Unit of competency details

Descriptor 

This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to manage cash handling issues in situations where conventional banking infrastructure may be limited or nonexistent and where the context requires that many transactions are conducted in cash

Application 

This unit may be applied in a range of development and/or humanitarian assistance work contexts and should reflect the concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development (i.e. ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability) as embodied in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action (AAA)

This unit involves managing cash arrangements including cash requirements, cash security and cash transport, in an environment such as a development or humanitarian assistance program

These skills and knowledge are to be applied within the scope of the person's job and authority

Employability skills 

This unit contains employability skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Manage cash in a development or humanitarian assistance context

1.1 Manage cash security in accordance with relevant policies and procedures  of the organisation and/or program

1.2 Determine quantity of cash required for an identified purpose in a development or humanitarian assistance context 

1.3 Ensure cash security is maximised through the use of physical and non -physical barriers 

1.4 Ensure cash management processes reflect the concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development 

1.5 Conduct conversion to local currency as securely as possible

1.6 Communicate with relevant personnel as required to ensure cash security is maximised on delivery to field locations

2. Facilitate safe transport of cash 

2.1 Ensure cash transport  arrangements are in the hands of a limited number of trusted personnel

2.2 Vary cash transport routines to mitigate risks

2.3 Ensure cash transport plans are securely communicated to field personnel charged with cash disbursement

2.4 Determine and obtain adequate levels of insurance

2.5 Document and approve cash transport plans, including contingency plan

3. Manage currency exchanges

3.1 Carry out international and local currency exchanges in accordance with guidelines and procedures of the organisation and/or program

3.2 Where cross border financial transfers occur, monitor fluctuations in currency values to ensure appropriate funding is available, adequate cash is maintained on hand and budget constraints are adhered to within donor or organisation required (or preferred) currency

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge :

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

This includes:

• Generally accepted accounting principles
• Donor or grant requirements
• General cash management principles
• Local laws relating to currency movements into the country
• Local banking and financial infrastructure
• Organisation policies and procedures relating to issues such as:

• general cash management
• transportation of cash into country and within country
• authorisation
• cash security
• cash management in high security risk environments
• remuneration and benefits policies and packages
• relevant organisation and/or program benchmarks

• Social, cultural and political context of development or humanitarian assistance environment
• Relevant organisation and/or program structure, including formal lines of reporting and responsibility
• Relevant internal politics and informal influence or power relationships
• Problem solving strategies
• Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Team dynamics
• Basic psychological principles

Essential skills :

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Effectively manage cash handling issues in a development or humanitarian assistance context, including unstable or insecure environments
• Effectively determine cash requirements, ensure available funds and monitor currency fluctuations to manage currency conversion
• Prepare relevant reports and key documents
• Effectively ensure cash security and facilitate planning and organisation of safe transport of cash in a development or humanitarian assistance context, including preparing transport and contingency plans and obtaining adequate insurance
• Effectively communicate with field personnel, project partners, donors and other finance personnel
• Comply with organisation and donor policies and requirements
• Manage currency exchanges in a development or humanitarian assistance context to support availability of funding, cash maintained on hand and adherence to budget constraints within requirements

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include the ability to:

• Use appropriate communication and interpersonal techniques with colleagues and others
• Work as part of a team environment to complete tasks
• Identify and clearly define problems and demonstrate appropriate response procedures
• Initiate new ideas or work methodologies
• Accurately plan and organise work activities
• Efficiently manage own responsibilities and timelines for completion of work
• Demonstrate personal management, including initiative, self motivation and direction
• Apply project management and evaluation skills
• Work with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, showing sensitivity to cultural differences, including:

• awareness and understanding of cultural differences
• ability to express that awareness and understanding clearly and concisely

• Communicate effectively with a wide range of different audiences
• Interpret and explain complex formal documents and systems and assist others to apply them in the work context
• Prepare written advice and reports requiring reasoning and precision of expression
• Use communications equipment, including telephone, radio, satellite phone, fax and email
• Demonstrate adaptability and the ability to deal with ambiguous situations
• Select and use appropriate technology
• Apply skills in:

• investigation, including analysis and deduction
• working as part of a team
• mediation and negotiation
• coaching
• presentation
• directing and supervising others
• administration
• listening
• negotiation
• language, literacy and numeracy such as those required to:
• collect, analyse and organise data
• communicate in spoken and written form with a range of audiences
• adjust spoken and written language to suit audience
• prepare or customise materials
• calculate and estimate times, costs and quantities

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency :

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• The application of competency is to be assessed in the work context or realistically simulated work context
• Consistency of performance should be demonstrated over the required range of situations relevant to the work context
• The task of managing cash can be undertaken at a number of levels of complexity, depending on the amounts of cash to be handled, security issues and availability (or not) of local banking and financial infrastructure
• Assessors unable to assess through observation in a development or humanitarian assistance work context should particularly ensure the validity of evidence and determine with care the level of complexity at which management was undertaken
• Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance, but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Access and equity considerations :

• All workers in development and humanitarian assistance should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In particular workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues facing the people and culture in which they are working
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues relating to the culture in which they are working

Context of and specific resources for assessment :

• This unit may be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other related units of competency is encouraged
• Assessment of essential underpinning knowledge, other than confirmatory questions, will usually be conducted in an off-site context
• Assessment must comply with relevant regulatory requirements and/or standards
• Resources required for assessment include access to:

• workplace location or simulated workplace
• specifications and work instructions
• policy manuals and procedure manuals (international and local, including sector specific finance manuals)
• relevant documents (such as duty statements, financial reports, cash and insurance records, transport plans)
• relevant equipment (such as office equipment and communications equipment)
• managers, co-workers and other finance personnel

Method of assessment :

• Assessment needs to take into consideration the practical difficulties associated with attempting on-job assessment in the field
• Assessment may be applied under project related conditions (real or simulated) and require evidence of process
• Given the nature of this unit, assessment should be supported by supplementary evidence from a wide range of sources, preferably including evidence from one or more field situations

RANGE STATEMENT 

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Relevant policies and procedures may relate to :

• Cash transaction record keeping
• General financial procedures
• Corporate security requirements
• Movement of cash

Development or humanitarian assistance context may include :

• Regions where access to international financial networks or support services (such as telegraphic transfer through banks or companies such as Western Union) is limited or non-existent
• Regions where threat of break-in, personal assault, and/or robbery is high
• Countries where financial infrastructure, including banking, communication and transport, has been disrupted by destruction of physical infrastructure through natural disaster such as earthquake, flood or fire
• Regions where financial infrastructure, including banking, communication and transport, has been disrupted by war, civil war, or rioting

Physical barriers may relate to :

• Location of building
• Location of cash room within building
• Safes
• Locked doors
• Strong boxes

Non -physical barriers may relate to :

• Restricting information about cash management to a minimum number of personnel

Concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development include :

• Ownership, including:

• using delivery processes that support partner countries to exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies
• coordinating development actions
• involving communities and local government in decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• encouraging community's and local government's contribution to problem solving

• Alignment, involving maintaining a comprehensive understanding of partner countries' national development strategies, institutions and procedures to guide program delivery
• Harmonisation:

• actively seeking to collaborate with other Official Development Assistance (ODA) partners to create added value and greater development effectiveness

• Managing for results, including continuous improvement of systems to:

• manage for development results
• support evidence-based decision making

• Mutual accountability, involving demonstration of:

• full transparency and accountability for the use of development resources in program delivery

Facilitate safe transport may include :

• Limiting the number of trusted personnel involved in transport of cash
• Varying routines so cash is not transported on a pre-determined schedule
• Using different modes of transportation of cash at different times
• Use of 'code' words to refer to cash to mitigate ability of others to track movements
• Not notifying drivers of travel in advance when transporting cash by road
• Never transporting cash bags/boxes with keys
• Ensuring contingency plans are in place which provide secure alternatives to ensure adequate cash is on hand

Cash transport may include :

• Transport within a country or across political boundaries (including unofficial political boundaries as may exist during times of civil unrest, war or lawlessness)