Checking expense allocations and monthly budget monitoring…

International NGO · Written recruitment test

Practical exercise · Assistant level

Grants and Finance Assistant

Duty station: Bukavu, South Kivu province (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Time allowed: 60 min
Marks: 100 marks
Pass mark: 60 %
Profile: Assistant, 0 to 2 years of experience

Instructions

The test lasts 60 minutes. It is marked out of 100; the pass mark is 60.
You may use a calculator or a spreadsheet. Show your workings: a correct result without workings receives only half the marks.
Any outside help (another person, artificial intelligence) is forbidden.
The documents are fictional. Do not make unjustified assumptions; if you make one, state it.
12-month project, from 01/01 to 31/12. You are preparing the budget monitoring at the end of June (month 6). Amounts in USD.

Original practice test, built on the format of written tests used by United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The context and figures are fictitious.

Documents provided

Document 1. Project budget and cumulative expenditure at the end of May

Line	Description	Budget	Cumulative at end of May
1.1	Project team salaries (100%)	96,000	39,500
1.2	Coordinator's salary (20% of time)	12,000	5,000
2.1	Hygiene kits	60,000	41,200
2.2	Training of water management committees	18,000	3,600
3.1	Vehicle rental	24,000	9,800
3.2	Fuel	9,600	4,300
4.1	Bukavu office rent (project share: 30%)	5,400	2,250
	Total	225,000	105,650

Donor rules (extract): only expenses incurred during the project period, provided for in the budget, supported by an original document and not funded by another source are eligible. Alcoholic beverages are not eligible. An advance to a supplier is not an expense: it is recorded on receipt of the invoice and the goods.

Document 2. June entries charged to the project by the accounts department

Ref.	Date	Description	Amount	Line charged
T1	05/06	Project team salaries, June	8,000	1.1
T2	05/06	Coordinator's salary, June (full monthly salary)	5,000	1.2
T3	10/06	Hygiene kits, 2nd delivery, invoice no. 0612	12,600	2.1
T4	12/06	Rental of a vehicle for the nutrition project (another donor)	2,000	3.1
T5	14/06	Training of water management committees, participants' per diems	2,400	2.1
T6	18/06	End-of-training reception, alcoholic beverages	350	2.2
T7	20/06	Fuel, June	800	3.2
T8	25/06	Office rent, June (1,500 × 30%)	450	4.1
T9	28/06	Laptop for the MEAL officer	1,300	3.1
T10	29/06	Hygiene kits, advance to supplier (no invoice)	3,000	2.1
T11	30/06	Hotel invoice for a workshop, dated 15/12 of the previous year	600	2.2
		Total	36,500

Question 135 marks

Examine each entry in document 2. For each one, state your decision (accept, reclassify, remove from the project, put on hold) and the reason. Give the June amount to be retained for the project.

Your answer

0 words

Model answer

Ref.	Decision	Reason
T1	Accept (8,000, line 1.1)	Compliant
T2	Correct: 1,000 on line 1.2	The budget provides for 20% of time: 5,000 × 20% = 1,000; the remaining 4,000 goes to the coordinator's other funding sources
T3	Accept (12,600, line 2.1)	Invoice and delivery
T4	Remove from the project	Expense of another project: double funding is prohibited
T5	Reclassify to 2.2	This is a training expense, not kits
T6	Remove (ineligible)	Alcoholic beverages excluded by the donor; to be charged to unrestricted own funds if internal policy allows
T7	Accept (800, line 3.2)	Compliant
T8	Accept (450, line 4.1)	Compliant with the 30% key
T9	Remove, pending a decision	No equipment line in the budget and wrongly charged to vehicle rental; possible only with the donor's written approval
T10	Put on hold (not an expense)	An advance is not an expense; it will be charged on receipt of the invoice and the kits
T11	Remove (ineligible)	Expense incurred before the start of the project

June amount retained: 8,000 + 1,000 + 12,600 + 2,400 + 800 + 450 = USD 25,250, against 36,500 charged. Difference: USD 11,250 (4,000 + 2,000 + 350 + 1,300 + 3,000 + 600).

Marking grid

T2 corrected to 20% (5 marks)
T4, T6 and T11 removed with the correct reason (9 marks)
T5 reclassified and T9 identified as unbudgeted (8 marks)
T10 treated as an advance and not as an expense (6 marks)
Correct retained amount of 25,250 and difference (7 marks)

Your mark for this question / 35

Question 230 marks

Update the budget monitoring at the end of June: by line, June expenses retained, cumulative total, burn rate and available balance, then the total. Give the Excel formula for the burn rate and the balance (budget in C, cumulative in E, starting from row 2).

Your answer

0 words

Model answer

Line	Budget	June	Cumulative end of June	Rate	Balance
1.1	96,000	8,000	47,500	49.5%	48,500
1.2	12,000	1,000	6,000	50.0%	6,000
2.1	60,000	12,600	53,800	89.7%	6,200
2.2	18,000	2,400	6,000	33.3%	12,000
3.1	24,000	0	9,800	40.8%	14,200
3.2	9,600	800	5,100	53.1%	4,500
4.1	5,400	450	2,700	50.0%	2,700
Total	225,000	25,250	130,900	58.2%	94,100

Formulas: rate =IF(C2=0,"",E2/C2) in percentage format (French Excel =SI(C2=0;"";E2/C2)); balance =C2-E2. Check: the sum of the lines must equal the total (130,900 = 105,650 + 25,250).

Marking grid

Correct cumulative totals by line (10 marks)
Correct rates and balances (10 marks)
Correct total and consistency check (5 marks)
Correct Excel formulas (5 marks)

Your mark for this question / 30

Question 315 marks

The project is at its midpoint (50% of the time elapsed). Which lines should be flagged to the grants officer, and why?

Your answer

0 words

Question 420 marks

Write the message to the grants officer (150 words maximum) accompanying your budget monitoring.

Your answer

0 words

Other tests for this profession

Panel interview question for this profession

Tell us about a time when you spotted an expense that was wrongly allocated or did not comply with a donor's rules. How did you react?

Competency assessed : Accuracy and compliance of cost allocations

What the panel expects : A specific expense with its amount, the rule concerned (eligibility, period, allocation key, supporting documents), a check before correcting, clear escalation to the supervisor, and a solution that protects the project without getting around the rules.

Possible follow-up questions

Which rule of the contract or the procedure was concerned?
Did anyone ask you to let the expense through?
How did you make sure the error was not repeated in other months?

Strong answer

As a finance assistant, I prepared the monthly budget monitoring for three grants. While checking the March entries, I saw that a manager's salary budgeted at 30% on one grant had been charged to it at 100% since January. I checked the contract, the timesheet and the approved allocation key: the error amounted to USD 6,300 over three months. I prepared a month-by-month correction table and sent it to the grants officer before the closing. He approved the reallocation to the manager's two other funding sources. I also found an invoice of USD 480 dated before the start of the project: we removed it. I then added an automatic check to the file comparing each charged salary with its allocation key. At the final audit, no staff costs were disallowed.

Weak answer

"I saw that the salary was wrongly allocated, but the project had room on that budget line, so I left it." This answer shows acceptance of a non-compliant allocation because budget remains, which exposes the organisation to a disallowance at audit.

← All tests

Checking expense allocations and monthly budget monitoring

Instructions

Documents provided

Question 135 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 230 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 315 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 420 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Result

Common mistakes that cost marks

Useful references