name of who requested this.
107
The supplier file print should then be attached to the original paperwork and
passed to another member of staff on the section who will check that the details
have been amended correctly before signing them off.
The details should then be filed in the Change of Bank Details & Addresses file
in date order.
****
Guidance on Interpreters
Objective:
This guide is designed to clarify the following:
The process for booking an interpreter
Finance implications/requirements
Process:
Translation/interpreters services fall into 3 broad categories all of which are National
Contract awarded to Thebigword. These are as follows:
1. Telephone Interpreting
2. Written Translation
3. Face to Face interpreting
Please note before booking any of the above services listed the Service Manager
(SM) must be consulted so that they can consider whether there is a business need
and approve accordingly.
1) Telephone Interpreting
108
This type of interpreting is useful for unusual languages or for short notice when face
to face interpreters can be difficult to obtain.
Thebigword has set up access codes for each of the Cafcass Offices (These can be
viewed on the intranet, link shown below). This access code will need to be quoted
when a Translator is required.
A Telephone Translation Booking Form and instructions are available to use for this
process on the intranet.
Please note Dual Handsets are available for the purpose of telephone translation. If
required these can be purchase from Thebigword for 10 + VAT.
2) Written Translation
We also have a framework with Thebigword for written translation. A Written
translation booking form is available under the Procurement Section of the intranet; it
also contains information on pricing etc.
3) Face to Face Interpreting
As from 1st June 2012 Thebigword were awarded the National Contract for the
supply of Face to face interpreters. June 2012
109
All interpreting requests should now be booked on line and all documentation, the
booking website and guidance on how to use Thebigword is available on the
procurement section of the Intranet. Please click on the following link to access this:
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/procurement/national_supplier_informatio
n/interpreters__translation.aspx
Finance Implications/Requirements:
As mentioned earlier the Service Manager (SM) must be consulted so that they can
consider whether there is a business need and approve use accordingly.
The SM then must inform the Office Manager (OM) that the service has been
agreed. This is important as the OM hold the budgetary responsibility for
Interpretation costs and hence need to be aware of the forthcoming costs that will be
incurred.
The invoicing for all the different types of translation for Thebigword has been set up
on a consolidated basis. When the Booking Form on the intranet is used for
accessing Thebigword service, this will directly link in to the invoice received by
CAFCASS. Hence, it is vital that when completing the booking forms that the correct
cost centre is quoted. The Finance Bureau will receive and post the invoices into the
accounting system and the Area Finance teams will then receive a report with the
breakdown of jobs invoiced for that month, which will in turn be made available to
budget holders to review.
As we have a contract with Thebigword, their service must be used as they have
been selected as a preferred supplier as they offer quality service and competitive
pricing.
If Thebigword are unable to provide the services required then only in exceptional
circumstances should any other supplier be used. You must seek authorisation
first from the OM and provide the following details so that they can raise a PO in
advance and check that we have been charged correctly when the invoice comes in:
Date and time of the service to take place
Case details
Price per hour
Estimated time of use of service (including travel time if relevant)
If using a supplier for the first time that is not on our system, then again you must
seek authorisation from the OM as they must be informed that this is the case as
they will need to set the supplier up on the system first, before they can raise the PO
and pay the invoice.
It is imperative that a PO is raised in advance as this acts as the authorisation of
costs and helps OMs mange the translation/interpreters budget effectively.
110
Cafcass Car Hire Policy

Overview of Policy
This document sets out the procedures to follow for car hire.
1.0 Objective
1.1 The aim of the CAFCASS car hire scheme is to provide efficient and effective car
hire for CAFCASS staff, via our preferred supplier, Leasedrive Rental Management.
1.2 Car Hire is an option available to most CAFCASS staff, who are required to travel in
order to carry out their duties. Car hire should only be used where it leads to better and
efficient performance of duties and no other alternatives were available.
1.3 Certain rules and guidelines are required to be followed.
2.0 Staff with Lease vehicles
2.1 This Car Hire arrangement is not available to individuals who have a lease car
provided through Lex Autolease (or any other lease car provider). There are different
arrangements in place for these individuals, and they should refer to the Cafcass Car
Policy.
2.2 Other staff with lease vehicles that require a hire car because their vehicle is off the
road should check with their Lease Provider first, as a courtesy vehicle may be available
at no additional cost.
3.0 Vehicle booking procedure
3.1 The individual will have to email their Manager to obtain approval to proceed with the
booking. Where the term of the hire is more than 5 days, the Budget Holder must also be
informed. The Area Finance Manager or National Office Department Heads (for National
office) must approve any car rental, which exceeds 3 days.
3.2 Once the booking form has been completed and authorised, the individual will book
using the Leasedrive online booking manager, for registration instruction click here.
4.0 Type of vehicles available and costs
4.1 A group 2 will be the standard vehicle available, and there is a choice of manual or
automatic transmissions (group 3). Should a higher category vehicle be required (i.e.
group 4 or above) the Area Finance Manager or National Office Department Heads
authority must be obtained. The Area Finance Manager or National Office Department
Heads must be satisfied that there are valid business reasons for approving a higher
category vehicle.
4.2 Please contact Leasedrive for the latest prices. Cafcass Car Hire Policy Full Implementation
July 2012 Page 2 of 4
111
4.3 Delivery and Collections from any UK mainland options are available and are
included in the daily charge.
5.0 Fuel and Accounting for Business Mileage
5.1 All cars should (usually) be provided with a full tank of petrol or diesel. Should a car
be provided with less than a full tank of fuel, take note of the level of fuel (inform
Leasedrive immediately upon receiving delivery of the car) and when the car is returned
refill the tank back to the level it was when delivered.
5.2 CAFCASS will reimburse the individual for all business mileage travelled in the hire
car. The reimbursement is as per the Expenses Reimbursement Policy and must be
claimed for via iTrent Travel and Subsistence (T&S) electronic submission.
5.3 CAFCASS does not pay towards the cost of fuel top ups or reimburse the actual
cost of fuel even when a receipt is produced. Where a vehicle is returned to Leasedrive
and it requires a fuel top up it is the responsibility of the individual to pay this.
5.4 It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that the correct fuel type is used to refill
the car. If there is no visible proof of which type of fuel to use please contact Leasedrive
request it and to log a formal complaint, as this should be clearly indicated on the hire
car.
5.5 The driver will be liable for any traffic offence (i.e. parking, speeding fines etc)
committed in the hire car during the period of hire; this will also include any
administration fee charged by the hire company.
6.0 Definition of business mileage
6.1 Business mileage is defined as mileage carried out in the performance of CAFCASS
duties. This does not include home to work mileage.
6.2 If the vehicle is collected or returned by the individual, this counts as business
mileage.
7.0 Controls & Safeguards
7.1 The Account number and Cost Centre number must be quoted for all bookings:
The Cafcass account number is: ZC213
7.2 Car hire will be limited to three days. The driver should inform the Area Finance
Manager or National Office Department Heads if they plan to exceed the existing car
hire beyond 3 days.
7.3 Car keys MUST not be left in unsecured places e.g. under flowerpots, wheel bins,
etc. The keys must be handed over by an individual, as we are not insured for leaving
the keys unattended.
8.0 Options to consider before hiring a car via Leasedrive: Cafcass Car Hire Policy Full
Implementation July 2012 Page 3 of 4
112
1. Is there a CAFCASS pool car?

2. Has consideration been given to use public transport e.g. buses/ trains?
3. Can you travel with another colleague to the same destination, e.g.
conferences/meetings?
4. Is the car required, if you are working in the office that day or on holiday?
5. If a Lease car holder, has prior notice been given to the garage to see if a courtesy
car will be available? e.g. 7 days or more.
9.0 Accidents
1. If you have been involved in an accident you must contact Lex Autolease
Accident Management on 0870 333 6611 to make an insurance claim and notify
National Office Finance of the incident.
2. CAFCASS insurance company is AXA, policy number 6725581.
3. Please note, if the accident is your fault then you are liable to a 50 insurance
excess payments towards the repair cost of the car.
4. If your vehicle breaks down please contact the hirers breakdown number which
can be found either on the back of the tax disc holder in the car, on the cars key
fob or on the paperwork
10.0 Overseas/abroad:
10.1 Subject to the Area Finance Manager or National Office Department Heads
authorisation, the driver must contact Leasedrive who will advise the driver to take out
additional cover at his or her own costs. e.g. AA Five Star. (To recover vehicle back to
England.)
11.0 Invoicing:
11.1 Leasedrive will invoice Cafcass. The invoice should show the cost centre and the
name of the driver.
11.2 Regular
Finance
checks will be
made, invoices
should be checked
against email
authorisation
(which must be
kept by the
authoriser and the
driver) and then
authorised for
payment. Owner
To be
July 2012
implemented by
Version
2.5
Next Review
December 2012
113
YEAR END
TECHNICAL
GUIDANCE
2012-13
114
CONTENTS
Terms of reference
Page
1.
Introduction
04
2.
Year End Procedures
05
3.
Accruals
07
4.
General accrual
Travel and Subsistence and Time claim accrual
Government Procurement Cards (GPC)
Consolidated Invoices
Prepayments
07
10
12
12
13
5.
Other Year End Information
14
Journals
14
Operating Leases
14
Accrued Income
14
Capital Commitments
15
Provisions
Contingent Liabilities
15
16
Petty Cash Reconciliation
17
Fixed Assets
17
FINANCE BUREAU Payments & Receipts
17
6.
Backing Documentation and Electronic returns
18
7.
Submission of All Returns
21
QUERIES AND CONTACTS

If you have any queries about Year End policy issues, timetable and queries on
completing returns, please contact NO Finance 0844 353 3350.
115
Terms of reference
1.
Areas or Area refers to (1) Operational Service Area (OSA), (2) National
Business Centre (NBC), (3) National Office (NO) Departments which
includes National Improvement Service (NIS), Estates and
Accommodation (EST and ACC), and HQ departments.
2.
Finance teams refers to (1) Area Finance team for Operational Service
Areas and National Business Centre, (2) Estates and NIS Finance for
Estates projects and Accommodation and NIS; (3) HQ finance team for
HQ Departments.
116
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
The Year End process is a series of accounting, financial and auditing tasks, which
st
st
are carried out at the end of the financial year for the period 1 April 2012 to 31
March 2013, to deliver the 2012/13 Annual Report and Accounts of Cafcass. The
publishing of an Annual Report and Accounts is a requirement of the Financial
Memorandum and Accounts Direction between the Department for Education (DfE)
and Cafcass; it is also a key target of the Public Accounts Committee, National
Audit Office (NAO) and Parliament to publish the Accounts before the summer
2013 Parliamentary recess.
1.2
Cafcass produces accounts on an accruals accounting basis, both during the year
and at Year End. This means we account for the goods and services used in the
period regardless of when the goods have been paid for.
1.3
The de minimus limit is the minimum value of the transaction to be included in the
returns. Each return will have its own de minimus limit.
The Year End procedures must capture the following data.

1.4
Accruals are goods and services used but not paid for in the financial year ending
st
31 March 2013. An accrual is made when the amount to be accrued is 500.00 or
st
greater for goods and services received before 1 April 2013. Please see section 3
for examples of accruals.
1.5
Prepayments are expenses paid for but not yet consumed in the financial year
st
ending 31 March 2013. A prepayment is made when the amount prepaid is 500.00
st
or greater for goods or services not consumed before 1 April 2013. Please see
section 4 for examples of prepayments.
1.6
Accrued Income is to be recorded when there are individuals or

organisations that owe Cafcass money for the financial year ending 31 st
March 2013, for which no sales invoice had been raised as at 31 st March
2013. Accrued Income information is required when the amount owed to
Cafcass is 500.00 or greater.
1.7
Operating Lease data represents property and equipment rentals such as land,
buildings etc. Details required are the values of the leases split into 12/13 spend
st
st
and the amounts Cafcass is committed to pay within one year (1 April 2013 to 31
st
st
st
March 14), within 2-5 years (1 April to 31 March 2018), and after 5 years (1 April
2018 onwards).
1.8
Capital Commitments these are expenditures on capital items that we

have committed to but not received e.g. assets with a value of 2,500.00
or greater.
1.9
Provisions Details of provisions need to be collated as they highlight where Cafcass

has a future obligation e.g. Events which occurred in the financial year 12/13, but
where the possible cost will occur in 13/14 onwards.
1.10
After collation of the above and other Finance schedules, the data on the
accounting system and returns will be subject to scrutiny by the NAO,
117
whose audit work will extend to visits to Operational Area offices. The
NAO will also examine and comment on the quality of Cafcass Internal
Controls at National Office, Finance Bureau and Operational Area offices.
1.11
Subject to the favourable outcome of Operational Area and corporate audits, the
objective is that the NAO will recommend an unqualified certification on the
Cafcass Annual Accounts. Cafcass would want to avoid a qualified
recommendation as that indicates significant weaknesses in Cafcass systems and
operations.
2.
YEAR END PROCEDURES
2.1
The procedures that follow aim to deliver the information needed in the
most efficient way possible. The key to achieving this will be adequate
controls in local offices to ensure that accurate data is produced in a
timely manner. To enable Cafcass to meet its timetable electronic returns
should be sent to NO Finance. Please retain a copy for local and audit
purposes.
2.2
Prior to the Year End period, two electronic E-Learning Year End
packages will be made available via MySkills to train Office Managers/
budget holders as well as Business Support staff so that they fully
understand their role within the Year End process. Budget holders and
budget managers will be informed of the outcome of the training and of
any actions required as a result of the training. In addition, budget holders
and budget managers will be briefed about the Year End procedures and
processes during February/March 2013 and about the provisional Year
End outturns in April 2013 by the Area Finance Manager and NO Financial
Accountant/Finance Officer via Operational Management Meetings/HQ
team meetings. Minutes of such meetings must be kept and provided to
NO Finance when they are available. Together with the use of Budget
Delegation Letters and the Financial Manual, this serves as a control to
ensure the accuracy and completeness of the annual accounts.
2.3
Please note that it is the responsibility of the Area Finance Manager

(AFM) covering Operational Service Area and National Business
Centre or NO Financial Accountant/Finance Officer (FA/FO) for NO
Departments to arrange their own internal timetable in order to meet
the deadlines laid out in the 12/13 Year End Returns Timetable.
2.4
NO Finance must receive the following from AFM or NO Financial

Accountant/Finance Officer by the dates given:
A single consolidated electronic copy for each type of return
in Excel format.
Supporting documentation for each type of return for items
over 5000.
118
Supporting documents for items under 5000 are retained by

Area Finance and submitted to the Business Assurance Team
for a health check.
Nil Returns: Nil returns (where applicable) should not be
entered on the consolidated electronic copy but must be listed
in a separate return marked NIL RETURN list
2.5
The Year End adjustments for 2012/13 will affect the 12/13 Outturn i.e.
budget variances and the 13/14 Budgets as well. The timetable aims to
ensure that 2012/13 outturn is available in local cost centres by the end of
April 2013, and that brought forward balances are stable by June 2013.
2.6
As part of the Year End procedure, various returns (including Accruals and
Prepayments) need to be carried out. These are detailed in the schedule
below. Not all the returns are applicable to every cost centre, but where
returns are required these must be completed even if the return is NIL.
2.7
The AFM and NO FA/FO must collate and check each type of return for
their Areas. AFM and NO FA/FO should only submit their data in one
electronic consolidation by saving all Final Electronic Copies in the
Restricted Finance Folder and send a confirmation email to NO Finance.
Once NO Finance receives the return, they will lock the return to save a
copy of the original submission for auditing purposes.
2.8
Because the returns contribute to local budgetary performance, AFM and

NO FA/FO will need to be directly involved in managing the preparation
and collation of return data for their areas.
2.9
Completion of these returns also allows local teams and their Finance
teams to monitor accruals posted against actual invoices processed post
March 2013.
2.10
All cost centres must keep Final Electronic Copies of all their returns as
well as the copies sent to the AFM and NO FA/FO.
2.11
AFM and NO FA/FO are responsible for ensuring that the returns are
completed correctly and that the figures look reasonable and are fully
backed up by appropriate backing documents.
119
Returns required
Applicable to
Accruals (including Overtime,

Bank/Sessional, T&S, and Self
Employed Guardians).
Prepayments
Operating Leases
Accrued
Debtors)
Income
(Deferred
Provisions
Related Party Disclosure
AFM for Operational

and NBC.
NO
AF/FO
for
Departments
AFM for Operational
and NBC.
NO
AF/FO
for
Departments
AFM for Operational
and NBC.
NO
AF/FO
for
Departments
AFM for Operational
and NBC.
NO
AF/FO
for
Departments
AFM for Operational
and NBC.
NO
AF/FO
for
Departments
AFM for Operational
and NBC.
Area
NO
Area
NO
Area
NO
Area
NO
Area
NO
Area
Board Members
CMT.
ACCRUALS
General Accruals
04th April 2013: A single consolidated electronic copy received by NO
Finance.
05th April 2013: Supporting documents for items over 5000 received
by NO Finance.
08th April 2013 Midday 12 pm: Deadline for adjustments (only where
significant) submitted as additional returns
08th April 2013: Supporting documents for items under 5000 received
by Business Assurance Team
Where applicable nil Electronic Copy returns are required for control
& audit purposes.
The De minimus limit for Accruals is 500
120
3.1
This return applies to all Cafcass cost centres. An accrual is a liability (or a
commitment) to pay for goods or services after the goods or services have
been consumed e.g. the goods or services have been received or utilised
in the period 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013, but the invoice has not
been paid before 31st March 2013. If there are accruals created prior to
12/13 that is still being re-accrued e.g. Accruals created during the 11/12
Year End or earlier, please discuss these with NO Finance before reaccruing.
3.2
It may be necessary to estimate the amount of an accrual if the invoice

has not actually arrived using the best information available by providing
the purchase order, quote or previous invoices if appropriate. Please note
that all estimates must be backed up by documentary calculations and
evidence.
3.3
The monthly outstanding purchase order report and the purchase order
report of items being GRNed without receiving invoices will be available
for use on 25th March 2013. This report can be used to identify which
purchase orders remain outstanding as at 31st March 2013 and whether
goods/services have been received by 31st March 2013 and which
commitments needs to be accrued. At the end of the financial year it is
important to make accruals as accurate as possible so that the outturn and
accounts accurately reflect the resources consumed during the financial
year.
3.4
In order to provide further assistance, NO Finance will prepare an

additional transaction report covering the period 25th March 2013 to the 2nd
of April 2013 and issue this on 03rd April 2013. This report should be used
by the finance teams as an additional check when preparing your accruals
return (e.g. to ensure that items already paid have not been accrued for).
You should complete the boxes in the workbook as follows:
3.5
Column in the You

have
an
Accruals Template invoice/claim (including
invoices under dispute)
Sequential
Please write on the hard
Number
copy
invoice
the
sequential number that
matches the entry in this
row.
Backing
This refers to the page
Document Page in number of the backing
PDF File
document that is in the
PDF file.
121
You expect to get an

invoice/claim but have not
yet received it
Please write on the hard
copy
estimate
the
sequential number that
matches the entry in this
row.
Column in the You

have
an
Cost Centre & The cost centre and
Natural Account natural account codes you
Code
expect to use when you
pay the invoice / claim.
These should in general
be the same as that used
when originally raising the
purchase
order.
Use
several lines if necessary.
Supplier Name
The name of the supplier
or person to whom the
payment will be made.
Suppliers Invoice The suppliers invoice
Number or Order number.
Number
Invoice/Delivery
The invoice date or the
Date
date of the claim. If there
isnt a date enter the date
stamped on the invoice or
claim.
Brief Description
Enter brief description of
the
goods/services.
Where invoice is under
dispute, this section can
be used to record why the
dispute exists.

yet received it
The cost centre and natural
account codes you expect
to use when you receive
and pay the invoice / claim.
These should in general be
the same as that used when
originally
raising
the
purchase order. Use several
lines if necessary.
The name of the supplier or
person
to
whom
the
payment will be made.
If you have ordered goods
or services enter the EBIS
purchase order number.
Enter delivery or service
date
Amount
This will be an estimate of

the 2012-13 elements you
expect to pay (including
VAT).
This will be either:

The 2012-13 element
(including vat) of the
invoice/claim,
or
an
estimate of the 2012-13
element (including VAT)
you are likely to pay, if it is
a disputed invoice/claim.
122
Enter a quick description of

what the estimate is for
(including relevant dates).
For example Copier hire
January 2013 to March
2013.
Column in the You

have
an
Estimated/Actual
If you will settle the
(E/A)
invoice in full, enter A
(Actual) in this column.
If you have estimated
what you are going to pay,
e.g. in the case of
disputed invoices, enter
E (Estimated) in this
column.
Post Year End After 31st March 2013
Check
check to see if this invoice
Invoice
Paid: has now been paid using
Please note that the Transaction Report,
completion of this write actual amount paid.
column does not
form part of your
Year End return but
may be used for
ongoing checks.

yet received it
Enter E (Estimated) in this
column.
After 31st March 2013 check

to see if this invoice has
now been paid using the
Transaction Report, write
actual amount paid.
3.6
All entries on the accruals return must be supported by either a copy of

the invoice or the documentation on which an estimate was based. This
could be a copy of the purchase order (if below 5k), delivery note or
possibly past invoices (take an average of 3 invoices with the workings
clearly shown on the front sheet). For estimated accruals greater than
5,000.00 in addition to a purchase order further supporting evidence is
required (also see 6.19)
3.7
The figure on the return should include VAT and split correctly between
actual amounts and estimated amounts (see Appendix 1 for example)
3.8
If an invoice relates to a resource consumed over two financial years

(2012-13 and 2013-14), only the element relating to 2012-13 should be
entered on the return. This will mean splitting some invoices across the
Year End pro rata to the proportion of goods or services consumed in
each year (as shown in the example below).
Please refer to the example below.
You have an invoice
You expect to get an invoice but have

not yet received it
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You have an invoice
2
3
You expect to get an invoice but have

not yet received it
A cleaning invoice:
A cleaning invoice for March/April 2013
Invoice date 15 March 2013.
Cleaning service from 15 March 2013
to 14 April 2013 is 1200 (including
Invoice received on 25 March
VAT)
2013.
Cleaning service from 15
March 2013 to 14 April 2013 You have not received the invoice
is 1200 (including VAT)
Identify the financial year(s) to Cleaning service for the period 15 March
which the cost relates:
to 31 March 2013 is consumed in
Cleaning service from 15 March financial year 2012-13 and hence the cost
to 31 March is relating to 2012- needs to be accrued.
13.
Cleaning service from 1 April
2013 to 14 April 2013 is relating
to 2013-14
Disregard the Cleaning service cost from 1 April 2013 to 14 April 2013 as it all
relates to 2013-14.
Calculate the cleaning service
Estimate the value of the cleaning
cost for 12-13 to be accrued
services that relate to 2012-13 i.e
month cost
months cost.
As you have already
estimated the invoice total, for this
Cleaning cost = 1200/2=600
calculation you can round to the nearest
month.
Cleaning cost = 1200/2=600
3.9
If you have a disputed invoice/claim, relating in full or in part to 2012-13

there are three possible ways of treating it:
(a) If you anticipate paying in full, then put the current years element of
resource consumed on your accruals return.
(b) If you do not anticipate paying at all, do not make any entry. If you
have an invoice that is greater than 1,000.00 please contact NO
Finance for advice.
(c) If you anticipate paying part of the invoice, then you should make a
reasonable estimate of the resource consumed in 2012-13, for which
you are likely to pay, and put this in your return with an explanation.
3.10
Please ensure the return is completed accurately. Each line of data

entered on the spreadsheet must be completed in full, as it will be used for
electronic input. Do not use ditto, as above or any such short cut for
124
details that are repeated. The spreadsheets are uploaded automatically

into the system and the use of ditto etc will cause the spreadsheet to be
rejected.
3.11
Any incorrectly prepared returns received will cause a delay in the

accounts production process and may lead to returns missing the deadline
for input. Any returns that miss the deadline due to errors in the
spreadsheet completion will have an impact on your budget outturn and
hence possibly affect your expenditure in the following year.
3.12
Accruals forms must be completed electronically. Local teams must save

their electronic returns in the relevant folder as directed by their AFM or
NO FA/FO. The AFM or nominated officer must check and collate the
returns prior to sending on to NO Finance. The AFM or NO FA/FO will
advise their teams of the deadline for the submission of team information.
3.13
Please note that accruals data will be audited by the NAO for accuracy
and completeness as part of the Year End audit and that our published
accounts could be qualified e.g. considered materially inaccurate, if the
data viewed by the NAO is deemed to be significantly inaccurate.
Travel and Subsistence (T&S) accruals and Time claim accruals (i.e.
Overtime & Bank and Sessional Staff claim accruals)
7th March 2013: Claims must be submitted and authorised by relevant

managers via Itrent by this date to be processed in the March payroll.
7th April 2013: Claims must be submitted and authorised by relevant
managers via Itrent by this date to be processed in the April payroll.
04th April 2013: A single consolidated electronic copy of T&S accruals
and Time claim accruals returns for OSA/NBC/NIS/HQ received by NO
Finance.
05th April 2013: Supporting documents received by NO Finance.
significant) submitted as a separate return
The De minimus limit for T&S claim and time claim accruals is 100
3.14
Staff should ensure that as far as possible that 12/13 T&S and time claims
are submitted and authorised by relevant managers via Itrent by the 7 th
March 2013, to ensure that they are processed and paid in the March
main payroll run. If this deadline is missed staff should ensure the April
main payroll run deadline is met i.e.T&S and time claims to be submitted
and authorised by relevant managers via Itrent by 7 th April 2013).
3.15
Unlike last year, NO Finance will NOT be using the T&S and time claim
data from the April pay run as the T&S and time claim accruals for 2012-
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13. AFM and NO AF/FO for NO Departments must to accrue for ALL
unpaid claims and include them in the returns.
3.16
Any claims of 100.00 or greater relating to 2012-13 that miss the March
main cut-off e.g. be submitted and authorised by relevant managers via
Itrent after 7th March 2013 should be included on the T&S and time claim
accruals return by the finance teams. A claim history report will be issued
on 3rd April 2013 to identify all claims that are submitted and authorised
by 12pm on 3rd April 2013 but are not paid in March 2013 or earlier
months. The report will be the basis for accrual based on actual claims.
This T&S and time claim accruals made should be listed per employee.
Please note per Cafcass policy that in general T&S claims greater
than 3 months old are not accepted and therefore should not be
accrued unless being duly authorised.
3.17
Where T&S and time claims have not been authorised by relevant
managers via Itrent by 12pm on 3rd April 12 and hence not been
included in the Claim history report, an estimate should be made of the
amounts outstanding and entered onto the T&S and time claim accruals
return. The estimate for T&S accruals must be supported e.g. based on
known travel or an estimate based on the average of the previous 3 claims
with the workings clearly shown on the front sheet and backed up with the
appropriate supporting documentation. The estimate for time claim
accruals must be based on either (1) known overtime or (2) the volume of
work estimated by the authorising manager or (3) the average of the
previous 3 claims with the workings clearly shown on the front sheet and
backed up with the appropriate supporting documentation.
These
accruals made should be listed per employee. Please refer to section 6 for
details of backing documentation required.
Local teams/NO Departments have the responsibility to notify their
Finance teams about cases where T&S and time claim accruals are not
required such as the employee has been on sick leave, maternity leave or
they have confirmed no claims incurred during the month etc. AFM and
NO FA/FO will circulate internal deadlines for these activities of local
teams/NO Departments.
3.18
Required information on the T&S accrual template:

Employee/Bank Staff Name: Please enter the name of the individual to
whom the T&S claim relates.
Payroll No: Please enter the payroll number for the individual to whom the
T&S claim relates.
Brief Description: Please enter the name of the individual and the month
the expenses relates to.
Amount: Please enter the total value of that T&S claim.
126
Post Year End Check: Please note that completion of this column does
not form part of your Year End return but may be used for ongoing checks .
Please enter the actual amount paid after 31st March 2013.
3.19
Required information on Time claim accrual template:
Natural Account Code: Please use the pull-down menu to enter the
appropriate Natural Account Code:
300112 Bank Staff.
300320 Misc. Allowances.
300400 Overtime.
300111 - Sessional staff
Employee/Bank Staff/Sessional staff Name: Please enter the name of
the individual to whom the overtime/bank/sessional hours relate.
Payroll No: Please enter the payroll number for the individual to whom the
overtime or bank/sessional hours relate.
Employee/Bank Staff/ Sessional staff Name: Please enter the name of
the individual to whom the overtime/bank/sessional hours relate.
Brief Description: Please enter the name of the staff, the month of
claim, number of hours worked by each employee and the estimated
hourly rate.
Amount Excluding Pension & NI: Please enter the total value of the
overtime / bank staff/sessional staff costs excluding pension and NI costs.
Amount Including Pension & NI: This is a formula-driven column adding
23.7% to your overtime / bank staff costs. Please do not input any data
in this column.
Post Year End Check: Please note that completion of this column does
not form part of your Year End return but may be used for ongoing checks .
Please enter the actual amount paid after 31st March 2013.
3.20 T&S accrual for Operational Service Area and NBC are completed by Area
Finance whereas the NO Financial Accountant and Finance Officer will
complete the return for HQ teams and NIS. Once your accruals return is
complete, save the electronic returns with supporting documentation for
any items included on it (including estimates) in the relevant folder as
directed by NO Finance by the required deadline and email the NO
finance mailbox confirming the submission.
3.21 Please note that accruals data will be audited by the NAO for accuracy
and completeness as part of the Year End audit and that our published
accounts could be qualified e.g. considered materially inaccurate, if the
data viewed by the NAO is deemed to be significantly inaccurate.
Government Procurement Cards (GPC)
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3.28
As per normal monthly procedures, NO Finance will accrue for all GPC
costs incurred on the March 28th 2013 GPC statements. Operational
Areas and NO departments should not accrue for these costs.
3.29
The de minimus limit for GPC transactions is 100.00. Therefore

Operational Areas & NO departments should include on their accrual
returns GPC costs equal to or greater than this amount that were incurred
between 28th and 31st March (e.g. costs that do not appear on the March
28th statement but were incurred prior to Year End).
Consolidated invoices
3.30
Finance Bureau will post ALL monthly consolidated invoices into period 1
2013/14 and NO Finance will accrue for all consolidated invoices based
on the invoice break-down per cost centres provided by the suppliers.
3.31
Thus, there is no requirement for the Operational Areas or NO

departments to include March 2013 costs for consolidated suppliers on
their accruals returns.
4.
PREPAYMENTS
04th April 2013: A single consolidated electronic copy of each area
received by NO Finance.
05th April 2013: Supporting documents for items over 5000 received
by NO Finance.
significant) submitted as separate returns
08th April 2013: Supporting documents for items under 5000 received
by Business Assurance Team
Where applicable nil Electronic Copy returns are required for control
& audit purposes.
The De minimus limit for Prepayment is 500
4.1
Prepayments are payments made in advance where the good or service in

question will be consumed in a future accounting period. Unlike accruals,
prepayments are not estimated as the bill will already have been paid and
the exact amount paid will appear on the invoice or can be calculated.
Supporting documentation should therefore be available to complete this
return accurately and must be provided as backup for your prepayment
calculations.
4.2
The Prepayment template will calculate the prepayment element of the

invoice details entered.
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4.3
This return will be required from all cost centres, this may be in a form of a
nil return.
4.4
Where the Finance Bureau have posted invoices as automatic

prepayments (shown on the transactions report as PINVP) local teams will
NOT need to include these on their prepayments returns.
4.5
If the invoice paid has items that relate to two financial years, only the
element relating to the future period should be included on the return.
For example, an invoice paid in March 2013 for an alarm maintenance
service which pays for 1 March 2013 to 28 February 2014 and for a piece
of equipment replaced in March 2013. Only the prepayment element of
the payment should be recorded in the Prepayment return i.e the
alarm maintenance services costs. The cost of the equipment
replaced will not be entered on the prepayment return.
4.6
As with accruals, VAT must be included on the return.
4.7
Prepayment returns must be completed electronically. Local teams must

save their electronic returns in the relevant folder as directed by their AFM
or NO FA/FO. The AFM or nominated officer must check and collate the
returns prior to sending on to NO Finance. The AFM or NO FA/FO will
advise their teams of the deadline for the submission of team information.
As with accruals, please ensure the prepayments return is completed
accurately. Each line of data entered on the spreadsheet must be
completed in full, as it will be used for computer inputs. Do not use ditto,
as above or any such short cut for details that are repeated. The
spreadsheets are uploaded automatically into the system and the use of
ditto etc will cause the spreadsheet to be rejected.
4.8
Please note that prepayments data will be audited by the NAO for
accuracy and completeness as part of the Year End audit and that our
published accounts could be qualified e.g. considered materially
inaccurate, if the data viewed by the NAO is deemed to be significantly
inaccurate.
OTHER YEAR END INFORMATION
Journals
Until 4th April 2013: Standard journals only may be posted by the Finance
teams until close of this date. Please check with your AFM or NO FA/FO for
the deadline for OMs.
129
5.1
Standard journals only may be posted by the AFM and NO FA/FO until the
close of the 4th April 2013. No reversing journals should be posted into
March 2013. After this date, only NO Finance will be allowed to post
journals to General Ledger.
5.2
Please note NO Finance will create and post all year end returns journals,
mainly the accruals, prepayments and accrued income.
Operating Leases:
28 March 2013: Single electronic consolidated return for each Area received
by NO Finance, consisting of a copy of the contract\Agreement\Invoice in
PDF format referenced to the consolidated electronic return.
5.3
This return applies to all cost centres for the 12 month period. The Finance
teams must collate these returns and ensure that NO Finance is in receipt
of electronic copies by the above deadline date. This is an update of the 9
month return which is due on the 21st December 2012.
5.4
The Finance teams will advise their local teams/NO Departments of the
deadline for the submission of team information
5.5
Operating leases are agreements for the rental of property or equipment,

such as land and buildings, franking machines, vending machines, cars,
photocopiers etc.
5.6
The Finance teams do not have to provide any information on the

following as these are accounted for centrally by NO Finance:
Land and building leases.
Car leases.
5.7
Details required are the values of the leases split into 2012-13 spend and
the total annual amounts Cafcass is committed to pay within one year (1st
April 2013 31st March 2014), within 2-5 years (1st April 2014 to 31st
March 2018) and after 5 years (1st April 2018 onwards). Please include
the date of expiry of the lease.
Example (as given on template): A photocopier is leased on the 1st April
2010 on a 9-year lease at a cost of 5,000.00 per annum with no annual
adjustment to the lease cost for inflation.
Lease Amount Due 2012-13: 5,000 x 1, therefore enter 5,000.
Date Lease Expires: A 9-year lease commencing 1st April 2010 would
expire 31st March 2019, therefore enter 31-03-19.
Lease Amount Due After 31-03-18: 5,000 x 1, therefore enter 5,000.
130
Accrued Income
04th April 2013: A single consolidated electronic copy received by NO
Finance.
05th April 2013: Supporting documents for items over 5000 received by NO
Finance.
significant) submitted as separate returns
08th April 2013: Supporting documents for items under 5000 received by
Business Assurance Team
Where applicable nil Electronic Copy returns are required for control &
audit purposes.
The De minimus limit for Accrued Income is 500
.
5.8
This is income created during the period 1st April 2012 31st March 2013,
which has not been invoiced as at 31st March 2013.
5.9
The AFM or NO FA/FO should compile a total listing of all Accrued income
for their areas. Finance teams will advise their local teams/NO
Departments of the deadline for the submission of team information.
5.10
All team returns must be sent to and collated by their Finance teams.
Capital Commitments
Further guidance will be emailed to specific users on 1 March 2013 by NO
Finance for returns to be received by 22 March 2013.
5.11 In general this applies to NO Finance, NO IT and NO Estates and
Operational Areas.
5.12 Definition of Capital Commitments:
An agreement with a single supplier to acquire a Fixed Asset item or

items.
Fixed asset items are defined as laid out in the Fixed Asset section of the
Cafcass Intranet:
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_new/a
sset_management_new.aspx
The commitment will be funded from the 2012-13 or post 2012-13 capital
expenditure budgets.
5.13 Characteristics of a Capital Commitment

131
Payments in relation to the commitment have not been made by the 31st
March 2013.
Goods in relation to the commitment have not been received by the 31st
March 2013.
Any unsigned contracts for fixed asset purchases that have been
approved by the Board and for which the contract amount is certain.
Please note that (for these purposes) capital commitments do not include
capital items that has been received or paid for in 2012-13.
5.14
Please note that in the event of there being no capital commitments, an

emailed nil return is required from specific user guidance recipients only.
Provisions
Finance for returns to be received by 22 March 2013
.
When reviewing provision details, the following will need to be considered:
5.15
With regards to existing provision balances (if any):

a. Can any of the balances be released in their entirety as no longer required as
at 31st March 2013?
b. Can any of the balances be reduced to a level sufficient to meet existing
obligations as at 31st March 2013?
c. Do any of the balances need to be increased to a level sufficient to meet
existing obligations as at 31st March 2013?
5.16
Are there any new obligating events for which provisions need to be created as
at 31st March 2013? New provisions should only be created when all of the
following conditions can be met:
a. When the event in question has occurred by the 31st March 2013.
b. When payment by Cafcass for this event will only be decided by the
occurrence (or non-occurrence) of another event in the future (after the 31st
March 2013).
c. When that future event is not wholly within the control of Cafcass.
d. When payment by Cafcass for the event in question can be enforced by law.
OR
e. When based on the available evidence, experience, and / or the opinion of
experts there is a valid expectation of payment by Cafcass.
f. When a reliable estimate can be made as to the amount of the provision.
132
5.17
Please note that regardless of whether any prospective provision

being created is an actual or estimated cost, or in the event of
existing provisions being increased, provisions must be backed up
and justified with reasonable calculations and documentation.
5.18
In the event of there being no provisions, an emailed nil return is required

from specific user guidance recipients only.
5.19
Following a return with provision details, a meeting will be organised

between NO Finance and the budget holder who submits the provision
return. Hard copy of calculations and all relevant explanatory back-ups are
required to be seen at the meeting.
Contingent Liabilities
5.20
A contingent liability should only be created when both of the following conditions
can be met:
a. When the event in question has occurred by the 31st March 2013.
b. When it is unlikely based on the available evidence, experience, and / or
the opinion of experts that there will be payment by Cafcass.
5.21
Please note that there is no financial impact with regards to contingent liabilities.
They are shown in the Accounts in narrative form only.
5.22
Please note that in the event of there being no contingent liabilities an

emailed nil return is required from specific user guidance recipients only.
5.23
Where a contingent liability is to be created, a meeting between NO

Finance and budget holders will be arranged to discuss the contents of the
submission. Hard copy of calculations and all relevant explanatory backups are required to be seen at the meeting.
15th April 2013: electronic copies of Petty cash returns to be received by

FINANCE BUREAU.
133
5.24
March 2013 electronic Petty cash returns are to be completed for all
cost centres holding a petty cash float, and forwarded to Finance
Bureau via the Area Finance team.
5.25
Reconciliations will be required at Year End for all petty cash floats, as per
the monthly returns requirements.
5.26
Returns should be submitted to the Area Finance team. The Area Finance
team should send all Petty Cash returns after checks and reviews to
FINANCE BUREAU by the above deadline.
Fixed Assets
5.27
Fixed Assets are physical assets that an organisation owns such as

computers and buildings that are regularly used over a long period of time.
5.28
FMs and NO Dept Heads are required to prepare and submit to NO

Finance by the above deadline completed FAMFs and supporting
documentation of all 2012-13 capital expenditure items not coded to the
I&E (721*** series) Natural Account Codes that qualify as Fixed Assets.
5.29
In order to complete this exercise, FMs and NO Dept Heads will need
to ensure that they are familiar with the Cafcass Fixed Asset Policy &
Procedures, a copy of which can be found on the Cafcass Intranet
under the following link:
http://cafcassintranet/Intranet/departments/finance/finance_manual_
new/asset_management_new.aspx
Please do not hesitate to contact NO Finance should you have any
queries relating to Fixed Assets.
5.30
Fixed Asset returns (FAMFs & their supporting documents) will in the main
apply to NO IT, NO Estates and Operational Areas undertaking building
fit-out projects where the project has been classified as containing capital
costs.
5.31
In the event of there being no Fixed Assets costs, an emailed nil return is
required from specific user guidance recipients only.
5.32
As per the Policy & Procedures NO Finance will check all received
FAMFs. Further to this, NO Finance will also prepare and post all General
Ledger journals relating to Fixed Assets.
134
FINANCE BUREAU Payments & Receipts
22nd March 2013: FINANCE BUREAU must receive all invoices and receipts
by this date to ensure that they are accounted for in the March 2013
accounting period (e.g. Paid for or receipted by 31st March 2013).
5.33
Please note that the 22nd March 2013 is the date by which FINANCE
BUREAU must receive all invoices and receipts to be accounted for in
March. Operational Area and NO departments will need to ensure that all
such invoices and receipts are posted/sent in good time in order to ensure
receipt by FINANCE BUREAU. Given the early closure of Accounts
Department for Year End, it is encouraged to email the invoices to
Cafcass Finance mailbox for processing with the GRN details and PO
number and Supplier number written on the invoices or in the body of the
email.
5.34
If you are unsure whether payments & receipts sent to FINANCE

BUREAU have been included in the March 2013 accounts, please note
that all such inclusions will appear on the 1st cut transaction listings
issued by NO Finance on 25th March 2013.
BACKING DOCUMENTATION & ELECTRONIC COPIES
Acceptable Backing Documentation and Electronic copies

6.1
To enable both National Office Finance and the National Audit Office to
audit the Year End Accounts effectively all backing documents should
clearly show all workings clearly and the amount of each entry listed
on each return must match the figure/calculation shown on the
supporting documents.
6.2
OMs/NO Depts completing returns for their areas should provide

electronic copy backups for each line of the return be it Accrual,
Prepayment, T&S and Time claim accruals etc to their Finance teams by
the deadline set by the AFM and NO FA/FO. The AFM and NO FA/FO
should in turn provide electronic final copy backups in PDF format for each
line of the return to NO finance. This will be more cost efficient, save time
and enable anyone to check the backup remotely.
6.3
All local returns must be saved electronically in the destination specified

by your Finance teams along with the supporting documentation which
must be scanned and saved in TWO files, one for items over 5000 and
one for items under 5000. Both files must be saved in the appropriate
folders by OMs as directed by the AFM and NO FA/FO. Consequently, all
the areas consolidated returns and supporting documents for items over
135
5000
(including
all
supporting
documents
for
T&S
and
Overtime/Bank/Sessional accruals) must be saved in the following
directory: G:\CAFCASS\HQ\Finance\Restricted\Year end 2013.
Once all electronic returns and backing documents have been saved local
teams need to send an email to their Finance teams about the
submission. Similarly, AFM and NO AF/FO need to email NO Finance
mailbox about their submission once their consolidated electronic returns
and backing documents are saved.
6.4
On the returns template there is a column titled backing document page in

PDF file, this column must be completed with the corresponding page
number which shows the relevant backing document for that line. If you
have more than one backing document for an entry then you must state all
the pages that correspond to it.
Points to Note:
6.5
One return template should be submitted/saved, per return type

(accrual/prepayment etc), per Service Area (for OMs) or for each Area
(for AFM/ NO FA/FO).
6.6
All back up sheets should be numbered, in the top right hand corner, with
the corresponding line number from the consolidated returns.
6.7
The backing documentation below is listed in order of preference and

advance effort should be made to supply the first item in each list.
6.8
All officers responsible for collating year end returns should ensure that
invoices are chased in March, purchase orders and GRNs are raised and
T&S claims are submitted up to date.
6.9
Exceptional circumstances, when used below, refers to extended staff

absence or unavailability.
6.10
Credit notes should be included as negative accruals.
6.11
Emails are acceptable as signatures where they are approving an

amount, the amount should be in the body of the email.
General Accruals
6.12
If you have 2 or more invoices for one supplier and the amount entered in
the return is collective figure of all the invoices then this must be clearly
shown on the first invoice (please see Appendix 1 for an example)
6.13
If an item appears on the GRN no Invoice report for March no further

back up is needed. The item should be checked for validity and value, and
then entered onto the accruals sheet. Where you now have better
136
knowledge of the invoice value expected, please adjust the amount on the
report and your template showing your workings/reasoning for the
adjustments. The GRN no invoice report should be attached as back up,
with the relevant items numbered on it, on the right hand side.
6.14
An approved and GRNd purchase order. (If necessary, amended and signed off
by the authoriser, for more up to date costs, preferably with correspondence from
the supplier). The relevant entries on the purchase order must be highlighted and
calculation of total accrued amount (VAT included) (if there is more than 1
entry on the purchase order to be accrued) must be clearly shown on the face of
the purchase order. And the accrued amounts on the return must match the
calculated figures shown on the backing documents (please see Appendix 1 for
an example)
6.15
Where it is not possible to obtain actual cost information for accrual, accrual can
be made on estimated basis using the last three months invoices. In this case,
copies of all previous three months invoices should be attached with calculations
shown clearly on the face of the first document. The average shown in the
calculation should match exactly with the amount accrued; the amount accrued
should not be adjusted/inflated unless there is evidence to show the need for
adjustment (please see Appendix 1 for an example).
6.16
For estimated accruals greater than 5,000.00 a purchase order alone will
not be sufficient, additional supporting evidence must be provided i.e. a
contract or an agreement where such contract or an agreement exist. This
could be in the form of an email from the supplier confirming the amount
etc. Please note the requirement for additional supporting documents to
the PO does not apply to Self Employed Contractor and Agency
practitioners/temporary staff costs.
Accruals - Self Employed Contractors, T&S claims, Time claims

(Overtime/Sessional staff/Bank staff claims)
6.17
6.18
Backing documentation requirement is as the above, but where unavoidably

failing these:
Confirmation, in writing, from the contractor/claimant, of amounts not yet
invoiced/claimed, listed at least by month. This should be signed off by the
normal authoriser. This can be in an email format with an electronic signature
sent form the authorisers mailbox.
Where it is not possible to obtain actual cost information for accrual, accrual can
be made on estimated basis using the last three months invoices/claims. An
amount may be calculated using the last three months average from the finance
month-end spreadsheets. It is assumed that details of the previous claims as per
137
the spreadsheet match with claim data stored in Itrent/Payroll system and claims
can be retrieved to back up those calculations if required. The average shown in
the calculation should match exactly with the amount accrued; the amount
accrued should not be adjusted/inflated unless there is evidence to show the
need for adjustment.
6.19
In exceptional circumstances the relevant manager (who usually signs these

claims) should write an email confirming estimated unclaimed costs based on
previous spend or other knowledge. This should be accompanied by clear
calculation of the estimated amount, with copies of previous claims used in the
calculation, if applicable.
Prepayments
6.20 A copy of the relevant invoice, showing the dates entered into the return
template.
Accrued Income
6.21
A copy of the appropriately authorised AR1 form (and supporting paperwork).
6.22
If the income does not require an invoice to be raised, some supporting

paperwork from the debtor to confirm payment is due - copy of
contract/agreement.
Operating Leases
6.23
A copy of the contract or agreement.
6.24
Where above is not available supply last paid invoice and state what the annual
cost is.
Only enter total annual cost in the return template.
6.25
6.26 Enter date in this format dd/mm/yy only; do not use dot or space as the
separator.
If you do not have the contract or agreement, as a minimum obtain an end date
from the supplier.
6.27
You must not leave the contract start and end dates blank. If the contract does
not have an end date then enter the end of the next financial year end date 31st
March 2014.
138
7.
SUBMISSIONS OF ALL RETURNS
AFM and NO FA/FOs Actions
7.1
Once each cost centre has completed each type of return, they will
provide you with a electronic copy with backing documentation in PDF
format, split in two files for each type of return (one file containing all items
over 5000 and one file containing items under 5000 if applicable).
7.2
All returns must be collated by type by the Finance teams for each Area
and once collated and reviewed; the PDF File should be saved in
G:\CAFCASS\HQ\Finance\Restricted\Year end 2013 (nil returns included).
7.3
Once you have received each type of return from local teams/NO
Departments, you are required to carry out accuracy and completeness
checks before you save them in the Restricted folder. This checking is
required to give NAO the assurance they need that returns are being
monitored thoroughly.
7.4
The Senior Management Team Meetings minutes (for Operational Areas)

and correspondence between NO FA/FO and budget holders (for NO
Departments) relating to the briefing about the Year End procedures and
processes and the provisional 12-13 outturn analysis will need to be
saved in the Restricted folder when they are available.
7.5
AFM and NO FA/FO must retain copies of returns and supporting

documentation, as the National Audit Office may need to audit these as
part of the Year End external audit of the published accounts.
Types of checks on year returns

7.6
Accuracy checks: you should pick cost centres and look at their returns to
see if they are reasonable, comparing this with the forecast outturn for the
year, the level of monthly accruals and budget levels etc. For example, if
a cost centre has a 300 budget for stationery but they have accrued for
500, you may question why it is so high. Please also ensure that if
estimated/average figures are used for the accrual that the calculation
clearly shows the accrued figure.
7.7
Please also check for invalid or incorrect account codes and cost centre
codes.
7.8
Completeness checks: you must check that all cost centres have
submitted a return, including NIL returns, for all returns that are
applicable to them. You must also ensure that all boxes and authorisation
sections of each form have been completed.
139
7.9
Further to this you must also ensure that all cost centres, natural account
codes and values have been entered in the correct format, as incorrect
entries can corrupt and distort the results produced as a whole.
7.10
Once you are content that both checks have been completed, you must
save the returns (by type) as mentioned in section 7.2 by the due date.
7.11
Please also retain copies of returns for information and for possible
checking by the NAO during the audit of the published accounts. NAO
may also require you to demonstrate what checks you have completed on
the returns to ensure they are accurate and complete.
140
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Fixed Asset Procedures

Provide information to NO / Areas of the assets under their control.

The responsibility for the day-to-day administration and management of

2. Purpose Of This Document

Area Or NO Dept Purchasing Asset / Initiating Transfer

3. Fixed Asset Movement Form (FAMF)

4. Fixed Asset Transfer Form (FATF)

For assets of an identical nature that are to reside at various locations, a

5. Areas & National Office Departments

6. National Office Finance

Asset Movements: Disposals & Write-Offs

Asset Movements: Transfers

Prepared By: NO Finance August 2013.

FIXED ASSET POLICY (Appendix 1)

Objective Of This Document

1. Objective Of This Document

HM Treasury Resource Accounting Manual

2. Cafcass Fixed Asset Policy

Assets costing 2,500 or more will be capitalised.

IT Assets will be treated as follows:

IT Fixed Assets costing less than 2,500 will be grouped together as IT

IT Standalone Software (E.g. Software not purchased with hardware)

Assets will be stated at current cost (E.g. Subject to revaluation) using

3. Implementation & Application Of Policy

Assets will be capitalised in the month in which they impact Cafcass

All non-IT assets (except project-related work) with an individual purchase

All non-IT assets (except project-related work) with an individual purchase

Office furniture is not capitalised but expensed in the year.

IT assets will be treated as follows:

Individual Capitalisation: Individual hardware >= 2,500 including software,

Individual Capitalisation: Standalone software >= 2,500 including

Individual Capitalisation: Peripherals >= 2,500 including resources (if

Individual Capitalisation: Resources >= 2,500 that is not part of

Hardware: PC, printer, laptop, servers, peripherals >= 50, etc.

4. Auditor Treatment of IT Infrastructure Assets

5. Fixed Asset Depreciation

Depreciation is the accounting process used in allocating of the cost of a

6. Fixed Asset Revaluations

Prepared By: NO Finance August 2013.

FIXED ASSET MOVEMENT FORM (Appendix 2) : Complete with reference

02. Date of Transaction

To Be Completed By National Office Finance

Area & National Office: NO Finance to authorise

COMPLETING THE FIXED ASSET MOVEMENT FORM (FAMF) GUIDANCE

Additions: A copy of the Purchase Order (printed

To Be Completed By National Office Finance

Prepared By: NO Finance August 2013.

COMPLETING THE FIXED ASSET TRANSFER FORM (FATF) GUIDANCE

Inaccuracies will result in the entire form being

Prepared By: NO Finance August 2013.

Local Asset Procedures

What Is A Local Asset?

1. What Is A Local Asset?

3. Updating The Local Asset Register

4. Physical Checking & Verification

An allocated individual within an office undertakes a physical verification

A single consolidated Local Asset Register is then completed and emailed

In addition to the annual audit Operational Areas should maintain sufficient

Disposal of Cafcass Assets

Cafcass objective in relation to this policy is to ensure that disposals are

REASONS FOR DISPOSAL

No longer required, due to changed procedures, functions or

No longer complying with occupational health and safety

Beyond repair but able to be sold for scrap.