National Lottery Charities Board Corporate Office

Finance

The Finance department is responsible for ensuring the sound operation of systems and procedures needed for the proper conduct of the Charities Board�s financial affairs. The department is also responsible for contractual arrangements for Charities Board properties.

The Finance department ensures that we operate effective systems for:

• corporate planning
• annual budgeting
• statutory and management accounting, recording, reporting and control
• developing financial policy

The department ensures that we meet all our statutory obligations, use our resources effectively and achieve high standards of financial management through safe custody, probity and value for money.

The department advises the Charities Board as a whole on all matters of financial propriety and regularity in line with considerations of prudent and economical administration.

We ensure that all policy proposals are considered in the light of their financial implications and ensure that funds are only used for the purposes for which they were authorised by Parliament. In matters of expenditure we ensure Treasury sanction and ensure that our financial procedures and formats follow the requirements of our sponsor department in Government, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

We prepare periodic finance reports and statements and audited accounts for the Board�s approval and ensure that there is an effective audit function of grant management.

The work of the Finance department falls into five broad areas:

• Accounting
  
  planning grant budgets; cost control; performance indicators; payments; systems development; training of grants staff; the Charities Board�s corporate plan

• Internal Audit
  
  co-ordination of investigation of grant objections and fraud

• Business review
  
  Improving and streamlining operating procedures and staffing arrangements

• Performance and Verification
  
  monitoring procedures; consistency of scoring in assessments; risk analysis; performance indicators

• Purchasing
  
  ensuring adherence to Public Sector rules; large contract tendering