End of Year - how involved are the Finance Dept?

mountainofdebt

Woondering if someone can give me some perspective how how involved a Finance Department gets with its End of Year / Accountants Audit for a charity.

I know it sounds a stupid question but I have my reasons for asking!

fengirl_2

They would be very involved! They would finish off the books to trial balance and liaise with the auditors, supplying information as required. They would need to make sure that all creditors and debtors were listed, that everyone claimed their expenses promptly and that final cash was counted and reconciled.

I am not sure who else could provide this info - unless you had a VERY hands-on CEO or treasurer! But why keep a dog and bark yourself?

mountainofdebt

I know it was a stupid question (as its blindly obvious that they would be doing most of the work) - on reflection I should have asked (as I've found in my experience) once the auditors begin auditing is it a case of them going away with the books and then coming back with a list of questions or do they sit in the office asking questions on an as and when basis?

Savvy_Sue

Depends. We're a small charity, and our auditors come in for about half a day to check things and get questions answered. But we pack the books up and send them away to them. We wouldn't have room to fit another body in the office for any length of time.

fengirl_2

Endorse Sue's comments. We are a medium sized charity and our auditors are in the next city. We have a room available and supply them with all the books and records for them to work through as required.
Other charities for which I am/have been treasurer which are smaller and basically only have a couple of folders of records - I would take the records in to them.