Financial Policy Handbook 2017

The employee initiated the changes will provide a written description as to why the changes were made and the Finance director will sign off on the changes, prior to the changes being approved and posted in the financial system. The Finance Director will also process the final Approval and Posting of the changes within the City’s Financial System. 5. Write-Off Policy - In some instances, the City may be compelled to write off delinquent accounts. Such action usually takes place after all collection efforts have been exhausted and the account is either considered to be uncollectible or the amount owed is too small to warrant further collection efforts. The following circumstances will be used by the City of Spencer: a. Discharged bankruptcy . The account has been discharged through bankruptcy court and the file has been noted with the date filed, number, court district and date of discharge. b. Wrong Responsible Party . The account was referred in the name of a company or individual that cannot be held liable for the debt. c. Deceased . Debtor is deceased with no estate. d. Invalid Referral . The account was assigned in error. A billing should not have been generated. e. Court Refuses Judgment . The debt could not be substantiated in court. f. Outlawed . The statute of limitation has run out without payment or promise of payment since the last transaction. g. Amount Doesn’t Warrant Further Effort . No response to demand for payment. Further pursuit would not be cost effective. Each write-off must be approved by the Finance Director. 6. Invoice Cut-off Time. To ensure that all invoices can be sent out on time each month, the cut-off time for new invoices to be entered shall be no later than the last business day of each month. 7. Inactive Customer Accounts - Customer accounts should be reviewed for activity on a periodic basis. If a customer account has had no activity for 24 consecutive months, the account status shall be changed to “Inactive.” If an account has had no activity for five years, the account shall be purged from the system.