COMMISSION ON AUDIT CIRCULAR NO.

81-155 February 23, 1981

TO : All Heads of Ministries, Bureaus and Offices of National Government; Managing

Heads Of Government-Owned and/or Controlled Corporations, Boards and
Commissions; Chief Accountants/Corporate Treasurers; Provincial Governors;
City/Municipal Mayors; Local Treasurers; COA Managers/Regional Directors,
Auditors, All Other Fiscal Officers and All Others Concerned.

SUBJECT : Consolidation and Revision of the Existing Voucher Forms and the Adoption of
Only One Form for Common Use in the National and Local Agencies Including
Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations, Self-Governing Boards and
Commissions.

1. Rationale:

The voucher forms now in use, namely the General, the Provincial, City, Municipal and
the Traveling Expense Vouchers do not reflect the minimum mandatory documentary
requirements to support particular claims. This has caused a lot of friction among agency
personnel, chief accountants, treasurers, auditors and the transacting public.

It is sad to note that there is a lack of uniformity in the documentation of claims. Whoever
be the paying agency, the documentary requirements are, as they should be, the same. Yet one
encounters the irritating experience of being required to present different documents as there is
change in paying agency while the transactions are identical in all respects.

The revised voucher form includes, at the back thereof, a checklist of the documentary
requirements for selected common transactions. This checklist will serve as a handy guide in
the documentation and review of claims.

Having many voucher forms in use is not promotive of economy. Number, naturally
results in waste not only in material but also in man-hours.

The checklist will prevent piecemeal submission of supporting documents and thereby
facilitate action on claims. It is not uncommon to encounter officials requiring documents one by
one, for one reason or another. This results in red tape and irritation among claimants, if not
encourage corrupt practices.

The proper sequencing of signatories to the voucher is also of prime significance. The
General Voucher Form being used in the National Agencies places the Chief Accountant as the
last agency signatory.

The arrangement was valid under the old set-up, where the accounting offices in the
National Government were not a part of the agency but an extension of the Budget
Commission, now Ministry. Upon the integration of the accounting offices with the agencies, the
sequencing of signatories should be revised. The Managing Head of the Agency is entitled to
know the status of its finances. If the old set-up is to continue, it will actually be investing the
Chief Accountant with veto power over the action of the agency head.
2. Discontinuance of the Use of the Present Forms:

Subject to the provisions of Section 7 of this Circular, the use of present voucher forms
for disbursements in the National, Local and Corporate agencies is hereby discontinued.
Henceforth, only one voucher form shall be used to be known as Disbursement Voucher.

3. Voucher Preparation:

The voucher shall be prepared in triplicate. More copies may be added, if the internal
control system in the agency would necessitate more copies.

To economize, for the duplicate and succeeding copies legal size onion skin paper may
be used.

(a.) The Voucher Number Boxes:

The numbering of the voucher shall be in accordance with COA Circular

No. 78-79 dated April 5, 1978, governing the Voucher Numbering System.

Not only should the voucher number be indicated on the voucher number
boxes but also on every document supporting the same. This assures, in case of
misplacement of a supporting document, ease in locating the voucher to which it
pertains. It also facilitates voucher filing and retrieval. The second voucher
number box appears at the bottom in a crosswise position straddling box No. 6,
the Receipt portion and the Remarks space. This is the voucher number box for
filing purposes.

In filing the voucher, it shall, together with the supporting documents be

folded crosswise, twice in a manner that, when made to stand folded, the box for
office or Agency and the Voucher Number will be in the top position.

(b.) Names and Signatures of the Employee Preparing the Voucher and the
Employee or Official Requesting or Directing the Preparation of the Voucher.

These boxes pinpoint the responsibility for the preparation of the voucher.
These are particularly important in case of anomalous transactions. It had been
the experience of the Commission on Audit that, in case of anomalous
transactions, the person who prepared or who directed preparation of the
voucher could not be traced for lack of indication of the parties responsible
therefor.

(c.) The Paying Agency or Office Box:

This will indicate the Department/Bureau of Office, Corporation,

Commission on Local Government Unit. The caption has been reduced to
layman's terms for easy understanding.
(d.) The Box for the Name and Address of Claimant:

The term "creditor" is quite technical. The ordinary layman, does not
readily understand it as experience has shown. The term "claimant" is more
appropriate.

(e). The Particulars of Payment and the Amount Box:

The particulars of payment should indicate the details of the transaction

for which payment is being made, indicating therein, in words and figures the
amount proposed to be paid.

(f) The Property Officer's Box (Certificate No. 1):

In payment for purchases, this box should be accomplished and signed

by the Property Officer or Property Custodian as heretofore practiced.

A new condition had been added, namely: "x x x in good condition as per
purchase order in invoice." This binds the Property Custodian to the nature or
condition of the property when received by him.

(g.) Traveling Expenses or Cash Advance Box (Certificate No. 2)

This is a feature which combines the General Voucher and the Traveling
Expense Voucher. In case of travels, this should be signed by the Supervisor of
the Official or employee undertaking the travel.

In the case of each advance, this is to be signed, by the Supervisor of the

grantee of the cash advance with the certification that expenditures shall be
under the former’s authority/direction/supervision.

Certificate No. 3 shall only be accomplished upon the liquidation of said

cash advance as indicated in the instructions at the back of the revised voucher
form.

(h.) Certificate of Necessity and Legality (Box No. 3, Certificate No. 2 in the Old
General Voucher Form):

This, as usual, will be accomplished and signed by the Supervisor or

Official having direct supervision and knowledge of the facts of the transaction.

(i.) The Accounting Box (Certificate No. 4):

Accomplishment of his section of the voucher shall be in the manner

heretofore practiced. It shall be accomplished before the approval of the
disbursement (Box No. 5).

In the case of Local Governments, the Local treasurer shall accomplish

this portion. In the case of corporations which do not have accounting offices
 separate from that of the Treasurer or Controller, this shall be accomplished by
the Treasurer or Controller. The journalization, indexing, fund control and cash
disbursement ceiling sections shall, at least, be initiated by the person doing the
particular portion of the accounting process.

The boxes for each disbursement ceiling (CDC) shall be filled only in
agencies where the CDC system is in operation.

(j.) The Approval Box (Box No. 5):

This shall be accomplish by the Approving Official or his duly authorized

representative. In local government units, approval of vouchers shall be in
accordance with P.D. No. 477. In government-owned or controlled corporations,
approval shall be governed by their respective charters and where no specific
provision exists, by the Managing Head or his duly authorized representative.

(k.) The Audit Box - (Box No. 6):

This is the box for COA auditorial action, whether it be pre-audit or post-
audit.

The COA Auditor shall indicate in words and in figures the amount
allowed. Whatever difference there be between the approved amount and the
amount allowed in audit shall be considered a disallowance which maybe
tentative or permanent, depending upon the nature of, or the reason for, the
disallowance.

In case the transaction is not subject to COA pre- audit and the agency
has an internal audit arm or system, a stamp to indicate internal audit action
maybe used. This may be impressed on any portion of the front page of the
voucher as would not mar important figures or words thereon.

(l.) The Receipt Section:

In the legal sense, the receipt portion is a document separate and distinct
from the main body of the voucher. The top portion of the voucher up to Box No.
6 comprises the document of authorization. The receipt portion is the
acknowledgment of the payment by the claimant.

The boxes to be filled are self-explanatory and should be accomplished,

as usual.

(m.) The Remarks Section:

This is primarily intended for auditorial action. However, this does not
preclude other voucher signatories from stating pertinent remarks about the
expenditure of transaction.

4. The Document Checklist at the Back of the Voucher:

 The checklist at the back of the voucher enumerates the mandatory minimum supporting
documents for the selected transactions.

It should be clear, however, that the submission of all the supporting documents
enumerated under each type of transaction does not preclude reasonable questions on the
funding, legality, regularity, necessity or economy of the expenditure or transaction. Such
questions maybe raised by any of the signatories to the voucher.

Should any official require any additional document, the claimant should be reported to
the proper authorities.

If the official demanding additional requirements or documents is the COA Auditor, the
case should be reported immediately to the Commission on Audit, if he could not produce the
new or regulation prescribing it.

The demand for additional documents or requirements should be in writing. A blank

space is provided for additional requirements. If any and if authorized by any law or regulation.
If the space is insufficient, the tentative suspension sheet maybe used or a separate
communication maybe made and attached to the voucher.

5. Initials of Reviewers' Column:

Voucher reviewers should affix their initials in the column provided. The review of
vouchers covers verification of the supporting documents as well as their propriety and due
execution. The purpose of this column is obvious to require further explanation.

6. Documentation of Claims not Covered by the Checklist:

Constraints of space prevent the inclusion of all transactions in the checklist of

supporting documents.

As to the transactions not covered by the checklist reference should be made to the
Manual on Pre - Audit of Disbursements, 1966 Edition, and other subsequent COA issuances
on particular transactions.

7. Transition to the Used of the New Voucher Form and the Discontinuance of the old
Ones:

The Government Printing Office has agreed to stop, altogether the printing of the forms
now in use, and print the new form until after its stock of old forms is exhausted.

Corollarily, all agencies of the government, national, local or corporate, should first
exhaust their current stocks of the old forms before they requisition the new.

As a interim control to ensure that agencies of the government, national, local, or

corporate, first exhaust the existing stock of the old forms, all requisitions for the new forms
should be coursed thru the Resident Auditor who shall verify the existing stock of the old
voucher forms. In case there still remains a sizeable stock of the old forms, the Auditor shall
advise the Agency Head to hold acquisition of the new one.
8. Repealing Clause:

All regulations inconsistent herewith or with the document checklist embodied in the
revised voucher form are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

9. Effectivity:

This Circular shall be effective immediately subject to the conditions specified in

Paragraph 7 hereof.

(SGD) SILVESTRE D. SARMIENTO, Commissioner

(SGD) FRANCISCO S. TANTUICO, JR., Chairman