finance orientation manual - my account

Finance Orientation Manual This is a high level overview of the Finance Section of the Town Operations Manual. It includes the

Finance policies that a majority of Town employees need to be aware of; however, it is a very small

subsection of the Operations Manual. You are required to know all policies that apply to your job.

This document is available to download or print for future reference.

Finance Department Organization

Your trainer today is Kim Singdahlsen. Please feel free to reach out with any further questions.

[email protected]

(303) 805-3135

Finance Director

Finance Manager (budget)

Procurement Dept (purchasing

procedures, large purchases)

Controller (accounting)

Accountant

Accounts Receivable (records incoming

money)

Accounts Payable (handles invoices and

check requests)Payroll

Internal Control (processes and

procedures)

Also IT and Sales Tax

mailto:[email protected]

PURCHASING AND PAYMENTS

BASICS

All purchases must be for Town business and within the budget.

Payments are made with a Town purchasing card or via invoicing from the vendor that the Finance

department will pay with a check or ACH transfer.

All purchases and expenses, regardless of the amount or method of payment, must be approved.

o Purchases made on Town purchasing cards

o Purchases paid via invoices

o Travel and expense reports

o Includes a 50¢ nail to a $100,000 piece of equipment

Most purchases are approved after you’ve made the purchase so be certain that it will be approved

before you make the purchase.

We are a tax exempt organization so always be sure your payment or invoice for payment does not

include sales tax. You will be required to correct the error if sales tax is included.

o If needed, our Certificate of Exemption is found on Town Intranet Finance page

Purchasing Cards (PCard)

With supervisor permission, you may be issued a purchasing card. If you receive a PCard, you will

be fully trained in a separate session. Make sure you are trained before using your card.

Purchasing cards are the preferred method of payment for smaller purchases that fit within your

PCard limit.

o However, DO NOT use your PCard if the vendor charges a fee for the use of that card. If

there is a fee – you must pay via an invoice through the check request/invoice process.

Some categories or stores are blocked from P-card purchases. Examples are sin codes (jewelry,

liquor and more) and office supply stores (office supplies are centralized to a person within your

department which flows up to the Procurement Officer).

You must review your purchases monthly, list the account code and description for each, and get

required approval signatures.

DETAIL

Department Directors approve all purchases, but

they do have the option to delegate smaller

amounts to direct reports.

Higher dollar amounts require higher levels of

signature – all the way to Town Council.

Authorization for Expenditures (AFE)

Purchases over $5,000, or for multiple purchases

totaling $5,000 from a single vendor over a

calendar year, must be approved before the

purchase via an Authorization For Expenditures

(AFE)

o The AFE system is found on Town Intranet under Popular Search Items.

o There are some limited exceptions to the AFE requirements, e.g. emergency repairs.

These are found in the Town Operations Manual or contact the Procurement Dept.

o AFEs are simply pre-approvals of purchases so AFEs have the same signature

requirements.

o Work with experienced staff in your department or with the Procurement Department to

complete these forms.

Check Request/Invoice Submissions

If the payment is not made with a PCard, you will submit the appropriate documentation to

Accounts Payable (AP) in the Finance Department who will review, process and pay.

o DO NOT submit items that are paid on your PCard – it will result in duplicate payment.

A submission consists of the following:

o The main document with your signature and any approval signatures. Typical documents

are:

An invoice from the vendor

A refund receipt out of a Town POS (point-of-sale) system

If neither of the above, then complete a check request form found on Town

Intranet, Docs & Forms

If you are in a position to make substantial purchases, be sure to read and

understand the purchasing section of the Operations Manual. There are

numerous requirements including quotes and competitive processes, legal

compliance, best practices, and internal controls.

APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

Department Director signs off on all purchases but

they may choose to delegate to:

- A Deputy Department Director (up to $10,000)

- A direct report (up to $5,000)

For purchases between $5,000 and $100,000:

- Department Director

- Finance (for budget purposes)

- IT Director (if IT related goods and services)

- Procurement Officer

- Town Administrator (unless item is less than

$50,000 and on approved capital outlay list)

Over $100,000 – Same as above with the addition of

Town Council.

o Back-up to the above document may be required, most typically on check requests. For

example, a check request to pay a brand new vendor named John Smith $1,000 for

“services” will not be paid without a proof statement behind it. Work with experienced

staff in your department or with the Finance Department Accounts payable area for these

requirements.

o For expenses requiring an AFE; the fully-approved AFE must be included. The invoice will

not be paid if all approvals are not complete. If you do send an incomplete AFE, it is your

responsibility to notify the AP department when it is completed.

o Make sure the submission clearly identifies the following.

The General Ledger Account Code to be paid from,

e.g. there are codes for training, uniforms, general

supplies, specific projects and many more.

If there is any AFE, you may indicate “use AFE

coding” if appropriate. Finance will not assume

that the AFE coding is correct unless you make

that note.

A description of the payment (this is often on the invoice but you should

summarize in a few words if it is a lengthy invoice or if it uses unique verbiage).

An approval signature. Approval signatures certify two things – the expense is an

approved Town expense and that the product or services has been received and is

acceptable.

An expense pre-approved with an AFE must still include a signature to

indicate that that the product or service has been received and is acceptable.

Final invoices must be in to Finance by 5PM Monday to be paid by the next Friday. Earlier is

better as the Finance process invoices multiple steps, double-checks and bank authorizations.

o DO NOT promise vendors that a check will be ready at a certain time without checking

with Finance.

NOTE: These are

required for your

departments’ benefit.

Directors review expenses

against the budget so each

expense must be accurately

categorized and described.

TRAVEL POLICIES

BASICS

The Town’s travel policy applies when air travel or an overnight stay is required.

o Overnight stays in or around the Denver Metro area are not standardly approved but may

be if your Department Director decides that circumstances warrant it.

Travel expenses must be economical, but reasonable. For example, we do not pay first class

airfare, but we also allow direct flights even if they are more expensive.

Travel must be authorized by your department director and the Finance department in advance.

o Department Directors must have approval from Town Administrator.

Some departments have a specific staff member who does all travel authorizations. Check with

experienced travelers within your department.

DETAIL

Travel expenses must be economical, but reasonable. For example, we do not pay first class

airfare, but we also allow direct flights even if they are more expensive.

Airfare, lodging and conference costs are paid in advance on your p-card or by your department.

Some expenses will be paid in advance:

o Mileage if using your personal vehicle

o An amount for meals. The amount is based on the federal government’s “per diem”

amounts by zip code. (You’ll get paid more if you are going to New York City vs. Pueblo,

CO.)

Full meals provided by your hotel/conference are not reimbursed separately.

o Other items may be paid in advance upon request. Examples include tolls or public

transport. However, if paid in advance, the amount paid must be reconciled to actual

receipts upon your return. If you were paid more you will have to return the difference or

vice versa.

o Advance payments are direct deposited to your bank account the Friday prior to travel.

Travel Authorizations need to be finalized with backup documents and approvals and given to

Finance at least 2 weeks before leaving on Town business. This is required, but is for YOUR

benefit in receiving a travel advance on a timely basis.

The Operations Manual includes the policy but does not include the step-by-step instructions that

follow.

Travel Authorization and Advance Form (on Town Intranet under Forms)

Fill in Departure/Return Date & Time as accurately is possible. The time is based on when you

leave or arrive back to your work location or home, e.g.it includes drive time to the airport

Total Estimated Cost of Travel for Authorization section: o Required for your director to sign and authorize the trip.

o Registration/Airfare/Lodging

BACKUP DOCUMENT Must include confirmation document and the receipt for

each purchase

o Meals

12/28/2020

Traveler Department:

Purpose of Trip

Depart date time

Return date time Destination:

per diem

mileage

other

total -$

other (explain):

-$

Enter last 3 digits of bank account for deposit

*Only for employees with multiple bank accounts

click here for per diem form

traveler

date

supervisor

date GL code for traveler (1st 7 digits)

director

date

if necessary date

Town Council

if necessary date

Updated: 1/30/2020

Travel Authorization and Advance Form

registration

Total Estimated Cost of Travel for Authorization Travel Advance Requested

Travel Information

Fill out only if you are requesting a travel advance

Town Administrator

airfare

lodging

meals ( use per diem tab)

vehicle rental

The Finance Department must receive travel advance requests at least

two weeks prior to departure. Travel advances will be deposited into

your bank account the Friday before departure.

Approvals

mileage

total

IMPORTANT: Traveler, by signing below you agree to the following: To abide by the Town's travel policy; and that all expenses must be

substantiated with proper documentation (except for Per Diem).

Click on the link on the main Travel Authorization page to get to per diem page

It will be pre-filled with the information you submitted from the first page. Notice

the panel on the right side which shows what will be paid for depending on when

you leave and arrive home. That is why your departure and return time is needed.

Click on link to GSA website to find per diem rate for your destination.

(GSA is the General Services Administration of the federal government)

o Enter your state and city or the zip code; click Find Rates

o Scroll down to the Meals and Incidentals section; use the M&IE

Total in the center of the line

Enter this number into the Meal Per Diem rate box to get the breakout for

breakfast, lunch and dinner. (The Town’s breakdown between meals is different

from the GSA website)

Then enter the dollar amount for each meal you are to receive for each day in the

boxes below.

Travel days – Use reference boxes to the right of the Per Diem form.

Work days – Enter the per diem amount for only those meals that are not

provided by the conference/seminar or hotel

o NOTE: We do pay for breakfast if only a continental breakfast is

provided; we do pay for dinner if only a happy hour is provided.

BACKUP DOCUMENT

Print the per diem page as backup

Also include an agenda, schedule, or registration document that shows

which meals are provided (if any)

o Mileage (if driving your own car)

Town of Parker

Per Diem

Employee: (information flows from "form" tab)

Departure date: 1/0/1900 time: 12:00 AM

Return date: 1/0/1900 time: 12:00 AM

Destination:

Meal Per Diem rate: breakfast (20%) $0.00

click here for gsa.gov/perdiem lunch (30%) $0.00

dinner (50%) $0.00

Date Day Breakfast Lunch Dinner Total

1/0/1900 Sat -$

Leave Town Per diem allowed

before 8 a.m. breakfast, lunch and dinner

between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. lunch and dinner

between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. dinner

after 7 p.m. no per diem

Arrive in Town Per diem allowed

before 7 a.m. no per diem

between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. breakfast

between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. breakfast and lunch

after 5 p.m. breakfast, lunch and dinner

Total Per Diem -$

Attach to Travel Authorization and Advance Form

Trip Departure

0

Trip Return

0

Can only claim mileage from either your home or place of work to the location

Mileage payments include all expenses related to your personal vehicle and is based

on the standard IRS mileage rate. This includes the cost of gas.

BACKUP DOCUMENT Include a Google map.

o Vehicle Rental - Policy prefers the use of public transport, so rentals are usually not

allowed unless approved by Department Director.

BACKUP DOCUMENT Reservation detail with costs.

o Other – detail is not required on the Authorization unless you want to be paid in advance

(see below)

Examples include known tolls or public transport

Be aware of the list of Unauthorized Expenses in the Operations Manual

Travel Advance Requested section

o Per diems are typically paid in advance for your use while traveling.

o Mileage is up to you. If have other expenses to submit later (such as tolls), you could do

mileage later – otherwise it’s probably easier in advance.

o It is easiest for you and for us not to reimburse other expenses in advance, but we most

definitely can if you want travel money in your pocket. If you do request them in advance,

you will have to provide receipts after the trip. If you requested more in advance than your

receipts support, you will have to pay that amount back – and vice versa.

If you incurred expenses not requested in advance, you can submit an expense report to Payroll

after your trip (see next section), This is typically only tolls or public transport (assuming you did

not pay on a p-card) since all other expenses are pre-paid.

GENERAL EXPENSE REPORTS

BASICS

The Town does not expect you to pay for anything related to Town business.

If you have personally paid for anything, use the Town Expense Report found on the Intranet.

Includes such things as

o Travel expenses not paid for or reimbursed in advanced

o Use of your personal vehicle – even traveling between Town buildings

o Office supplies are handled centrally through procurement so will not be reimbursed.

DETAIL

Sample Expense Report

o After completing the line-by-line detail, be sure to use the Line Item Distribution at the

bottom to define the General Ledger Account Codes to be used.

o Be sure you have the appropriate approval signatures.

o Submit to Payroll in the Finance Department; it will be paid on your paycheck.

Required backup

o Attach receipts for all expenses

o For mileage on your personal car

Include a Google map as backup

Mileage between Town facilities is found on the Town Intranet, Docs &

Forms – Facilities Standard Mileage List

The payment you receive all expenses related to your personal vehicle and is based

on the standard IRS mileage rate.

o If you are requesting reimbursement for travel expenses and previously received a travel

advance, be sure to include a reconciliation of what you already received and what remains

to be paid.

CASH CONTROLS AND HANDLING POLICIES

BASICS

We are very serious about the handling of money because as a government, it is not our money; it

is the public’s money.

All Town employees who handle funds in the regular course of their employment or departmental

activities – whether routine or non-routine - are required to be trained on cash handling.

Completion of this training, including passing an examination on the secure processing of cash and

completing the appropriate Cash Reference and Acknowledgement Form(s), certifies the

employee to handle cash in the manner prescribed by the Town of Parker.

o If your job description requires handling money (in any form) - be very certain you have

received this training.

Employees who are not certified in cash handling must not accept funds under any circumstances.

DETAILS

General Town Cash Handling Procedures to support Policy are in the Cash Handling Procedures

Manual found on the Intranet under the Finance Department; however many departments have it

in a more readily accessible area and often have cheatsheets for the procedures.

Each department shall have separate cash drawers and computer log-ins for each staff member

handling cash.

YOU are accountable for Town of Parker funds.

o All cash deposits and cash drawers need to be secured in a safe or locked drawer at all times.

o Never give anyone your safe combination.

YOU are accountable for the money in your drawer.

o Count your drawer before your shift; have count verified particularly if it does not seem

correct.

o Do not let anyone else work out of your drawer.

o Do not let people you do not know behind the counter unless authorized in advance.

o If you need more small change from the safe, make sure you know that the correct amount

leaves your drawer and comes back to your drawer

All transactions must be recorded through a Point of Sale (POS) System.

Receipts shall be provided for all transactions.

o A hand-written receipt or an emailed receipt is acceptable if necessary

Refunds (inc. wooden nickels), returns, and voids must be given/approved by a manager.

Refunds must be given in the same form as originally paid, e.g. you cannot give cash back if the

customer used a credit card.

Forms of payment

o Cash

Always keep the customer’s money in their view until the transaction is complete.

Do not accept any foreign currency

You must follow all procedures for identifying and handling counterfeit bills

including the use of a U/V light for all bills $20 and greater.

Use the U/V light from behind the bill and look for the colored stripe ($5

and $10 not required). $100 is pink – although note that in some years the

pink isn’t as bright – that’s OK; $50 is yellow, $20 is green

If the U/V light is not available, use other tests as defined in the Cash

Handling Procedures Document

o Credit Cards

Only for the amount of purchase

Do not write down credit card information nor send over email/messaging

Check signature on the card and that it matches the receipt.

Your management will provide instructions for procedures if the credit card system

is not functioning.

o Checks

Only for the amount of purchase

Only accept checks in standard, pre-printed form, e.g. no starter checks without

information printed.

Make sure it is made out to the Town of Parker or a department of the Town and

that all blanks are completed

DO NOT complete or correct any blank yourself.

Make sure the numerical amount matches the written out amount

Endorse (stamp) the check immediately upon receipt

o Other

Traveler’s checks will not be accepted

Personal money orders and cashier’s checks can be accepted for the exact dollar

amount.

You must reconcile/balance your drawer at the end of your shift. Your management will provide

full instructions, but the concept is:

o Count your drawer; have count verified

o Leave the change amount in the drawer.

Whenever possible, put currency that is torn, written on, bent, etc. in the deposit,

not back in the change drawer.

o Compare the remaining amount (your deposit) with the POS report showing how much it

should be.

o Provide your best explanation if you are off by $5 or more.

Departments reconcile their deposits within one business day and send the information to the

Finance Department

o Any overages or shortages of $25 or more requires an explanation to the department

manager and the accounting manager, including the amount, reason, steps taken to find the

overage/shortage, and steps to prevent future occurrences.

PAYROLL

Your supervisor will train you on how to navigate through Kronos, our time-keeping, payroll

system.

Missed punches or double punches need to be taken care of as soon as possible. Notify your

supervisor immediately.

40 hour/week employees need to make sure they have a total of 40 hours per week.

Salaried employees use Kronos for sick and vacation leave.

All employees must approve timecards as soon as possible so that supervisors can meet signoff

deadlines.

o This includes salaried employees even when no time off is used.

Your paychecks are available for viewing in Kronos; make sure you understand and double-check

what is on your paycheck.

FRAUD HOTLINE

What should you report?

o If you observe behavior that you believe violates our General Operations Manual, we ask

you to report it. Examples include accounting, badge or access control, confidentiality,

conflict of interest, improper giving or receiving of gifts, time abuse. More examples are at

the link below.

o Ideally, you should bring any concerns forward to your direct manager, or other member

of our management team. We recognize, however, that there may be circumstances when

you are not comfortable reporting the issue in this manner. It is for such circumstances that

we have partnered with EthicsPoint, to provide an avenue for reporting that allows

anonymity if needed. We would rather you report anonymously than not report at all.

Reporting of fraudulent activity and can be anonymously reported online through EthicsPoint, an

independent third-party. The access to their webpage can be found on the Intranet, Departments,

Finance, Fraud Hotline (please know that no information linking your PC to EthicsPoint is

available).

o OR you can use a PC outside of work, www.parkerfraudline.ethicspoint.com

o OR you can call at 844-282-9634

http://www.parkerfraudline.ethicspoint.com/

finance orientation manual - my account

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