Imprest & Advances

Imprest & Advances

Quick Answer: An imprest is a floating cash advance held by a public officer (the Imprest Holder) to make petty and contingency payments where vouchers cannot immediately be presented to a Sub-Accounting Officer. Under the Financial Regulations there are two types — a Standing Imprest that is replenishable and must be retired by 31st December, and a Special Imprest granted for a particular purpose and retired in full once that purpose is achieved. An imprest is not a personal loan: every naira must be vouched or refunded, and a holder who fails to retire it is surcharged.

What an imprest is (FR 1001)

The Financial Regulations (Chapter on Imprest, FR 1001) define an imprest as a sum advanced to a public officer to meet expenditure under the current Appropriation Act for which vouchers cannot immediately be presented to a Sub-Accounting Officer for payment. It is the standard mechanism for petty, contingency, and field/inspection payments — situations where an officer must spend cash before a voucher can be raised and passed through the Central Pay Office. No imprest may be issued until the Minister of Finance has issued the General Imprest Warrant after the enactment of the Annual Appropriation Act, and the Accountant-General has notified Accounting Officers through the Annual Imprest Warrant Circular (FR 1002-1003).

Standing imprest vs special imprest (FR 1004)

The Regulations recognise two types:

The distinction matters for the exam: a standing imprest is a permanent float that is topped up through the year and closed out at year-end, while a special imprest is a one-off advance tied to a defined task (an inspection tour, a ceremony, a special project) and must be retired as soon as that task ends.

The Imprest Holder (FR 123, FR 1007-1008)

The Imprest Holder is defined (FR 123) as an officer other than a Sub-Accounting Officer who is entrusted with the disbursement of public money for which vouchers cannot immediately be presented, and who is required to keep a cash book. The holder's obligations under FR 1007-1008 are detailed:

• Keep a cash book recording all receipts and payments, balanced regularly, with cash on hand checked by a senior officer.
• Support every payment with a Sub-Receipt (Treasury Form 10) and classify vouchers to the line items of the Appropriation Act.
• Keep imprest cash separate from all other monies at all times.
• Delegate the cash and cash-book duty only to an officer not below Assistant Executive Officer (Accounts).
• Use the imprest only for the purpose for which it was issued, and submit paid vouchers early for reimbursement.
• For a Special Imprest, open a designated bank account in the holder's name unless the Accountant-General directs otherwise (FR 1009).

All imprests issued and retired are recorded in a Special Imprest Ledger, and authority for issuance is effected on a Departmental Imprest Warrant (TF.9) with a copy sent to the Auditor-General (FR 1005-1006).

Reimbursement and retirement

To replenish a Standing Imprest, the holder submits properly completed and receipted payment vouchers to the Sub-Accounting Officer (FR 1010). Two rules are commonly tested:

1. Vouchers are classified direct to the expenditure Chart of Accounts concerned, not to the "Imprest" line — reimbursement restores the float but does not itself count as expenditure.
2. Reimbursement shall not exceed the amount of expenditure vouchers submitted.

The frequency of reimbursement is capped by FR 1014 at once per quarter, rising to a maximum of twice in a quarter where the need arises. The reimbursable ceiling itself is set by the Annual Imprest Warrant. Retirement (FR 1011) is by production of vouchers and/or refund of cash for the full amount; self-accounting MDAs must, within 21 days of the end of the financial year, send the Accountant-General a return showing all imprests issued and how they were retired.

Imprest vs a staff advance or loan

An imprest is often confused with a staff advance, but they are fundamentally different:

Sanctions for non-retirement

Failure to retire an imprest is treated seriously. Under the Financial Regulations (commonly cited as FR 3124/3219 in audit practice), a public officer who fails to respond to a query for non-retirement of an advance or imprest within the prescribed period (typically 7 days for an audit query on unretired advances) shall be surcharged and the total amount recovered from the defaulting officer. The Accountant-General and the Auditor-General may also inspect the imprest records at any time (FR 1013). This surcharge-and-recovery mechanism is the same one used for losses of public funds and is reinforced by the Public Finance Management Act 2024, which treats non-retention of advances as financial misconduct.