10 The provisions of this section of the WHO eManual apply to all Imprest bank and cash accounts opened on behalf of the Organization and maintained at headquarters, the Global Service Centre (GSC), the regional offices and the country offices.
20 An Imprest account is a mechanism used to pay operating expenses, usually in WHO country offices, which cannot be processed efficiently by the central accounting system through the standard procure-to-pay process. eImprest is a module in GSM used to record Imprest bank and cash transactions.
30 Each Imprest account is assigned a ceiling, which is typically the maximum amount of funds that can be maintained in that account at any given time. Replenishments to the account, up to the maximum of the ceiling, are made by the controlling office/Treasury(HQ) at the end of a period or when additional funds are required for authorized activities. The GSC or the regional office (Budget and Finance Unit) that the Imprest location reports to is referred to as the controlling office.
40 Each Imprest account is assigned to a designated Imprest Holder, who bears full accountability for all funds under his/her responsibility. Typically, the Imprest Holder is the WHO Representative or Head of Office in country offices, the Budget and Finance Officer for regional office accounts, or the Management Officer within an HQ cluster.
As a general rule, access to Imprest accounts should be granted exclusively to staff members for the following purposes:
- Recording payments and receipts
- Preparing bank reconciliations
- Reviewing Imprest transactions in GSM
- View and print reports.
In exceptional circumstances—such as emergencies or staff shortages—non-staff personnel (e.g., SSA holders, consultants) may be granted access, but only with the explicit approval of the Regional Budget and Finance Officer or the Head of FNM/APR.
Funds held in the Imprest bank account and cash account are under the personal responsibility of the Imprest Holder and any unauthorized disbursements, or misused or unaccounted funds may result in recovery from the staff member.
50 Imprest Holders must understand the Financial Regulations, Financial Rules, WHO eManual and the Standard Operating Procedures for Imprest as part of the delegation of authority giving them the responsibility to operate an Imprest account.
