Finance & Accounting PolicyPro® From Policy to Signoff ™
Risk Management
Finance, Accounting and Governance
Meeting or exceeding best practices for finance and corporate governance doesn’t just protect organizations from risk; it makes operations more efficient, provides guidance and consistency to staff and demonstrates effective management to owners, directors, regulators, investors, banks, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
Documented policies are the foundation of the internal controls needed to ensure strong governance.
Internal controls such as policies and procedures are essential for:
- Safeguarding assets
- Efficiency and effectiveness of operations
- Reliability and completeness of accounting and management information
- Compliance with laws and regulations
- And so much more
In Canada and the United States, internal controls are now mandated for public companies by legislation and regulation. But even for private companies and public companies that are not yet required to meet the new rules, strong internal controls are important.
Consider these benefits:
- Operations will run more efficiently
- Management has a fiduciary responsibility to investors
- Reduce the risk of error, fraud or loss, which may also reduce insurance costs
- Show bankers, investors, suppliers, customers and employees that good governance processes are in place
- For private companies — to be ready for an initial public offering or acquisition by a public company
- For public companies — to be prepared for new rules before the implementation deadline
Finance & Accounting PolicyPro (FAPP) is the leading source for up-to-date model policies and commentary based on Canadian compliance and best practice. Thousands of organizations across Canada depend on PolicyPro to ensure their policies and procedures are up to date and meet minimum legal requirements and best practices.
Au·thor·i·ty
Expert Policy Templates and Guidance
Finance & Accounting PolicyPro offers a complete and authoritative set of model policies written for the complicated and extensive demands of finance, accounting and governance.
- Designed for accounting and finance managers responsible for internal controls, compliance and risk management
- Includes 300+ sample policies, forms and checklists for finance, accounting and governance
- All documents prepared and updated regularly by subject-matter experts
- Model policies can be used as-is or easily customized to your business
- Inside Policies™ e-newsletter reports new and revised policies and why the changes are important
- Expert commentary outlines why each policy is needed, the compliance requirements and options to consider when customizing the policy template
- Policies are cross-referenced to the COSO control objectives and the risk/controls in the Professional Engagement Guide to ensure policies are complete and comprehensive
- Plus PolicyPro includes a secure and easy-to-use online application for creating, customizing and updating policies; distributing them to managers, staff and contractors; ensuring everyone reads them; getting signoff; producing reports; and notifying everyone of news, policy changes and required postings
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Finance & Accounting PolicyPro Model Policies
In PolicyPro, you’ll find an expert-prepared and compliance-focused policy template for all your organizational needs. Plus, PolicyPro makes it easy to modify and update policies and add your own.
The following lists many of the unique policies included with FAPP that are essential for risk management.
The Revenue Cycle
- Point of Sale Revenues
- Customer Order Processing
- Sales Contracts
- Extending Credit
- Sales Commissions
- Warranties and Guaranties
- Customer Refunds
- Customer Refunds – Retail
- Overdue Accounts and Bad Debts
- Overdue Accounts and Bad Debts – Statement
- Revenue Recognition
- Accounting for Retail Sales Promotions
- Sales Taxes
- Management Reporting
The Purchasing Cycle
- Expense Authorization
- Petty Cash
- Company Credit Cards
- Expense Advances and Expense Allowances
- Travel Guidelines
- Purchase Orders
- Supplier Records and Management
- Purchase Contracts
- Receipt of Purchased Goods and Services
- Payment for Purchased Goods and Services
- Supplier Refunds and Discounts
- Recognition of Costs
- Sales Tax Paid or Payable
- Management Reporting
Inventory and Costing
- Raw Materials Inventory
- Work in Process Inventory
- Finished Goods Inventory
- Inventory Count
- Costing
- Management Reporting
Payroll
- Employee Records
- Employee Benefits
- Salaries, Wages and Overtime
- Commissions
- Bonuses
- Pension Plan (Group RRSP)
- Recognition of Costs
- Management Reporting
Banking and Treasury
- Bank Accounts
- Cash Receipts
- Returned Items
- Cheque Issuance
- Investing Excess Funds
- Loans to Employees
- Loans and Borrowing
- Foreign Currencies and Foreign Exchange Management
- Cash Management
- Financial Instruments
Fixed Assets
- Fixed Asset Acquisition and Records
- Security of Fixed Assets
- Amortization
- Fixed Asset Inventory
- Disposal Of Fixed Assets
Accounting and Reporting
- Use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
- Management and Financial Reporting
- Financial Disclosure and Notes
- Accounting Controls
- General Accounting Procedures
- Spreadsheets
- Income Taxes
- IFRS – International Financial Reporting Standards
Governance
- Board Structure and Mandate
- Role, Rights and Responsibilities of Stakeholders
- Role, Rights and Responsibilities of Directors
- Role, Rights and Responsibilities of Executive Officers
- Board of Directors Meetings
- Shareholders Meetings
- Board Committees
- Relationship with Internal Auditors
- Relationship with External Auditors
- Ethics and Business Conduct
- Confidentiality and Privacy
- Governance in a Not-for-profit Organization
Strategy and Planning
- Strategic planning
- Business planning
- Budgets and forecasts
- Succession planning
General Management
- Policy Development and Document Control
- Quality Management
- Management Reports and Review
- Public Relations
- Delegation of Authorities and Authorization Procedures
- Records Management and Retention
Legal and Regulatory
- Monitoring Laws and Regulations
- Contract administration
- Patents
- Copyrights and trademarks
- Litigation
Risk Management
- Risk Assessment
- Risk management
- Business recovery planning
- Insurance
- Physical security
Internal Controls
- Responsibility for internal control
- Internal control processes
- Internal Control Implementation
- Internal Control Monitoring
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Author and Editorial Team
Content Editor
Apolone Gentles, JD, CPA, CGA, FCCA, is an Ontario lawyer and editor with over 20 years of business experience.
Ms. Gentles has held senior leadership roles in non-profit organizations, leading finance, human resources, information technology and facilities teams. She has also held senior roles in audit and assurance at a “Big Four” audit firm. Apolone has also lectured in auditing, economics and business at post-secondary schools.
Managing Editor
Yosie Saint-Cyr, LLB, was called to the Quebec bar in 1988 and is a member in good standing. She practised business, employment and labour law until 1999 before becoming Managing Editor at First Reference.
Yosie is responsible for the high-quality, up-to-date content for employment law services and the Internal Controls Library. She is currently enrolled in the Osgoode Professional LLM degree program.
Author Emeritus
Jeffrey D. Sherman, Bcomm, MBA, CIM, FCPA, FCA, has had over 20 years of executive management experience. He is a former director or CFO of several public companies. His extensive knowledge and experience includes corporate governance, risk management, accounting and finance, restructuring and start-up enterprises.
Mr. Sherman has lectured and conducted seminars for many organizations and was an adjunct professor at York University for 15 years. He is a popular course director and course author for many organizations, including The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and other provincial institutes of chartered professional accountants and law societies, and has written many books and articles on finance and accounting.
Stephanie F. Smith, BComm, MBA, also contributed to FAPP for many years.
Part·ner·ship
Co-marketed with CPA Canada®
First Reference and CPA Canada have worked together for over 15 years to market PolicyPro’s Internal Control Library, including Finance & Accounting PolicyPro®, Information Technology PolicyPro®, Not-for-Profit PolicyPro® and, more recently, PaySource®.
CPA Canada believes that these publications are useful to practitioners who provide assistance to clients to develop and implement sound internal controls, as well as to those working in business who have responsibility for these matters.
Print ISSN 1709-7029 | Online ISSN 1923-8908 | ISBN 978-0-9735149-8-8
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