(charter manual, Appendix 7 group committee rules) 1. Does your group need to prepare a budget? Yes this part is of the financial report that needs to be tabled, moved and accepted at the annual AGM. This also gives groups the opportunity to forecast their expected expenditure to ensure that the group arranges enough fundraising events through the year to meet these requirements.

(QBSI (2005) section 2.3.1) 2. Does all money received need to be receipted? Yes all section funds, camp fees, uniforms, fundraising and raffle funds need to be receipted. Note: the only exception to this is bank interest which can be slotted into the spread sheet without a receipt number; some group treasurers do write receipts, however it is up to the individual group to decide how they would like to document it.

(charter manual, Appendix 7 group committee rules) 3. How soon after receiving money does it have to be banked? Funds must be banked as soon as possible after receiving funds into the group or section account. However funds should be held for no longer than a period of 7 days.

(charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section7) 4. What is the process for reimbursement of funds? Group funds 1)An official tax invoice/receipt must be obtained. 2)A cheque requisition form must be completed and authorised by the Group Leader and invoices/receipts must be attached. 3)The authorised form will be passed to the treasurer to be paid once presented and moved at the next executive committee meeting.

(charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section7) 4. Cont. What is the process for reimbursement of funds? Section funds 1)An official tax invoice/receipt must be obtained. 2)A cheque requisition form must be completed and authorised by the Group Leader and invoices/receipts must be attached. 3)A cheque is then drawn from the section account. Note: no adult member or relative of an adult member should sign their own, (or relatives) reimbursement cheque, this policy is solely for their own protection from suspicion of inappropriate financial transactions.

(charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section7) 5. How is fundraising expenditure to be reimbursed? Organisers for fundraising activities have 2 options for receiving reimbursement. Option 1 1)An official tax invoice/receipt must be obtained. 2)A cheque requisition form must be completed and authorised by the Group Leader and invoices/receipts must be attached. 3)The authorised form will be passed to the treasurer to be paid once presented and moved at the next executive committee meeting.

(QBSI (2005) section 2.8.4) 5. Cont. How is fundraising expenditure to be reimbursed? Option 2 1)A prepayment can be approved by the executive committee prior to the event with a budget for approval of the funds that will be required. 2)No later than 2 weeks after the event, submit a cheque requisition/prepayment form (can be obtained through Region) with the invoices/receipts attached. 3)Complete the reconciliation component of the form and indicate if excess funds are required to complete the reimbursement. 4)If there are funds left over these are to be presented to the treasurer or banked into a nominated account and a receipt written and attached to the reconciliation form. Note: it is never acceptable to pay expenses incurred for a fundraising activity out of the proceeds this contravenes QBSI’s policy.

(Charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section7) 6. What can petty cash funds be used for? A petty cash float of up to $100 can be held by group and sections. It can be used for small incidentals such as stamps, pens, and forgotten small items that are required for section nights. Purchases being made with petty cash funds must not exceed $20 per transaction and cannot replace the reimbursement process. A receipt must be obtained and attached to the petty cash form which can then be tallied and a cheque can be drawn to replenish. The Group treasurer must retain these forms for the audit process.

(QBSI (2005) section 2.1.1) & (Charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section13) 7. Who can perform an audit? An audit can be carried out by a qualified person such as public accountants or someone authorised by the Association, however if a qualified auditor cannot be found an application can be made to the State Executive Officer for a person with accounting or banking knowledge to be appointed

(QBSI (2005) section 2.3.2) 8. What accounts need to be included in the audit? !!!!!!!!!!!!All bank accounts must be audited!!!!!!!!!! Including but not limited to: Group Fundraising Sectional Sectional accounts MUST be audited and will be included in the annual accounts of the group. A monthly statement/report must be given to the group leader at the Group Council. This statement/report is tabled at the Group Committee meetings and retained by the treasurer.

(group Leader and group committee Handbook(1996), Section 13.8) 9. Can cash be used to pay expenses? All payments are to be made by cheque, however if there is a frequent number of small transactions a petty cash account could be used. This includes all expenses including camp fees, catering costs for camps and so on. Where cheques are not practical, cheque reimbursement or prepayment must be used.

(Charter manual, Appendix 8 Accounting procedures section12) 10. Does our group have to submit an annual financial return to Scouts QLD? The preparation of the yearly financial is compulsory for the Association to meet its statutory obligation in relation to the Queensland Incorporation Act and requires details of all income and expenditure for the year by the formation.