Draft policy 01

Financial Policy

A proposed framework for budgeting, approvals, payments, records and public financial accountability.

Status: DraftVersion: 1.0Review before adoption

Purpose

Protect humanitarian funds from misuse and confusion.

This policy is intended to ensure that money received or used for humanitarian purposes is identifiable, authorised, recorded and reviewable.

Separation principle: humanitarian funds should be kept financially separate from unrelated HSKRC research, publishing or knowledge-centre activity.

Core controls

Minimum financial controls.

BankingUse an account held in the foundation’s approved legal name once legally available. Personal accounts should not be used as the normal operating account for public humanitarian funds.

Budget approvalEvery project should have a written budget approved before funds are committed. Material changes should also be documented and approved.

Payment approvalPayments should have a clear purpose, supporting evidence and an authorised approver. Higher-risk or material payments should receive additional review.

Separation of dutiesWhere practicable, the same person should not initiate, approve, pay and reconcile the same transaction without independent review.

Receipts and recordsInvoices, receipts, transfer confirmations, contracts and other relevant records should be retained in an organised and secure form.

CashCash use should be minimised. Where unavoidable, cash movements should be documented, acknowledged and reconciled promptly.

ReimbursementsReimbursements should require evidence of the expense, its humanitarian purpose and approval by someone other than the claimant where practicable.

Restricted fundsFunds raised for a specific project or purpose should be tracked separately and used only consistently with the stated restriction unless a lawful and transparent alternative is approved.

ProcurementPurchases should seek reasonable value, avoid undisclosed related-party benefit and use quotations or comparison where proportionate to value and risk.

ReconciliationBank and project records should be reconciled regularly, with unexplained differences investigated and documented.

Reporting

Public trust requires understandable numbers.

Project reporting should distinguish funds received, project expenditure, administrative or transaction costs where applicable, remaining balances and project status.

Published figures should be supported by internal records and should not imply independent audit or assurance unless such assurance has actually occurred.

Irregularities

Concerns should be recorded, not buried.

Suspected fraud, theft, falsified records, unauthorised payments or material financial errors should be escalated to the governing body promptly. Relevant records should be preserved, access controlled where necessary, and corrective action documented.

No person should investigate a financial concern alone where they are personally involved in the transaction or allegation.

Pre-launch restriction: this draft does not authorise the acceptance of public donations. Fundraising should remain inactive until the foundation’s legal, banking, governance and compliance arrangements are completed and verified.