Finance and accountability

CAMFED’s innovative financial system is designed to maintain high levels of accountability and transparency.

In the field, the system starts with the selection process: school-based committees and community leaders identify girls in the greatest need. Once approved for support, each girl’s entitlement is then tracked through our data monitoring system. Volunteers – including members of the CAMFED Association (CAMA) and local government officials – help us in this detailed monitoring process, using mobile phones to record data and send it back to our database for efficient and cost-effective tracking.

In-country CAMFED staff make regular field visits to each school and meet with volunteer groups and other parties to ensure that funds are used for the purposes they were provided for. Our staff also ensures that records are in place for each transaction, are maintained in a manner consistent with our best practices, and provide a clear trail for auditing.

The audit process, which happens annually in each country, traces funds from the time of donation to the time it reaches individual girls. Evidence is gathered in two ways:

• Inspecting finance records from schools and volunteer groups involved in program administration
• Interviewing sponsored girls to confirm they received their full entitlements

To strengthen the effectiveness of field audits and legitimize enforcement and compliance, we work in partnership with government audit departments in each country. Both parties share audit reports to find and resolve discrepancies and to reward good record-keeping.

Training

This framework is supported by a continuous training program. Financial training is focused on developing and providing the following key basics of financial management:

• Strong financial planning skills
• Sound maintenance of financial records
• Robust internal controls
• Regular internal audit and monitoring

The training program is run for local committees administering the CAMFED program, including Teacher Mentors, Parent Support Groups and members of the CAMFED Association. The training provides the skills to manage resources, embed the moral and legal responsibilities that are required to manage financial resources, and emphasizes the need to align principle with practice to maintain and sustain the trust and confidence of the rest of the community.

UK anti-bribery legislation

CAMFED is implementing anti-bribery policies and procedures using the same collaborative principles as our management and governance model. In all offices, CAMFED delivers workshops that introduce the definitions and legal implications of bribery; an anti-bribery champion is appointed from each office; and country-specific example scenarios and proven methods of resisting bribery are appended to the policy.

Efficient Operations

CAMFED applies more than 90 percent of its expenditure to charitable spending.