Document checklist

The following is a generic checklist of the basic documentary checks that the programme manager should personally undertake.

• Approve significant purchases - both the order and the payment.
• Approve significant stores requisitions.
• Approve large cash advances.
• Approve large cash expenditure.
• Approve large grant payments.
• Approve the payroll.
• Approve significant transfers between bank accounts.
• Check bank reconciliations monthly.
• Check the cash reconciliation monthly.
• Approve cash withdrawals from the bank.
• Approve large cash movements - why, where, by what method?
• Investigate significant variances between actual spend and budget.

Every operation is different; which of these you do and how you prioritise them is for your judgement.

Note the words "large" and "significant" - it will be your judgement what is large enough and significant enough to justify checking.