Core Policy & Procedures Manual: Procedure Chapter Summaries

Procedures are specific operational steps or methods that are used to accomplish something.

Controls are mechanisms to guide operations or regulate directed practices.

In many cases, policies provide broad objectives, which are met with controls. For instance, a policy prohibiting conflicts of interest could be partially met by a control that requires employees to sign a statement indicating they have read the code of conduct and agree to comply. The requirement to sign a statement of compliance with a code of conduct might itself be a policy.

Good management requires decisions to be made about controls to meet the requirements of policy. Policy may be deliberately vague about procedures and control measures so that managers retain the flexibility to change procedures and controls as evolving conditions dictate.

As policies propagate throughout an organization, more staff will be able to make sound decisions on how to control and deliver services.

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Procedure Chapters

A. Budgetary Control

This chapter describes procedures that are supplementary to chapter 3 Part II on budgeting.

B. Expenditure Control

This chapter describes procedure requirements supplementary to chapter 4 on expenditure management and provides direction on cheque generation (CAS).

C. Reimbursement of Expenses

This chapter describes procedure requirements supplementary to chapter 10 on travel and for the reimbursement of expenses (e.g., travel, relocation, business meetings, miscellaneous and incidentals).

D. Payment Processing

This chapter describes procedure requirements that are supplementary to chapter 4.3 on the authorization of expenses, post-payment review, chapter 6 on contract payments, and provides direction on travel direct billing, deputy minister car allowance, electronic fund transfers, and stop payment and replacement cheques.

E. Special Types of Disbursements

This chapter provides direction on special types of disbursement processing including legal encumbrance procedures, government chargecards, and payments by government agent cheques.

F. Journal Vouchers

This chapter describes procedure requirements and standards for internal journals including inter-ministry charges.

G. Revenue Control

This chapter describes procedure requirements that are supplementary to chapter 7 on revenue management and provides direction on trust accounts, donations of gifts in cash or in kind.

H. Financial Reporting

This chapter describes procedures that are supplementary to chapter 3 Part III on financial reporting and details the accounting requirements for fiscal year-end and month-end reporting.

I. Tangible Capital Assets

This chapter describes the accounting requirements that are supplementary to chapter 3.4.3(f) on the accounting for tangible capital assets.

J. Miscellaneous Administration

This chapter describes various procedure requirements in support of government operations including employee-related payroll issues and other matters as they arise.

K. Procurement Procedures and Guidance

This chapter provides links to BC Bid Resources and the Disposal Handbook, prepared by Common Business Services, which provide supplementary procedures and general information for chapter 6 Procurement.

L. Loss Reporting

This chapter describes requirements for reporting losses supplementary to chapter 20.

M. Sales Taxes

This chapter covers the requirements for the Province to pay PST effective April 1, 2013 on purchases of taxable supplies. BC also pays the Federal GST and is entitled to a rebate of the tax from the Canada Revenue Agency. BC collects PST and GST on sales of taxable supplies.

Policy and procedures to support government staff and guide sales taxes administration are included in Section M.

N. Vendor Complaints

This procedure of the Core Policy and Procedures Manual provides direction on the stages of the Vendor Complaint Review Process.

O. Internal Vendor Reference Check

This procedure provides direction on how to perform an internal vendor reference check for specific Procurements for services where the estimated value of the Procurement is equal to or above $10 million.