1. Introduction to Reimbursements Part II
Welcome back to Introduction to Reimbursements.

2. Reimbursement Process
For each field staff member and min. rep., a unique department code is assigned at the time of hire.
This code needs to be included with each reimbursement request.
Reimbursements are due by midnight of the 1st of the month for payment processing, but can be submitted anytime during the month. Group expenses in at least $50 totals since amounts under that will not be considered until they equal at least $50 (unless they are close to 60 days in age).
All reimbursement questions must be answered before full processing and payment can occur.
We will begin with the reimbursement process.
Before submitting a reimbursement, please make sure your unique department code, assigned at the time of hire, is included in the information given. Min. Reps. will also have department codes assigned.
Once a reimbursement form is complete it needs to be submitted to Finance by midnight of the first of the month in order to be processed with that month’s batch.
Since Finance receives so many reimbursement requests, we can only process totals equal to or greater than $50, so please make sure what you submit is at least $50 for that month. If the expense will exceed 60 days in age prior to any new expenses being incurred, submit the expense so it can be processed before it expires even though it may be under the $50 limit.
If Finance has any questions regarding your submission, please respond to those questions as soon as you can so we can continue the process. Open reimbursements will not be paid until all questions have been answered and the information gathered is sufficient to meet all of Finance’s requirements.

3. Reimbursement Process – Cont.
Receipts are required for all expenses $75 and over and for all lodging expenses; however, any receipt can be requested by Finance at any time if more information is needed. National Ministry Fund reimbursements require receipts for all expenses.
All documentation must be kept by each staff member for 18 months past the submission date to cover all audited periods should additional questions need to be answered.
Receipts should be legible, unalterable, and itemized.
For each expense, the following needs to be covered with the reimbursement:
Who, What, When, Where, and Why (Why, as in, what is the business purpose of the expense)
No cash advances will be made to field staff.
There are some basics for reimbursements that must always be followed in addition to what has already been presented.
Any expense $75 or greater, or for lodging, must have an accompanying receipt. Any reimbursement submitted for payment from the National Ministry Fund (NMF) must have all receipts attached. For general purposes, only RFDs will need to be reimbursed from NMF. Most all others will come from city or field staff accounts outside of NMF.
For the purposes of audit, all staff need to retain all documentation related to reimbursements for 18 months past the submission date of those expenses.
Finance may need to reach out and obtain receipts or other documentation for any expense, so that information must be available.
All receipts need to be legible, unalterable, for example, no word documents, and itemized, especially for lodging receipts.
Finance must be able to determine the who, what, when, where, and why for each expense in order to comply with IRS’s standard for adequate accounting for reimbursed expenses. Since the receipt is a part of that determination, it is important for all criteria to be met with those documents. For ISI, why, answers the question related to business or ministry purpose.
Why, is the most common area that produces questions from Finance, so please be sure to adequately address this and all other requirements before submitting a request.
Since tracking for cash advances is difficult with field accounts, no cash advances will be made to field staff. All eligible expenses will be paid through a reimbursement after expenses have been incurred by staff.

4. Who’s who in Finance?
Accounts Payable Staff – Receives the reimbursements and vendor invoices, checks all submissions for completeness and accuracy, receives requisitions (check requests) for processing, and produces reports for staff. –
Senior Staff Accountant – Processes payroll and other related requests, creates and updates Finance forms, coordinates budgets with HR, produces reports for staff, and assists with all audits.
Additional –
Controller – Reviews all Finance documents, produces financial statements, approves all payments, supervises Finance staff, provides audit information to CPA firm, and serves on the Finance committee for the Board.
In Finance we all have different roles which will impact our staff in different ways depending on the circumstance.
Our Accounts Payable staff receives the reimbursements and vendor invoices, checks all submissions for completeness and accuracy, receives all requisition or check requests for processing, and produces reports for our staff. Any initial question about any reimbursement will generally come from this part of Finance. If there needs to be a determination as to eligibility of payment or adequacy of back-up, the accounts payable staff will refer the matter to the Controller for determination, so don’t be surprised if more than one person from Finance corresponds with you about any of your reimbursements.
Our Senior staff accountant is your go-to person for payroll questions. This position is responsible for processing payroll, transfer requests, benevolence requests, and budgets and any adjustments. Additionally, this role creates and updates Finance forms, produces reports for staff and supervisors, and assists with all audits.
Our Controller is the supervisor for Finance, so most final determinations occur at this level. If there is a question about your reimbursement that involves deciding on legitimacy or adequacy, the Controller will be the one to do so. If a higher level is needed, the Controller will involve that level to come up with a solution. Since this position is responsible to the Board of Trustees and ISI’s auditors and executive staff for the accuracy of all financial data, there may be times when certain items cannot be reimbursed, but all available options will be explored before this determination is given.

5. Approvals – Who Do I Go To When?
Supervisors approve:
Expense for college courses regardless of purpose
Requisitions or check requests up to $500
Budgets and any changes for field staff he/she supervises
Seminars and conferences staff wish to be reimbursed for
City/Area Directors approve:
Expenses against the city/area account he/she is responsible for which includes
transfer requests
Now a word about approvals…
There will be additional approvals required for certain expenses and these approvals must accompany the request upon submission. If the required approvals are not obtained, the expense could be returned without payment.
Direct supervisors need to be involved as the first level approver for college courses, seminars, and conferences for either professional growth or access to college campuses. This level must also approve requisitions or check requests up to $500, in addition to budgets and any changes to those budgets for staff he/she supervises.
If staff is assigned as a City or Area Director, this person will be required to pre-approve all requests to spend money from the city account he or she is responsible for. Responsibility is assigned by the Home Office for each city account. All other levels of approval is still required if the expense falls into another category listed under other positions.
Regional Field Directors, or RFDs, serve as the second level approvers for college classes regardless of purpose, requisitions or check requests up to $1,000, all budgets and any changes to those budgets for his or her region, and the first level approval for capital expenditures of $2500 or more.
The Home office Executive staff are the only approvers for contracts, so if any expense requires a contract, no further action should be taken without a signed contract from the Home Office. No other ISI staff are authorized to engage ISI in contractual agreements. The Home Office must also be the final approval for capital expenditures of $2500 or more, benevolence requests, changes to budgeted escrow amounts, college courses regardless of purpose, and salary and other budget changes outside of pre-approved ranges.
The Board of Trustees must approve all housing allowances and any associated changes. While the President has interim approval authority between Board meetings, all requests are ultimately ratified by the Board itself.

6. Approvals – Who Do I Go To When? continued
Regional Field Directors (RFDs) approve:
Expenses for college courses regardless of purpose
Requisitions or check requests up to $1,000
Budgets and changes for staff under him/her
Capital expenditures of $2500 or more
Home Office approves:
ALL CONTRACTS
Salary changes outside of pre-approved ranges
Benevolence requests
Changes to escrow amounts
Any other budget changes outside of pre-approved ranges
Board of Trustees approves all housing allowances
Now a word about approvals…
There will be additional approvals required for certain expenses and these approvals must accompany the request upon submission. If the required approvals are not obtained, the expense could be returned without payment.
Direct supervisors need to be involved as the first level approver for college courses, seminars, and conferences for either professional growth or access to college campuses. This level must also approve requisitions or check requests up to $500, in addition to budgets and any changes to those budgets for staff he/she supervises.
If staff is assigned as a City or Area Director, this person will be required to pre-approve all requests to spend money from the city account he or she is responsible for. Responsibility is assigned by the Home Office for each city account. All other levels of approval is still required if the expense falls into another category listed under other positions.
Regional Field Directors, or RFDs, serve as the second level approvers for college classes regardless of purpose, requisitions or check requests up to $1,000, all budgets and any changes to those budgets for his or her region, and the first level approval for capital expenditures of $2500 or more.
The Home office Executive staff are the only approvers for contracts, so if any expense requires a contract, no further action should be taken without a signed contract from the Home Office. No other ISI staff are authorized to engage ISI in contractual agreements. The Home Office must also be the final approval for capital expenditures of $2500 or more, benevolence requests, changes to budgeted escrow amounts, college courses regardless of purpose, and salary and other budget changes outside of pre-approved ranges.
The Board of Trustees must approve all housing allowances and any associated changes. While the President has interim approval authority between Board meetings, all requests are ultimately ratified by the Board itself.

7. Fund Balance “aka” How Much is Left
All money coming into ISI that is designated for a certain department code (ministry fund) is tracked separately within the accounting system, so each fund maintains it’s own balance at any time in the fiscal year.
All income and expenses are posted to that unique account to which they apply and reported on separately.
The fund balance is what determines when and how much in reimbursements will be paid to staff.
Fund balance information can be requested at any time; however, all staff will get a report as to fund balance at least once a month from Finance.
Finance may need to make adjustments to fund balances if any mistakes are made which will reflect in the next reporting period.
As has already been stated, the fund balance is the key to all things financial when it comes to field staff.
We can only pay out what has been paid in, so if the money isn’t there, we can’t make payment on reimbursements.
Each time a payment is considered, a fund balance or account balance report will be run in Finance to make sure we do not have any negative fund balances within our system.
Donor services and Finance use the same code for each account so all income and expenses track together to give the actual fund balance at any time throughout the fiscal year.
Once a month, all staff will receive a report which gives the income and expenses for the month and the remaining balance in the account. Finance can run this report more frequently upon request; however, keep in mind, interim reports will not be complete for that month until month end reports are run. Fund balance reports are always a point-in-time kind of report and are subject to change as new information becomes available. In Finance we try very hard not to have to go into previous months and make adjustments, so hopefully the reports you receive will not change significantly for any months you have already received information for. Please keep in mind though, since we are subject to audit and may make mistakes, adjustments may need to be made to historical periods from time to time.

8. Reimbursements – What if I don’t agree or need more information
If an adjustment needs to be made to any submitted reimbursement, Finance will let you know and give an opportunity for more explanation. If there is sufficient documentation, additional amounts might be approved.
Finance must make the final determination due to the responsibility to make sure all requirements are adhered to.
We know it can be very hard to hear money may not be coming when it has already been spent and the expectation exists for reimbursement.
A reimbursement will not be adjusted without staff being notified and, if appropriate, any additional information that is supplied may be sufficient to warrant increased reimbursement totals.
However, please keep in mind, ultimately it is ISI and more specifically Finance that must account for all financial transactions to the Board, auditors, donors, ECFA, the IRS, and you, so we are responsible to determine what can be paid in reimbursements and how to ultimately account for those payments.
Even though it is true that supervisors, City Directors, and RFDs do need to be involved in the process, the final decision does need to stay with the Home Office. We are honored to take that role for you and all of ISI, and we thank you for the trust you have placed in us.

9. Events – What Do I Need to Know
Events can be paid for by money currently available, or they can be for the purpose of fund-raising.
Approval and an event code must be obtained from the Home Office before any further action is taken for fund-raising or if registrations need to be paid for an event.
Additional reminders:
All contracts must be done by the Home Office.
Requisitions or check requests must be sent to Finance at least 10 business days before the event with proper approvals already obtained ($500 supervisor, $1,000 RFD limits).
Registration payments are not donations and will be accounted for accordingly.
Drawings must not be used for fund raising – ISI cannot legally participate in gaming of any kind (no raffles).
Now a word about events…
Events are generally larger planned occasions in which International students are involved in order to reach more people at the same time with the same message. These events can be done on any level of the ministry, but must follow the same procedures in order to cover the financial aspects of the occasions.
If there is not currently funds for the event and a fund-raising campaign needs to be done, please contact the Home Office for approval and for an event code to make sure all money raised is accounted for correctly. If registrations need to be collected, also contact the Home Office for approval and an event code. The money taken in needs to be processed by the Home Office and not by individuals.
All contracts must be done by the Home Office before any arrangements are finalized.
If there will be costs that need to be paid by a Home Office check, please submit the check request at least 10 business days before the event.
In the case of drawings or door prizes for an event, please keep in mind that ISI, as an organization, does not have a gambling license and therefore cannot legally participate in gaming of any kind.
With this in mind, it is not authorized for any ISI staff member to organize a drawing, raffle, or other game in which participants have given money in order to participate, or for the event to be advertised as a raffle or auction.
All drawings must be organized whereby the participants have either filled out a registration or survey or are merely present in order to be considered for the drawing. Please do not use gift cards for the prizes. Since the IRS treats gift cards as cash, ISI must be cautious in how these items are used.
The prizes for the drawing cannot total more than $500 in value and a drawing with prizes should not be done more than 3 times per year per area.

10. Conclusion
Thank you for watching our series of videos on Introduction to Reimbursements.
Please contacts Finance at any time for questions or concerns.
Thank you for watching our series of videos on Introduction to Reimbursements
Please contacts Finance at any time for questions or concerns.