The effectiveness of financial control in orgs depends primarily upon the degree to which financial and income-making policies are known and applied by FP members, FBOs and Treasury personnel.
However, the effectiveness of the administrative lines which govern purchasing and bills payment is also a vital factor.
Unless these lines are sharply IN, the FBO and Finance Enforcement Officer and execs can be working full ahead to ease the org out of a tight financial situation only to find new bills arriving that nobody heard of before or that a printing press has just been ordered by the new purchaser because “somebody told him to”!
When an org has reached a low cash/high bills situation, it may take many months of careful planning to restore income and solvency.
And even when things are going well, the purchasing and bills paying lines must be held under firm control to keep it that way.
Therefore, the following shall apply fully to all Sea Org and Scientology Orgs, and FOLOs:
1. All letterhead stationery in use by the Treasury Division must bear the following statement:
“ANY EXPENSE COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF THE CHURCH MUST HAVE THE WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF THE TREASURY SECRETARY OF THE CHURCH TO BE CONSIDERED VALID AND PAYABLE BY THE CHURCH.”
The word “organization” may be substituted for “Church” in any org where corporate status may require it.
2. Every firm with whom the org does business and every new firm contacted for purchasing or pricing must at once receive a letter from the Treasury Secretary using this letterhead and introducing by name those persons who are authorized to make purchases.
3. Such letters must promote our excellent credit standing and should make clear that the persons named are the ONLY persons authorized to purchase goods or services for the company.
This serves to make company policy known and prevents random persons from running up bills.
4. Every personnel change within the org which causes a change of authorized purchasers must be followed at once by new letters to all firms advising of the fact.
5. All expense commitment is by written order prepared by Dept 8, signed as authorized by the Treasury Secretary, and shown to the business firm at the time of purchase.
6. The Treasury Secretary in signing such orders must see the valid PURCHASE ORDER for each item ordered.
7. Expenses such as utilities and postage and occasional others which cannot be handled in this manner are nonetheless covered by ordinary purchase orders or estimated purchase orders (EPOs).
8. All purchasing lines are routinely spot-checked by the FBO or Finance Enforcement Officer for application of this policy letter and results reported to International and Continental Finance Offices.
9. Long-distance phone and other such services can become an unexpected source of sudden expense increase unless HCO requires a signed PO for each long-distance call as required by HCO PL 15 May 1970, PURCHASE ORDERS, and other utilities are watched for sudden increase.
10. All check signing on the org Main Account will be done once weekly by usual signatories and in the presence of the FBO and Finance Enforcement Officer. All checks must be tape-totaled and petty cash amounts limited.
The HCO Book Account is excepted in that Book Account checks may be signed at any time and the FBO-Finance Enforcement Officer presence is not required. Instead the D/FBO for M.O.R.E. is a mandatory signatory and checks on this account may be signed at any time with the D/FBO for M.O.R.E. held responsible to inspect Book Account records and the state of the bookstore, bookstocks and book sales to ensure that Book Account policies are being fully adhered to, including correctness of expenditures.
FSM Account checks are also exempt from the once a week check-signing rule as FSM commissions must be paid instantly. Signing is by any two available per-policy signatories.
11. The FBO and Finance Enforcement Officer in carrying out this duty ensure that all check-signing and dateline policies are applied and that all checks being signed have been properly authorized and do not exceed the org’s allocation and, in the case of FSM commissions and refunds, that covering amounts have been transferred to the applicable org accounts by the FBO so that org cash/bills is not falsely affected.
12. Current and unused checkbooks for the org bank accounts are kept by the FBO in his safe and are issued to the Treasury Division only for weekly reconciling, check preparation and the return of canceled checks to their check stubs.
The HCO Book Account and FSM Account are excepted in that current HCO Book Account checkbooks are kept by the D/FBO for M.O.R.E. in his safe and the current FSM Account checkbook is held by the Treasury Secretary in his safe. Unused Book Account and FSM Account checkbooks may be kept by the FBO.
13. These policies may not be used in any way to delay valid purchasing or bill payments but must be applied so that no delay occurs and so that financial admin lines are strengthened and made more secure.
14. The enforcement and application of these policies is the responsibility of the Treasury Secretary, who must personally groove them in with Dept 8 and again on any change of personnel. The FBO and Finance Enforcement Officer are responsible for performing actions assigned them in this policy letter.