2009/2010 - MINDS

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Annual Budget
Budgeting is done annually to ensure that the projected
expenditures are prudent and within our means. The budget
is reviewed and approved by the Honorary Treasurers, the
subcommittees SMC, SDC, FIC and ultimately by the EXCO.
Reviews are scheduled regularly to monitor expenditure.
Specific government initiatives such as the phasing out
of Job Credits and other supplementary funding, the
increase in employers’ CPF contribution rates and the
rise in foreign workers’ levy in FY2011 will impact on the
new budget. These impacts would be taken into account
in the budgeting process.
MINDS will continue to build on the fundamentals, and
exercise financial discipline to ensure that the Group’s
financial position remains strong.
Capital Management
MINDS’ capital management policy is to maintain
a strong capital position, to support business growth
(such as new social enterprise initiatives), strategic
investments, and uphold donor confidence.
We maintain high standards of financial prudence
and aim to achieve sustainable returns on our surplus
funds. We also perform cash flow projections regularly
to ensure that we have sufficient funds to meet all
contractual and financial obligations.
Investments
The investment policy is reviewed regularly to ensure
that our investments are appropriate based on prevailing
economic climate. Factors like potential yields, risk
tolerance, asset allocation strategies, and investment
choices are taken into account to ensure that our
investments continue to be safe and sufficiently liquid.
Despite the challenging times posed by the economic
recession of the previous year, we are happy to report
that we had not sustained losses on our investments.
Accountability
MINDS recognises the importance of providing all
stakeholders accurate and relevant information on a
timely basis. Hence the EXCO receives management
accounts as well as financial reports during its
monthly meetings. Such reports track the Group’s Key
Performance Indicators, such as performance against
budget and against the corresponding period of the
previous year.
FY 2010/2011 WORKPLAN
E-purchase Enhancements
The e-purchasing system will be enhanced to simplify
the procurement processes and raise productivity
without compromising on security.
Electronic Cheque Payments
The FIC aims to raise productivity by automating the
cheque payment process, and reduce the time spent
on preparing, signing and mailing cheques. Under the
electronic payment platform, all transmissions to the
bank would be encrypted to protect data integrity. The
workflow will also be reviewed to ensure that system
security and controls are not compromised.
Accounting System Upgrade
The Accpac accounting system would be upgraded
leveraging on the latest technology to align with
our objective to raise the standards of our financial
accounting and fulfil our accounting, treasury,
and corporate governance obligations. Apart from
streamlining the financial close and reporting cycle,
the new system is expected to improve on operational
performance measurement and liquidity management.
Issue of Charity Accounting Standards
The Charities Accounting Standard (CAS) is being
developed by the Accounting Standards Committee as
an alternative set of accounting standards for the charity
sector in Singapore. The adoption of CAS by MINDS
will raise the level of transparency, comparability and
accountability.
Finance Manual Review
Board members have a fiduciary duty to safeguard its
assets through a system of checks and balances. We
already have a robust system. We will continue to
review our financial policies and processes to take
into account changes in the operating environment,
adopting best practices, and align our systems and
processes with the Code of Governance for Charities.
The School Management Committee also receives
regular financial performance updates in its bi-monthly
meetings. HODs are informed of their department’s
cumulative expenditure to date through monthly cost
centre reports.
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