Cash Handling Procedures. Introduction

Transcription

1 Cash Handling Procedures Introduction 1. University Colleges, Institutes and Departments collect income from a number of different sources including students and external customers. There can be several different reasons, including sale of catering, sports facilities use, study materials, photocopy / printing services, etc. 2. Income received is a vulnerable asset which can be misappropriated if not effectively controlled. Effective controls over cash collection, retention and banking systems are necessary to ensure that all income due to or held by the University is identified, collected, receipted and banked properly and promptly. Such controls not only protect the resources of the University, but also the staff involved in the process. 3. These procedures are intended for use by all Colleges, Institutes and Departments, with the exception of the Cash Office, for which separate internal procedures are maintained and followed. Methods of Receiving Income 4. For the purpose of these Procedures, Income includes payments received direct by cash, cheques, credit and debit cards as well as cash floats held on University premises. Use of Floats 5. Any agreed cash float, subject to individual department requirements, should be removed prior to cashing up / balancing, i.e. the level of float should always remain constant and should not be used to compensate for overs and unders. Monies Received by Colleges, Institutes and Departments 6. Each College, Institute and Department should, where practicable, centralise the collection of cash; preferably, only two people within the area should be responsible for handling cash. Where this is not possible, every effort should be made to keep the number of people involved in the process to a minimum. 7. All cash collected / cash floats should be held securely, either in a till or in a locked cash box at all times. In the latter case, the cashbox should be kept out of sight when not in actual use in a locked cabinet or drawer. When cash has to be

2 held in an office for any length of time, it should be stored in a safe, wherever that facility is available. The level of cash held in any locked receptacle should not exceed the insurance limit for that receptacle. 8. Where it is anticipated that cheques or cash will be received through the mail, two members of staff should open the post together. Remittance details should be retained as a permanent record (date, name, amount and purpose). Both members of staff should sign the record to agree the amounts received. 9. All cash income should be held intact. Under no circumstances should deductions be made, nor personal or other cheques be cashed from any cash collected on behalf of the University. Loans must not be made from any cash source. 10. Keys to the till, cashbox, or safe, should be given to a designated person, who should keep the keys secure and ensure that they are not left unsecured in the office overnight. Sensible precautions should be taken to ensure that any room in which cash is regularly stored is locked when unoccupied. 11. It will be convenient at times to receive sums of monies in College, Institute and Department offices (e.g. Conferencing for accommodation) from staff and students. Any amounts received must be counted in front of the customer and signed receipts must be given. Receipt books are available from the Cash Office these must be kept securely and returned when no longer required. No more than one receipt book should be held by one officer at any time officers should be required to return completed receipt books before being issued with another one. Cash Reconciliation and Banking 12. Copy receipts should be retained as a record supporting the daily cash collected. 13. Monies should be counted at the end of the day by two members of staff and should be recorded onto the Daily Cash/Cheques/Credit/Debit Card form. The amounts received should be reconciled to supporting records by a senior member of staff and signed accordingly. Any discrepancies should be recorded and any discrepancies over twenty pounds ( 20) should be reported centrally and investigated as appropriate. 14. Any monies held overnight should be placed into a secure bag with their supporting receipts and locked in either the safe or a locked cabinet/drawer.

3 15. Mistakes made should be struck out with a single line and the amendment initialled. 16. On at least a weekly basis (or more frequently if the amount involved is substantial see Cash Transportation procedures below) the College, Institute or Departments should prepare the cash to be deposited to the Cash Office. Ideally, someone other than the person responsible for cash collection should complete this task. The Cash Office should sign to acknowledge receipt of the funds. 17. When cash collected is delivered to the Cash Office counter, the Cash Office staff may not always be able to immediately count the cash received instead they should issue a Not Counted receipt to the member(s) of staff who will return this to the College, Institute or Department. The Cash Office should send an official receipt by post or collection to the Colleges Institute or Department stating the actual value of cash counted. This should be cross checked to the amount on the Not Counted receipt and if any discrepancies appear they should be dealt with immediately by the Cash Office. 18. All reconciliation and banking records should be filed sequentially and retained for the appropriate period in accordance with statute and the University s Financial Regulations. Cash Transportation 19. Banking of cash will take place via the Cash Office. The transport of cash to the Cash Office from University Departments who are in receipt of cash should follow the guidance in this section. 20. The following criteria apply for transporting cash (in line with the University s insurance policy requirements) Up to 2,500-1 person Between 2,501 and 5,000-2 persons Between 5,001 and 10,000-3 persons Over 10,000 - Professional Security Company 21. Movement should be kept to busy thoroughfares wherever possible, away from kerb edges and should face oncoming traffic where applicable. Routes should be indoors wherever possible. Timings and routes should also be varied as much as possible. Bags used for the transit of money should be inconspicuous. Bags to

4 be transported should be sealed before collection. If accosted, on no account should any resistance be offered. 22. If an escort is required or preferred, assistance can be requested from the Security Office. No member of staff should ever feel at risk whilst carrying cash. If a member of staff does have concerns, an alternative arrangement should be made. Segregation of Duties 23. The overriding principle is that, in order to achieve an adequate separation of duties and to reduce risk, it is necessary to ensure that no one individual is responsible for all activities in this area; that is: the collection of cash, verification of income received (e.g. a supervisor should check the total collected against either the till reading or totals receipt) and delivery to Cash Office. Tills 24. All outlets receiving takings principally in cash should be equipped with tills, which should be placed within sight of customers. 25. Each till float is to be controlled through a float book. The float book is to be signed when the float is collected and whenever the float is passed from one operator to another. 26. All sales must pass through the till and tills must be closed between each transaction. 27. Receipts should be given wherever possible and signs should be displayed stating that receipts will be given and encouraging customers to request a receipt where one is not immediately offered. 28. Audit rolls must be used. 29. Official shortage pads should be used to record till errors. The person concerned should sign these documents and they should be countersigned by a Supervisor. 30. Till roll totals should be reconciled at the end of each cashier s shift to takings by a Supervisor and recorded in a permanent register. 31. Z keys are to be kept by Supervisors and not by till operators. Z key readings are to be taken on cashing up the till and must be reconciled to takings. Records are

5 to be maintained by Supervisors of sequential numbers of Z key readings. This should be carried out separately from other cash counts. Safes 32. Staff with access to safe keys should be listed by Deans of Colleges, Directors of Institutes and Heads of Departments and the lists should be stored securely electronically by the author. All spare duplicate keys should be deposited in sealed envelopes in the Security Office. 33. As a condition of the University s insurance all safe keys must either be removed from the premises or held by the Security Office out of business hours. Designated staff, as listed by Deans of Colleges, Directors of Institutes and Heads of Departments, are responsible for the deposit and collection of safe keys from the Security Office, where applicable.