Overview

This standard is about ensuring that funds are available in sufficient quantities at the right time for payments to be made. You are required to monitor the cash position on a regular basis and provide data regarding potential shortfalls that may impact on the work of the production. You are also expected to set up and maintain a petty cash system in order for cash payments or reimbursements to be made. You are required to reconcile that system and to post payments to the correct ledgers. You may also be responsible for making payments in foreign currencies or providing foreign currencies when required.

 

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

  1. Establish the production’s bank accounts and banking arrangements to enable the production to commence according to the agreed schedule
  2. Identify assets that are available to meet the project’s working capital requirements
  3. Monitor payments into accounts to ensure that funds are available to meet working capital requirements
  4. Make arrangements for funds to be transferred between accounts on a regular basis in a manner that ensures availability and optimises return on investments
  5. Identify potential cash shortfalls resulting from late receipt of funds or from overspends
  6. Make recommendations to the appropriate people to resolve actual or potential cash shortfalls
  7. Make arrangements with the bank to ensure cash can be withdrawn in sufficient quantities to meet requirements
  8. Store and transport cash between locations safely and securely
  9. Establish a system to record petty cash transactions
  10. record cash withdrawals from the main cash account and allocate to the correct expenditure heads
  11. Authorise cash claims that are within prescribed limits and are supported by the required evidence
  12. calculate totals and balances transferring totals of petty cash expenditure to the correct ledger accounts
  13. Identify and resolve any discrepancies, unusual features or queries promptly
  14. Set up and maintain procedures for cash handling, security and confidentiality at all times
  15. Establish banking arrangements that permit payments to be made overseas or cash to be obtained as required
  16. identify payments that need to be made in foreign currency
  17. assess the requirement for cash in foreign currency
  18. Process foreign receipts minimising the cost of transactions
  19. Ensure that cash in foreign currencies is available when, required
  20. Optimise the value gained from foreign currency transactions or cash withdrawals through effective exploitation of exchange rates
  21. Calculate the potential positive or negative impact on budgets of foreign currency transactions

 

 

Knowledge Criteria

You need to know and understand:

  1. How to set up bank facilities for companies that have not previously traded and are not able to supply credit references
  2. How to set up bank mandates and the basis of petty cash accounts
  3. How to establish foreign currency arrangements with the bank
  4. Post primary records to ledger accounts
  5. The functions of a ledger account system
  6. Methods of coding data
  7. General bank services and operation of clearing bank system
  8. The function of exchange rates and commissions on transactions in foreign currency
  9. Where the production funds come from and the timing of receipts into the project’s accounts
  10. The security arrangements for storing and transporting cash
  11. Production requirements to maintain security of financial information
  12. Agreed authorisation procedures and expenditure limits
  13. Who to report problems and potential cash shortfalls to
  14. The payments that need to be made to identify cash requirements
  15. How to deal with issues including, unauthorised claims, insufficient supporting evidence and claims that exceed prescribed limits