Leading Practice Guidelines

Financial Management

Type: Core Practice

Guideline: The organization manages its financial resources in a way that promotes and enhances the outcomes of people served, complies with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and ensures good stewardship of resources.

The organization advocates for and arranges appropriate funding to ensure that people’s needs are met.

People supported have input into how their own funding is utilized and allocated.

What does this look like?

The organization organizes its financial systems to ensure ready access to available funds to enable spontaneous and flexible use that supports and enhances people’s outcomes.

The organization identifies, advocates for and coordinates changes in funding to ensure that people’s needs are being met. This is informed by feedback received from people supported, their families, staff and others involved in supporting the person. Objective data or information is also helpful in assessing whether people’s outcomes are being impacted by the resources available.

As the ability to direct where funding is allocated or used may differ between service types or organizations, the organization takes steps to inform people receiving services and their support network of the mechanisms and opportunities that are available to have input and/or direct how their funding is utilized. Limitations to this input should be articulated at the beginning of service provision if at all possible.

In addition to GAAP, the organization complies with the Financial Reporting Requirements outlined by the Department of Families.

The organization has sound core financial policies in place and available to all stakeholders. These would include:

• Assignment of authority for necessary and regular financial actions and decisions, which may include delegation of some authority to staff leaders
• Policy statement on conflicts of interest
• Clear authority to spend funds, including approval, cheque signing, and payroll
• Clear assignment of authority to enter into contracts
• Clear responsibility for maintaining accurate financial records
• Process for creating and authorizing budgets and analyzing spending

How would you know this is happening? (Evidence)

What you see in systems:

• Financial documentation is up to date and available that demonstrates sound practices and good stewardship.
• Core financial policies are available to stakeholders.

What you see in actions:

• Staff are confident and knowledgeable about their authority and limitations around spending organizational funds. They report that they can easily access funds within certain controls as needed to support people well.
• People supported and/or their support network has confidence in the financial decisions made by the organization and report having input into how their own funding is utilized.