Best Practices
➤ Departmental policies and procedures for the activity should be formally documented. This should include authorized activity, workflow, responsibilities, documentation requirements and step-by-step instructions for processing activity.
➤ Revenue and associated records should be stored in a secure location. For revenue, this should be in a safe or other storage mechanism with limited access.
➤ Any revenue collected must be received and deposited at the Cashier’s Office (Bursar Office). Deposits can be in the form of currency, coins, checks and money orders.
➤ In order to have proper accountability, cashiers should not share cash drawers.
➤ Documentation of activity should include pre-numbered receipts. Accounting for all receipts should be incorporated into the daily reconciliation process.
➤ The ability to determine how much revenue activity has occurred at any point in time should be limited to supervisory personnel. If cashiers have this capability, funds could be diverted without detection.
➤ Cashiers and supervisors should count the revenue collected together and agree to the amount. This should be documented, and performed prior to transferring custody of the funds from the cashier to the supervisor.
➤ Daily activity should be reconciled by comparing revenue collected to the sales documentation (e.g., receipts, cash register readings). Discrepancies should be investigated and the resolution properly documented.
➤ Overages / shortages should be monitored in order to identify trends that could be indicative of the need for additional training or closer supervision of the individual.
➤ Supervisory personnel should approve all voids and refunds.
➤ Segregation of duties should be incorporated into revenue processing. A single individual should not be responsible for the receipt, recording, deposit and reconciliation of receipts.
➤ The reconciliation process should include the bank account used as well as Kentucky State University’s financial system. The transactions should be verified to the source documents to ensure accurate and complete postings of activity.
➤ Checks should be restrictively endorsed when received.
➤ Campus Police should be used to transport cash deposits to the bank.
➤ Personnel should receive training regarding counterfeit currency and the procedures for reporting it if identified.
➤ Credit card activity requires special processing considerations, including safeguarding of information. Personnel should ensure the credit card activity is in compliance with internal policies and bank requirements.
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