Managing Financial Approvals Process

Rule 6 of the Finance_Policy states that all expenditure must be approved by the Board.

This process describes how to manage those approvals.

Triggers

Approvals are made by the Board. This is normally done in three ways:

1. Alongside the agreements made when setting the annual budget (the majority of financial approvals are made at this time)
2. As part of a decision made at a Board Meeting (recorded in the minutes)
3. As an ad-hoc decision between board meetings

Responsibilities

The individual budget owner requests the approval.

The Freegle Board approves (or rejects) the request and agrees what Payment Approval Level is required.

The Finance Director updates the record of approved expenditure.

Inputs

• Details of the expenditure being requested

Outputs

• Updated record of payment approvals

Payment Approvals Detail

The Payment Approvals sheet is structured in two parts:

1. Payment approvals made as part of the budget
2. Payment approvals made since the budget

Keeping this distinction helps with other financial management activities.

For each payment approval, the following information is recorded:

• Date approved
• Amount approved
• Payment Approval Level
• Where the approval was made (e.g. at a board meeting)
• Any supporting comments/notes

Process

1. The Budget Owner provides details of the expenditure required - specifically, the amount and what it will be spent on
2. The Board approves the request, following their standard decision-making process
3. The Finance Director updates the record of financial approvals

Links

• Google Sheet Containing Current Approvals for Financial Year ending in April 2025 (access required)