10 The Financial Regulations, Financial Rules, WHO eManual and related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are an interlinked set of documentation which provide the Organization with the basis for its overall financial control framework.
20 Financial Regulations as set by the World Health Assembly establish a high level framework to ensure effective financial administration, the exercise of economy and to safeguard the assets of the Organization. The Director-General is responsible for ensuring effective financial administration of the Organization. The Director-General may delegate in writing to other Officers of the Organization such authority and related accountability as he or she considers necessary for the effective implementation of these Regulations.
30 Financial Rules: Financial Regulation 1.4 gives the Director-General the authority to establish financial rules, including relevant guidelines and limits for the implementation of the financial regulations, in order to ensure effective financial administration, the exercise of economy, and to safeguard the assets of the Organization. The Financial Rules established by the Director-General, and any amendments thereto, shall enter into force after confirmation by the Executive Board.
40 The WHO eManual provides guidelines and financial policy as envisaged by the Financial Regulations. The eManual covers many interrelated topics and requires input from the various business areas. Any changes to eManual sections related to finance are approved by the Comptroller.
50 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Procedures outline the detailed process steps and control points for all functions which have a financial impact on the Organization. The documents must conform with the policies set out in the Financial Regulations, Financial Rules and eManual. Any changes to finance-related Standard Operating Procedures must be approved by the Comptroller.
60 Control activities: The basic concepts of control activities are embedded in each of the key documents in the Financial Control Framework. These principles include:
- Segregation of duties requires that different individuals be assigned responsibility for different elements of related activities, particularly those involving authorization, custody, or recordkeeping.
- Proper authorization of transactions and activities helps ensure that all organizational activities adhere to established guidelines unless exceptionally authorized by the person(s) with appropriate delegated authority.
- Adequate documents and records provide evidence that financial statements are accurate.
- Physical control over assets and records helps protect the Organization's assets.
- Independent checks on performance, which are carried out by employees who did not do the work being checked, help ensure the reliability of accounting information and the efficiency of operations.
- The accounting and other supporting documents should capture and record on a timely basis and in an orderly fashion every transaction and commitment. The information should be sufficient to determine the nature and purpose, the resulting asset or liability (actual or contingent), and all income and expenditure (current or deferred).
