ANNEX F MATERIALS RELATING TO COORDINATION

Annex D1

Responsibilities of staff members for imprest accounts and petty

cash
Responsibilities of a staff member managing an imprest account
A staff member who is entrusted with the management of an imprest account must:

Keep a separate imprest for each currency unit that you use (e.g. USD & local currency) with a
separate bank account for each.

Obtain receipts for all expenditures, no matter how small.

Use vouchers with every payment: number and date them chronologically and mention the
appropriate sticker number for each expenditure.

Record all disbursements in the Imprest Account Cash Book.

Update the imprest book daily.

Never issue a cash cheque.

Never sign a blank cheque.

Never mix funds from different accounts.

Never accept funds from an outside source (non-WHO) without first clearing it with the WR and
RO-DAF.

Never make loans from the imprest account. (Exceptionally, salary advances may be given, with
the approval of the WR/RO-DAF, up to a maximum of 25% of the monthly wage of the employee.)

Submit accounts at the end of each month, within 7 days of the end of the month (funds will be
replenished only after the monthly imprest has been submitted).

Submit a final detailed accounting report at the end of the assignment and transfer any unused
balance to the WCO.

Responsibilities of staff members who receive petty cash advances

A staff member who receives a petty cash advance is personally responsible for its proper
disbursement and accounting and must:


obtain receipts for all cash that is disbursed;

keep a careful tally of all expenditures using the petty cash reporting template (with entries
numbered and the same numbers written on the corresponding receipts);

reconcile the petty cash balance at the end of each working day;

submit detailed accounts together with original receipts at the end of each month; and

submit a final detailed accounting report at the end of the assignment and return any unused
funds.

Any amounts not properly accounted will be recovered from future salary payments.
No further advances will be made until previous advances have been properly accounted for.
Staff who are given petty cash advances should not:


carry cash advances for other people;

lend money from their cash advance to other people, including other WHO or UN staff;

confuse/mix petty cash and per diem advances.

Staff carrying cash should:

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ANNEX F MATERIALS RELATING TO COORDINATION



limit the awareness of others of the presence of cash (not publicize the fact);

limit the amount of cash on their person at any time;

deposit the cash in an office or hotel safe as soon as possible; and

keep a minimum amount in a petty cash box for incidental expenditures.

If the cash is being used to open a field office: purchase and install a reliable safe as soon as
possible. Ideally, the safe should be cemented into an inside wall of the office have dual access
facilities, i.e. a combination (known by person A) and key (held by person B) or two keys (one for
person A and one for person B). Until you have access to a safe, keep the money on your person
or split it among the team members and document the distribution.

A staff member confronted with armed robbers should surrender the money without resistance. Under
no circumstances should staff endanger their lives in order to protect any goods or property, including
money. Any such event must be substantiated by a police report and a Security Incident Form
completed and submitted to the WR and HQ.

Tools and other guidance

SOP 9.9 contains forms and guidance on managing an imprest account
SOP 6.8 sets out the procedures for obtaining and reporting on petty cash advances.

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