Accounting and Finance Policies and Procedures, (with URL) / Edition 1

by Rose Hightower

Overview

Policies and procedures are the foundation of internal controls for organizations. Taking a complicated subject and breaking it into manageable components, this book enables you to hit the ground running and significantly accelerate your completion of a solid policies and procedures program. Comprehensive and practical, this useful book provides you with sample documents you can personalize and customize to meet your company's needs.

These manuals are favorites for organizations and companies that need a foundation and grounding to ensure an internal control posture of integrity, credibility, method, process and process: or a reminder of its importance. 

URLs were included when first published to encourage the dissemination and distribution of relevant chapters to those interested and in charge of the specific departments.  

Although times have changed, the principles professed are sound and solid for today’s accounting and business environment.  Implementing these cornerstones will produce a principled manageable approach. 

These manuals can be used by accounting individuals, finance departments, sole proprietor businesses, large corporations, accounting / auditing students and any others interested in specific topics or general disciplines.

The discipline for the oversight processes and procedures are important when introducing or implementing auditing practices whether in accounting or throughout the organization. 

These manuals should be used together to provide the basics when setting up a department or specific process discipline, for learning about the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities within the specific focus areas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470259627
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/25/2008
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	8.54(w) x 11.08(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Rose Hightower, Accountant, MSc, has been the owner of IDEAL Consulting Solutions International, LLC for ten years, consulting in implementation of internal control and policy and procedure programs for large companies. Bringing over twenty years of experience from IBM and serving as finance manager, her program contains practical lessons and simple solutions for any size company. She is known as "The Policy Guru" and offers advice and counsel to clients from her Web site, idealpolicy.com, and through auditnet.org.

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Table of Contents

How to Use this Manual xiii

Preface xvii

Before Getting Started xix

Getting Started with the Program xxiii

Developing the Table of Contents xxvii

Self Assessment xxxi

Program 1

A01 Program Mandate 3

A02 Overview—Getting Started: Presentation 9

A03a Create, Revise, Issue Policies and Procedures 21

A03b Template—Name of Document 26

A04 Request to Deviate from Policies and Procedures 28

A05 Rescind Policies and Procedures 32

Policies and Procedures 35

B01 Account Reconciliation 37

B02 Accounting for Compensated Absences 41

B03 Accounting for Goodwill, Patents, Trademarks, and Other Intangible Assets 44

B04 Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions 47

B05 Accounting for Post-Employment Benefits 50

B06 Accounting for Restructuring and Reorganization 53

B07 Accounting for Sales Compensation: Expense, Accrual, Reconciliation 57

B08 Accounts Payable: Request for Payment to Third Party Vendors 62

B09 Accounts Receivable: Allowance for Doubtful Accounts 68

B10 Accounts Receivable: Third-Party Trade and Customer—Credit, Collection, and Cash Applications 72

B11 Accruals 81

B12 Accounting and Audit-Related Complaints 86

B13 Authorization: Delegation, SubDelegation of Authority 90

B14 Bank Reconciliation 100

B15 Business Combinations, Consolidation and Foreign Entity Reporting 103

B16 Business Licenses 106

B17 Cash and Banking 109

B18 Communication with Financial Community 116

B19 Escheat, Abandoned Property, Unclaimed Checks: U.S., Canada, and Where Local Regulations Require 119

B20 Finance Code of Ethical Conduct 123

B21 Key Financial Indicators 126

B22 Financial Planning and Analysis 131

B23 Property, Plant and Equipment: Fixed Assets, Long-Lived Assets, Tangible Assets 134

B24 Foreign Currency Risk Management 153

B25 Funding and Financing Risk Management 156

B26 Hiring and Use of External Auditors 158

B27 Income Tax Preparation and Reporting 164

B28 Insurance and Risk Management 169

B29 Intercompany Transactions 174

B30 Inventory 180

B31 Investment and Marketable Securities 186

B32 Journal Entries: Routine, Non-Routine, and Estimates 189

B33 Capital, Operating Leases, and Real Estate Rental Property 195

B34 Letter of Representation, Quarterly Financial Sub Certification Process 202

B35 Payroll and Salary Expense 208

B36 Petty Cash 212

B37 Physical Counts and Evaluation for Inventory, Property, Plant and Equipment 216

B38 Prepaid Assets/Expenses 219

B39 Revenue Recognition 222

B40 Source and Use of Exchange Rates 228

B41a Travel, Entertainment, and Expense 231

B41b Travel, Entertainment, and Expense Manual 235

Bonus Policies and Procedures 251

C01 External Communications and Public Relations 253

C02 Material Nonpublic Information and Insider Trading 261

C03 Procurement 265

C04 Records Information Management 270

Index 287

Editorial Reviews

"The author provides an excellent framework for organizations to use in establishing and updating policies and procedures. This book is an excellent resource that auditors can use to steer management to as an example of a structured approach to policy and procedure development." (Auditnet.org, June 2008)

From the Publisher