Insight - Finance teams deliver the aid.

(From Financial Director)

Byline: Neil Hodge.

The tsunami that hit East Asia shortly after Christmas has tested the contingency plans that relief providers have in place to cope with disasters. So far, such plans have risen to the challenge, but FDs may still face plenty of associated risks. Alex Haxton, director of operations at charity World Emergency Relief, says that the biggest problem is "committing funds immediately without knowing whether enough donations are forthcoming to cover the cost of the operation". Bill Cottle, director of finance and services at Unicef (UK), says that his office had transferred about GBP2.5m within two weeks of the crisis to fund relief efforts.

Dominic Brain, head of programme funding and support at charity Christian Aid, says that all relief charities have contingency plans to enable funds to be directed to affected areas within one or two days. He adds that the bigger charities, such as Christian Aid, Oxfam and the Red Cross, have working arrangements in place with major airlines, travel operators and banks that enable relief workers to arrive at disaster zones as early as possible with funds and medical aid. Cottle says that Unicef has accounts with the Bank of England, which enable the charity to transfer funds and guarantee receipt in different currencies to banks anywhere in the world.

Brain says that one of the key financial risks for most charities is to keep accurate accounts of their cashflow. "Most of our relief work requires ...