Start with cash and payments
Define who can create, approve and release payments. Set appropriate approval thresholds and ensure bank access reflects current responsibilities.
Make reconciliations routine
Bank, payment-provider and key balance-sheet reconciliations should have clear frequency, ownership and review.
Clarify purchasing and approvals
The business should know who can commit spend, how invoices are validated and what evidence is required before payment.
Control access and changes
Finance systems and critical data should have appropriate user access, change controls and leaver processes.
Create a disciplined close
A consistent month-end timetable improves the reliability and timeliness of management information.
Use controls that fit the business
A 30-person company should not imitate the bureaucracy of a multinational. Controls should be proportionate to risk, transaction volume and organisational complexity.
Review as the company changes
Controls that worked at one stage of growth may become inadequate later. New markets, payment methods, systems, products and team structures are all reasons to review the control environment.
The MAGDIM Finance & Operations Diagnostic is designed to identify the issues that deserve management attention first.