2. Critical steps in financial management in an emergency

Checklist

• Ensure the financial structure and staff capacity is adequate to meet emergency demands.
• Ensure internal controls are in place for accountable financial management.
• Manage cash and cash equivalents to ensure safe and accountable control of cash, and ensure cash flow is adequate for operational requirements of the emergency response programme.
• Implement appropriate controls and procedures for cash disbursements, including cash floats, petty cash funds, travel advances and any use of cash facilitators.
• Ensure effective management of contracts and grants, including tracking of funding portfolio, management of cash budgets, compliance with donor regulations, expenditure reporting and internal audit.
• Support budget development and management for emergency response programmes, in particular to ensure that CO recovery policies are applied and donor budgets are accurate.