NUS Presentation Title 2001 · OFS issues blank official receipt books to student clubs for acknowledgement of monies collected. Student clubs have to ensure that monies collected

Agenda

1. Policies & Procedures for NUSSU & Clubs

2. Budget preparation & monitoring

3. Sharing of past audit observations

4. Expense claim procedures

5. Other Points to note

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Policies & Procedures Budget Audit observations Expense claims Points to note

Summary of Policies & Procedures for NUSSU

& Clubs

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Purpose:

Quick reference guide to ensure that all students

are familiar with these key policies and

procedures and to comply with them

Finance Forms (for NUSSU & Clubs)

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Updated finance forms can be downloaded from the following link: http://nus.edu.sg/finance/NUSStudentsUnion(NUSSU)AndClubs.html

Out-dated/old/modified versions of the forms should not be used

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Budget Preparation and Submission

Timeline for AY 14/15 Budget Budget Preparation tasks

Week 1 Sep 2014 OFS will send budget template to NUSSU & Clubs for

completion

Week 3 Sep 2014 Deadline for submission of completed budget templates to

OFS

Week 4 Sep 2014 Forward to OSA for Dean of Students’ approval

Week 1 Oct 2014 Upload approved budget in SAP

AY 14/15 Budget Period

1st Oct 2014 – 30th Sep 2015


Budget Preparation and Submission

1. Subscription fees / Income OFS will allocate the applicable annual subscription fees and entrance fees (for

NUSSU) to each club

Projected income (eg. Sale of tickets, Participation fees and Sponsorships) will be estimated reasonably

2. Budget preparation Budget template will be provided by OFS

Dean of Students’ approval is required for the proposed budget

Any deficit projected must be supplemented by a drawdown from the club’s accumulated reserves, to be approved by the Dean of Students

A standard template letter will be used for submission to the Dean of Students

At the end of each AY, any resulting (actual) surplus will be credited into the club’s accumulated reserves

Shortfall in individual WBS – should be first made good from other WBS within the same AY, to be approved by OSA officier

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Budget monitoring and review Monthly statements will be distributed to the clubs’ Hon Fin for clubs’ monthly review

(first week of the following month)

The club is required to present a variance report (actuals vs budget) after the end of the AY for OSA’s review, using a template provided by OFS

Expenses cannot exceed the SAP posted budget amounts (based on the approved budget)

All expense claims should be done on a timely basis (within 7 working days)

Budget Monitoring

Meeting to review AY 14/15

To be scheduled in Oct 2014


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Budget Monitoring

Budget Reviews (using variance report at end of BP) Variance analysis with clear and adequate explanation(s) required for

budget reviews if the variance exceeds these limits:

NUSSU Constituent Clubs

>10% and >$10,000 >10% and >$1,000

Timeline Budget review tasks

AY 14/15

Week 2 Oct 2014 Send budget vs actual budget review templates to NUSSU & Clubs to

provide a summary of the budget period and explanations for highlighted

variance(s)

Week 3 Oct 2014 Deadline for submission of completed budget review templates to OFS,

which will be forwarded to OSA for review

Week 4 Oct 2014 Budget review meetings


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Points to note (budget)

1. Insufficient budget

Budget transfer

(between WBS within

budget period)

Budget Supplement Draw down from

Reserve

Obtain OSA officer

approval

Obtain Dean of Students

approval to request for

additional budget

Write to Dean of

Students to request for

use of reserve


Points to note (budget)

2. Unutilised Budget

• At the end of each AY, any unutilised budget in the WBS will not be carried forward

3. Handover from outgoing to incoming management committees

• Financial procedures and financial information for budget preparation and reviews

should be documented and included as part of the handover process

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Points from past audit observations

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Procurement

Purchase and installation of lockers •No competitive quotes and no approval for

waiver from competition were obtained

•Receipt of goods was not supported by duly

acknowledged delivery order

• Dinner & Dance – Meals

• Rental of musical equipment

•No competitive quotes and no approval for

waiver from competition were obtained

Printing of planners •Lowest quote not selected. Reason given was

that vendor was able to provide a sample before

the print job. However, no indication that lowest

bidder was unable to fulfill this requirement




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Procurement

Printing of jackets •Although 3 quotations were obtained, there were

not comparable as the vendors quoted based on

different quantities of 200, 350 & 1,000 pieces.

Vendor which quoted 1,000 pieces was selected

based on its lowest unit price





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Cash collections

OFS issues blank official receipt books to student clubs for acknowledgement of monies collected.

Student clubs have to ensure that monies collected are properly accounted for (via issuance of

receipts or receipt control sheet / collection form) and duly banked-in and unused receipts returned to

OFS.

Student clubs have to confirm / account for all unused receipts on a monthly basis.

Cash collected and offset against expenses

Cash collected (eg from ticket sales) cannot be used for payment of expenses (eg for catering) even

though it is for the same event.

The cash collected should be banked in promptly and invoices submitted to OFS-Shared Financial

Services Centre (SFSC) for payment of expenses (must be handled separately as 2 distinct

transactions).



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Proper Approving and Signing Authority

Approving authority for procurement and for payments are distinct and separate

All signing authority for NUSSU & Clubs resides with OSA



Expense Claims – what to look out for

Invoice billed to NUSOriginal invoice billed to NUS/Clubs. Scanned copy of the original invoices is not acceptable

Non-original invoice has to be “certified true copy” from the vendor

Evidence of goods already delivered and services rendered

Delivery order (DO) should be attached

“Goods/services received by” box signed by person responsible for receipt

Quantity stated in the invoice should be equal / not exceed the amount stated in the DO

Unit price stated in the invoice should be equal or less than the written quotation.

Description of the goods should be a match with the DO

The invoice is arithmetically correct

Payment of cash advances should be avoided

Timely submission

Correct account codes of GLs & WBS

Invoice must be verified / signed in the “Invoice verified by” box after verifying that the invoice is in order

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Expense Claims – what to look out for

Invoice not billed to NUS / Official receipts Original invoice (or certified true copy) with paid stamp or Official Receipts must be produced for reimbursements

Proper declaration / authorisation of payment to the named payee (eg invoice billed to another student who is not the named payee)

“Goods/services received by” box signed by person responsible for receipt

Invoice must be verified / signed in the “Invoice verified by” box after verifying that the invoice is in order

Proper declaration if receipts are not available/lost

Timely submission

Correct account coding of GLs & WBS

Proper supporting documentation / submission on the award of cash prizes; acknowledgement of receipt of cash prizes from award winners

Payee name / student matric number must stated in full and accurately

Any corrections made on the reimbursement forms must be properly done and endorsed

Claim amount must match cash paid amount (check for rounding errors)

A partial claim must be explicitly stated (if there is a difference between claim form and receipt)

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Common Errors made in students’ claims

1. Wrong amount input on Reimbursement form

2. Contract Amount Exceeded

3. Bank account details not updated in ISIS

4. Rounding up/down of amount on Reimbursement forms

5. Split Purchases

6. Invalid WBS

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Other points to note

1. Accruals

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Accruals

Required at end of:

-Academic Year (AY)

-Goods and services incurred but pending receipt of

invoices from vendor

-Goods and services committed and yet to be received

Procedure -Submit list of accruals to OFS before end of AY*

-Within 1 month after the end of AY, submit invoices that

have been accrued for payment to OFS

-If 1 month timeline is exceeded, OFS to be advised if

accrual is still required

*Timeline for

submission

AY 14/15 – To be advised later


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2. Prepayments Advance or installment payments for goods/services not received yet at the

time of payment Similar to the procedure for payment of invoices, prepayments to be

submitted to SFSC-Accounts payable for posting to prepayment account code

Eg Deposit paid in advance in order to secure an event venue (NUSSU and Clubs to indicate on the invoice that it is a prepayment)

Upon receipt of goods/ services, prepayment amount will then be reversed from the prepayment account and into the relevant expense account code(s).

Prepayments should be few as NUSSU & Clubs should not normally pay in advance for goods/services not received yet



3. Making payment for Inter-dept billing vs external party (3rd party) billing

An inter-department sale is where goods are sold / services are rendered by one NUS dept to another NUS dept

NUSSU & Clubs are part of NUS departments

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Inter-dept External party

Procedure Invoice submitted for settlement through journal

entries – payment should not be made directly

to billing party

Invoice submitted for payment to external

vendor

GST GST is not applicable GST applies

Examples Accommodation charges for camps, billed by

Halls/Residences

Rental charges on university premises

Catering charges, billed by external caterer

4. Charging of GST for all sales (including cash sales)

NUS is GST registered, thus any billing to external parties is subjected to GST

Any sales (including cash sales) is subjected to GST


Sponsorships Donations

Contributions with tangible benefits conferred

(eg. Display of banner, Advertising slot in event

materials)

Monetary contributions with no benefits conferred

Still considered to be outright donations even if

there is voluntary acknowledgement (eg. In

newsletter)

Tax donation receipts to be issued

Subject to output GST Outside scope of GST

Recognized under Income WBS Recognized under Donation WBS

Income WBS is not carried forward to next BP Donations WBS is carried forward to next BP

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5. Sponsorships vs Donations


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6. Collections of cash and subsequent banking to OFS

All cheque/cash collections are to be deposited at the cashier office at the

earlier of the following:

a) Total cash collections of SGD1,000 and/or cheque collections of SGD15,000

b) One week from the date of collection.

Each club is designated an official NUS DBS Bank account

Members may consult their Club President / Finance Secretary on the bank

account details and any funds transferred to the bank account should be

communicated with the Club President / Finance Secretary

These DBS bank accounts will function purely as “collection boxes” ie they

can only accept incoming funds



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7. Use of accumulated surplus for Investment(to be submitted to OFS one month before subscription date)

Short Term Investment Portfolio Long Term Investment Portfolio

Lock-up period

(new

subscription)6 months 24 months

Notice period for

withdrawal90 days

Minimum

subscriptionIn lots of $50,000

Subscription &

Redemption

dates

First business day of each calendar quarter (i.e. first business day of Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct)


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8. Useful Links


AY 14/15

Budget Oct 2014 Complete Budget review template (for period

ended AY13/14)

Budget Oct - Nov 2014 Budget review meetings


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9. Useful Links

You may find more detailed information on the various Finance Standard

Operating Procedures and FAQ at

http://nus.edu.sg/finance/students.html



http://nus.edu.sg/finance/students.html

Documents

NUS Presentation Title 2001 · OFS issues blank official receipt books to student clubs for acknowledgement of monies collected. Student clubs have to ensure that monies collected