In this page
The risk your organisation is carrying
What we produce
Audit readiness and controls documentation
The finance manual as a living document
When organisations come to us
Finance procedures we write
How it works
Prices
Contact us
Let’s start with a thought experiment:
If your Finance Controller handed in their notice tomorrow, how confident are you that your finance team could keep operating to the same standard?
For most organisations, the answer isn’t pretty.
Undocumented risk
You have spreadsheets that only one person fully understands. 100% of the reconciliations get done properly because Raj has being doing it for the past 15 years. And so on.
It is one of the most common problems finance leaders ask us to help resolve.
The historical artifact
Even when finance procedures are documented, they sometimes describe the system the organisation used to run, rather than the one it runs now.
Closing the gap
Cherryleaf writes finance policies and procedures that close both gaps. We capture how your finance function actually operates, structure it clearly, and produce documentation that works for your team, your auditors, and the finance staff who join in the future.
The risk your organisation is carrying
Finance functions carry two distinct types of undocumented risk.
Key person risk
When procedures exist only in the heads of experienced team members, the organisation is exposed every time someone resigns, is promoted, goes on extended leave, or becomes unavailable.
The risk is especially acute in finance, because of the consequences of errors. For example: reporting, reconciliations, tax submissions, or controls.
These errors can surface later, and sometimes in the public domain.
Audit and compliance risk
Auditors expect to see that controls exist. They expect to see they are documented, understood, and followed consistently. A process that works in practice but cannot be demonstrated on paper is an audit finding waiting to happen.
During due diligence, the quality of your finance documentation signals the quality of your governance. See also: M&A policy and procedure integration
Well-written finance procedures reduce both risks. They make it possible for any competent member of your team to carry out a process correctly, without relying on tribal knowledge or the availability of a particular individual.
What we produce
Depending on the scope of the project, we produce:
- A finance procedures manual, or a systematic update to an existing one
- Individual procedure documents covering specific processes
- Controls documentation showing who is responsible for what, and when
- A segregation of duties matrix
- A documentation inventory showing what exists, what is missing, and what is out of date
- Approved templates for standard finance processes and period-end checklists
- Guidance for maintaining and updating the content after the project concludes
We will discuss the right starting point for your organisation and provide a clear quotation before any work begins.
Audit readiness and controls documentation
Finance documentation that satisfies an auditor is not the same as documentation that helps a team member do their job. Both need to exist, and they need to be consistent with each other.
We write procedures that describe controls in the way auditors expect to see them: with clear ownership, defined frequency, evidence requirements, and escalation routes.
This includes:
- Segregation of duties
- Approval thresholds
- Evidence and record-keeping requirements
- Exception handling
- Review and sign-off cycles
- Reconciliations, accruals, and period-end reports
This kind of controls documentation is increasingly important for organisations that are growing, restructuring, or preparing for external scrutiny of any kind.
The finance manual as a living document
Most organisations have a finance manual in some form. The problem can be that it was last updated when the previous finance system was in place, or when the previous Finance Director wrote it. In a business has grown rapidly, it might not reflect the true situation today.
The result can be:
- Staff who follow it will do things incorrectly.
- Auditors who find it inconsistent with actual practice will ask difficult questions.
We structure it so that it is straightforward to update section by section as processes change. We assign clear ownership for each document, with review dates and named approvers.
Where organisations use Microsoft 365 or SharePoint, we prepare the content for publication in those environments so the finance manual is accessible to the people who need it, rather than buried in a shared drive or attached to an email chain from three years ago.
When organisations come to us
The trigger is usually one of the following situations.
A key team member is leaving or has recently left
The Finance Controller, Head of Financial Reporting, or another senior member of the team is departing, and the organisation realises how much process knowledge exists only in their head.
Audit findings
An internal or external audit has identified that controls exist in practice but are not documented. The recommendation is to formalise the procedures before the next review.
Preparing for investment, sale, or IPO
Due diligence places scrutiny on finance governance. Investors and acquirers want to see that the finance function operates to a documented, consistent standard – not that it depends on individuals who may not come with the business.
Merger or acquisition
Two finance functions need to be consolidated. There are often conflicting procedures, different systems, and undocumented practices in both. We help produce a coherent set of documentation for the combined organisation.
Rapid growth
The organisation has scaled faster than its documentation. The informal approaches that worked at 30 people are no longer adequate at 300.
System migration
A move to a new finance system or to Microsoft 365 creates a natural moment to review and update procedures, since the existing documentation will no longer describe the correct steps.
Finance procedures we write
We write and update the full range of finance policies and procedures. Below is the scope of what we cover.
Accounting standards and financial reporting
Documentation of the accounting policies your organisation applies, including the basis of preparation and key accounting judgements. Management accounts procedures should specify what is produced, by whom, on what timetable, and who reviews and approves the output.
Bank reconciliations
One of the highest-risk areas for undetected error or fraud. Procedures need to specify who prepares the reconciliation, who reviews it, the required frequency and timing, how unreconciled items are handled, and the escalation route for aged or unexplained differences.
Budgeting and forecasting
The process by which budgets are prepared, challenged, and approved. This includes timetables, standard templates, assumptions documentation, the roles of budget holders and finance business partners, and how variances are reported and investigated through the year.
Capitalisation
The criteria for distinguishing capital expenditure from operating expenditure, including relevant thresholds.
Claims and reinsurance accounting
For insurance organisations, the procedures governing how claims are recorded, reserved, and settled, and how reinsurance recoveries are recognised, tracked, and reported.
Cost control
Procedures for monitoring actual spend against budget, including who is responsible for variance investigation, the reporting cadence, and the approval process for unbudgeted expenditure.
Creditors, accruals, and accounts payable
The end-to-end purchase-to-pay process: purchase order authorisation, invoice matching, accrual calculation, payment run approval, and supplier statement reconciliation.
Dividends
The process for calculating, recommending, approving, and paying dividends. This includes the roles of the board, finance, and legal functions, and the documentation required at each step.
Finance manuals
A complete finance manual drawing together your accounting policies, procedures, controls framework, and supporting guidance into a single, coherent reference document.
Fixed assets
Procedures for acquiring, capitalising, depreciating, revaluing, disposing of, and verifying fixed assets.
Foreign exchange transactions
Policies on which currencies are used for which purposes, how exchange rates are applied, and how FX exposure is identified and reported. Separate procedures for transactional FX and balance sheet translation are typically required.
Funding and treasury
How the organisation manages its cash, borrowing facilities, and short-term investments. This covers bank account management, cash flow forecasting, liquidity monitoring, and the authorisation process for significant transactions.
Hedging
Where the organisation uses financial instruments to manage currency, interest rate, or commodity exposure, the policies governing which instruments are permitted, who can authorise hedging activity, and how positions are documented and reported.
Income, debtors, and prepayments
Revenue recognition policies and the procedures for raising invoices, managing the sales ledger, chasing overdue debt, calculating bad debt provisions, and treating prepayments at period end.
Inter-company charges
How charges between group entities are calculated, agreed, invoiced, and eliminated on consolidation.
Internal controls and risk management
The framework of financial controls the organisation operates, including who is responsible for the control environment, separation of duties, how controls are tested and monitored, and what happens when a control failure is identified or suspected.
Investment accounting
For organisations holding financial investments, the procedures governing valuation, income recognition, and reporting of investment portfolios.
Invoice and expense accounting
The process for approving and processing supplier invoices and employee expense claims, including authorisation limits, eligible and ineligible expenditure categories, and the evidence required at each stage.
Long-term projects (CapEx and DevEx)
Procedures for accounting for capital projects and development expenditure, including how costs are accumulated, tested for capitalisation eligibility, amortised over their useful life, and reviewed for impairment.
Mergers and acquisitions
Finance procedures for evaluating, executing, and integrating acquisitions – including financial due diligence requirements, purchase price accounting, and post-acquisition reporting obligations.
Payroll
The end-to-end payroll process: data input, payroll authorisation, PAYE and National Insurance compliance, pension contributions, payslip distribution, and reconciliation to the general ledger. Payroll is a high-risk process for both error and fraud, and one of the areas where segregation of duties is most important to document clearly.
Premium accounting and unearned income
For insurance or subscription businesses, the procedures for recording premium or subscription income, calculating the unearned portion, and recognising revenue over the coverage or subscription period.
Revenue recognition
Policies and procedures for determining when and how revenue is recognised, particularly where contracts involve milestones, variable consideration, or bundled performance obligations.
Corporation Tax and VAT
Procedures for calculating, preparing, reviewing, and submitting Corporation Tax returns and VAT returns. This includes the evidence required, the review and approval process, and the escalation routes for uncertain or complex treatments.
Travel and expenses
The policy governing eligible and ineligible expenses, approval requirements, submission and reimbursement procedures, and the treatment of HMRC-reportable benefits in kind.
Year-end accounts
The timetable, responsibilities, and checklist for year-end close. These include consolidation, statutory adjustments, audit preparation, and board approval.
How it works
The process for a finance documentation project follows the same structured approach we use across all our policy and procedure work.
We begin with a conversation to understand the scope, the current state of your documentation, and the highest-priority areas. For finance projects, we typically start with an inventory of what exists, even if it is scattered, informal, or out of date. This is so we can identify gaps and establish a sensible order of work.
We then interview the subject-matter experts who own each process, review your existing documentation, and write a structured first draft for internal review.
We manage the review cycle with clear deadlines and named approvers, and incorporate feedback into a final version.
We work remotely as standard, so there is no need to arrange site visits.
For a full description of how we manage the process – including what your team will need to provide and how much of their time is typically required. See our main policies and procedures page.
How much does finance documentation cost?
Finance documentation projects typically fall in the £6,000 to £20,000 range, depending on scope. A project focused on a single high-risk area (such as the bank reconciliation process, payroll, or year-end close) will be at the lower end. A full finance procedures manual, or a project involving the consolidation of documentation across multiple entities, will be larger.
We will provide a clear quotation once we understand the scope. There is no obligation to proceed after receiving it.
For larger or less well-defined projects, we recommend beginning with a documentation audit or a small pilot. This produces a clearer estimate for the remaining work and gives your team the opportunity to validate the approach before committing to the full programme.
We can invoice in GBP, EUR, or USD.
Find out whether your finance documentation is working for you
If you would like to discuss your finance documentation requirements, or send us a sample of your existing procedures, we are happy to review it and tell you plainly what appears to be working, what could be improved, and what the sensible next step might be.
You can book a free initial conversation by email or via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or another platform of your choice.
Email: info@cherryleaf.com