Create a community
Menu
Log inCreate a community
TOOL

Transparency self-assessment checklist

Eighteen questions on records, documents, separate approval, regular reports, task tracking and personal data show your community's strong and weak areas.

Answer each question based on where your community stands today. "Don’t know" is a valid answer and a finding in itself.

RecordsIs every money movement written down?
  1. Is every income and expense entered in a written record (book, spreadsheet or app) within the week it happens?
  2. Are dues and donations recorded per person, so you can see who paid what and when?
  3. Are cash and bank balances regularly checked against the records?
DocumentsIs there a document behind every record?
  1. Is a numbered receipt issued for every payment received?
  2. Is an invoice, slip or proof of payment kept for every expense?
  3. Can documents be found easily from the related record (by number, date or attachment)?
Separate approvalIs the person who spends also the one who approves?
  1. Is the person who makes a payment different from the person who approves it?
  2. Is written approval (a decision or a record) obtained in advance for spending above a set amount?
  3. Can at least two people regularly see cash and bank movements?
Regular reportsDo members regularly see where the money stands?
  1. Is an income and expense summary shared with members or residents at regular intervals (e.g. monthly or quarterly)?
  2. Is the annual activity and financial report ready before the general assembly or meeting?
  3. Does the report explain differences between the budget and actual figures?
Task trackingAre decisions and jobs followed through to the end?
  1. Does every decision and job have an owner and a target date?
  2. Is the stage of aid cases or projects (request, approval, delivery, outcome) on record?
  3. Are the outcome and the amount spent shared with those involved when a job is done?
Personal dataIs member information handled with care?
  1. Is access to members’ personal data defined and limited?
  2. Are members told why their data is kept?
  3. Is there a routine for keeping and deleting the data of members who leave?
METHOD

How it works

The checklist asks three questions in each of six areas. You answer each one with Yes, No or Don’t know, and the summary sorts the areas into four groups:

Group When What to do
Areas to improve At least one “no” in the area. Start here; see the guide and module suggested underneath.
Unclear No “no”, but at least one “don’t know”. Find out who in your community knows; often only one person does, which is a risk in itself.
Unanswered Questions in the area were left blank. Answer them to complete the summary.
Strong Every answer in the area is “yes”. Keep it up; ask the same questions again once a year.

Why there is no score

This list is not a score, certificate or trust rating. How much each area matters varies between communities: a cash reconciliation question means little to a volunteer group with no cash, and a great deal to a building that collects dues. A single number hides that difference and gives a false sense of security, so we show the status of each area separately instead.

Who should answer

You get the most useful result when the board and the auditors answer together. If the chair and the treasurer answer the same question differently, that is a finding too. Go through the answers in a meeting and give every “no” or “don’t know” area an owner and a date.

What the questions are based on

The questions are about good practice, not a list of legal duties: keeping records, keeping documents, separating whoever spends from whoever approves, reporting regularly, following jobs through, and handling personal data with care. Which books and records you are legally required to keep depends on your type of organisation and the applicable law; this tool is not legal advice.

Your data

Your answers are assessed only in your browser; nothing is sent to a server or stored. To keep the summary, use Copy result or Download CSV.

When records, documents, approvals and reports live in one place in Elele, most of these questions answer “yes” on their own. See the financial transparency guide and our approach to transparency.

  • TemplateCSV · Version 1.0 · CC BY 4.0

    Income and expense ledger (CSV)

    A numbered income and expense ledger with document number, account (cash or bank), category, recorded-by and approved-by columns; free and opens in Excel.

  • TemplateCSV · Version 1.0 · CC BY 4.0

    Dues tracking sheet (CSV)

    A free dues tracking sheet with plan, period charge, payment, receipt number and balance per member; opens in Excel with accented characters intact.

  • Product module

    Reports

    Income and expenses, balances, receivables and activity reports, ready for the AGM.

← All tools

FROM SUMS TO RECORDS

You have the numbers; now set up the routine.

Elele runs dues plans, collections, receipts and reports from one member list.

Create a communityReports