HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-11-23 93-37 ORDERWas WV,11-2392 Item No. 93-37
OlMER, AdopLL Cash ""`adl 9 and nmm "s l ity Follcy as an
Item/Subject: F1ao?nt of t3 C£ty of Bon9ot's Ffsoncial Pxocrfbines Memel
Responsible Department: Ffnarea DapacmemK
Commentary:
Aa } ate aeons, we have been paciotlitally co,dm2 foxwe 1 to ttie Cn :l
with vanioue ft mrc l palicies to De adopted one an element of crux
overall Fitatciel e...v,a..o= Manual. g putty eA.ich is before } Ude
everdm deals vrith cash heMling ane +s�ity.
'this a rot x....saMfseas reit in of Uie City's pretties, esquires an arnual
neriew of x1w is hartllincj cash on bela.lf of the Uty, and robot safeguards ane
1n place t i protect the City's assets. It also tha tnmie£er of
infomation bet n axaide offices aM the lkeasuty tlffice, aM requires a
starsdazd report boom for auditing p rpcees.
Since tha Leat mdit saapsnct was Lannert, tbs xeca p; force used in Tcessuny
Office have been xe Ignsrl amt aerial mmbad. T E licy w 1 provide
ilie far tracking traneactiwls cxt : of Ura Tnaaemy Office. Th1a
poLicy bas been xeviea9i am appnmed by the Ftnege Cmmittee aid 3 before
yce tonight for your adoptias.
Deportment Head
Manager'sComments:
This Le an ongoing project. I iecaaved }out apl¢wal of ttsis el®ent of
tris policy.
tyMvwger
Associaxtl Information:
Order, policy
Budget Approval:
Finance D"et"
Legal Approval: 11
ASn➢vavr
Introduced For
Passage
L First Reading Page _ of
❑ Referral
9i -i:
A%igoedto Councilor Sallivnn, November 23, 1992
CITY OF BANGOR
(TITLE.) (PtUTs--------- .xtptUg case..Handling _aw..rccaurcnnil.fcy. mluy-ea. en...........
eleoent of t City of Bs is Ffiwioial Awed aes tivmal
Bywo"Rouasl!Olds CUVODa :
OEDEEEDv
MT
tee a[fxt i Cash IN 1l and ParomKability P Ili is
emeby a arcl made art elesent of t City of By 's Fineecial
Ptocxlu2es Mvmal.
IN CITY COUNCIL
November 23, 1992
Passed
CITY CIM
93-3]
O RDCR
Title,
Ado ting Cash Handling and Accountability
Policy as an ' �
urh
of te City of Bangor's
Financial Procedures
eeN
..............
CC'
�gned to
I...........
Councilman
93-3]
City of Bangor
Financial Procedures Manual
Cash Handling and Accountability -
Purpose:
The purpose of this section is to document the manner in which payments
e received by the City of Bangor and bank deposits are made. The
handling of cash and checks received on behalf of the City of Bangor
requires standardized practices and segregation of duties to protect the
city and the public from the loss of its assets. This section is not
intended to be all inclusive, and is subject to change as conditions
warrant.
Responsibility of the City Treasurer:
The City Treasurer is responsible for the receipt of payments on behalf of
the City of Bangor, assuring adequate controls to safeguard the city's
seta, timely deposit of monies, investment of funds and disbursement by
warrant.
Payments of real estate and personal property taxes,, excise taxes, permits
and Licenses, accounts receivable, loans receivable, and other fees and
charges will be made at the Treasury Office, except where the interest of
the city and the public are served by other payment locations. Such other
payment locations include, but are not limited to, City Clerk's Office,
The Bus, school lunch and adult education programs, Airport, Nursing
Facility, Golf Course, Bass Park, parking lots and Police Station for
parking tickets.
The City Treasurer will be knowledgable of the payment, proof and deposit
practices and procedures of each payment location to assure the public's
protection.
Responsibility of Other Department Payment Locations
Each year, departments will provide a statement for each payment location
they operate an behalf of the city. That statement will include the
purpose or nature of those receipts which they collect, the name of the
personnel assigned to collect payments, and the controls in place to -
protect the city's interest.
From time to time the statements will be verified by appropriate internal
audit testing and review. These statements will also be available to the
city auditor for external audit review, and for insurance company review
in preparation of bond applications and any claims which the city may
file. The information contained on the statements should be kept up date.
and refiled when there are changes in procedures and/or personnel. Based
n the information contained departments may be required to change certain
of their practices to assure segregation of duties and appropriate
security levels. The purpose of any change is be the protection of public
�J
assets. (See SAMPLE 1�.
Cash Controls:
Each customer who pays monies to the city will be provided a receipt for
that payment, except in the case of The Bus. That reeipt may be a cash
register receipt, validated copy of a city invoice or tax bill or a
preprinted and prenumbered receipt. A customer's check will not act as a
receipt. Each transaction will be documented and the documentation
included in the day's cash up work. No office will accept payments
without the knowledge and consent of the Treasurer or without a system
which tracks and records payments and provides receipts.
Access to cash, checks and receipts will be limited to cashiers.
Cashiering isnot a shared responsibility which anyone in the office may
exercise but must be prudently exercised by, identified personnel. The
cashier's work and cash drawer most be removed from public access and the
the drawer must be secured when unattended by the cashier. Cash up at the
day's end will be removed from public access, and to the extent possible,
removed from public sight and/or other employee operations.
Each day's work shall be proved up between the transaction register or
cash register, the receipts, and the cash/checks on hand. A bank deposit
will be prepared for all cash and checks, except for the change fund.
Overage and shortages will be reviewed by the office supervisor, division
r department head or other designated employee. The day's start and end
transaction numbers will be recorded, and each day's start number will be
compared to the prior day's end number to assure that no anunted for
activity w entered. The change fund will not be left inaccash register
overnight and receipt forms should not be left out. Both should be
secured under lock and key in a limited access area.
The daily deposit will be brought to the bank by the department i
a
n
locked bank bag. Non-locking bags, including c money bags and pencil
case bags will not be used. The Treasury Office will pickup the bank bags
at the bank, verify and record the deposit amount and date, and then make
the bank bags available for pickup. Dm not hold daily reports to the
Treasury Office waiting for bank deposit receipts.
Departments will review their cash handling procedures to determine how
well they comply. The City Treasurer can meet with you and review your
practices and working arrangements to determine if you are appropriately
safeguarding the city's assets and what improvements, if needed, could be
made. Certain safeguards include but are not limited to:
1. Limiting public and non
ashier employee access to cash, checks,
cash registers and receipt forms.
2. Recording the start and ending transactions and receipts numbers
with each day's work, and verifying that the next day's start number
s the same as the prior day's end number.
3. Saving any and all spoiled forma, marking them -VOID- and
forwarding to the treasury Office with the day's work.
6. Accurately and completely preparing the daily deposit assuring
that each check is listed on the deposit form and that any check which
may be returned is treatable to a transaction.
5. That cash drawers, receipts and related forme are kept under lock
and key, especially if the cashier is away from the area and that the
change fund and receipts are not left in the cash register overnight
but are secured under lock and key in a limited access area.
6. That only authorized cashier personnel have access to a safe,
locking cabinets or other secure places during and after business
hours.
y. That discrepancies, including overages and shortages, are dealt
with immediately and not delayed.
8. Cash register tapes are appropriately label for each days work and
retained, as are daily cash register clearing totals.
Reporting to the Treasury Office:
Department will report their cash/check receipt activity to the Treasury
Office daily. The Report of Daily Cashier Activity and Proof Statement
will be prepared daily and forwarded to Treasury. That form will be used
to report the day's transaction start and end numbers, receipt start and
end numbers, total of transactions, total cash and checks, and the deposit
amount. A separate statement of accounts to be credited along with copies
of receipts will also be included. Where an office uses
cash register
rather than written receipts, a photocopy of the and of day registered
total should be attached for verification. This report should be prepared
and forwarded every day, even if there were o transactions to report.
Also, do not hold this report pending receipt of the validated bank
receipt, it will be received and cross-referenced at the Treasury office.
The daily cashier report will be prepared in triplicate with the
department retaining the third copy for its files and forwarding the
original and one copy to the Treasury Office. After verifying the report
and entering the account data, the report will be validated and one copy
returned to the department as proof of receipt. The sending department
and the Treasury Office will each maintain a log of receipts and amounts
sent and received showing the serial number of the r eipt. Spoiled
receipts and forms should not be destroyed. They should be marked "VOID",
listed on the log as voided and forwarded to the Treasury Office.
A deposit log showing each day's activities will be maintained by the
department which shows the date of activity, the amount deposited, the
bank bag number, and the date Treasury returned the validated report.
Departments must use the prenumbered daily cashier reports in sequence to
assure the integrity of the loge.
Monthly the log will be cross footed for comparison to the monthly revenue
report and to assure that there a n
unreasonable delays i receiving
validated reports from Treasury. If validated receipt forms
r
a not
returned by Treasury i n
a timely manner, the department should check with
Treasury to determine if the reportwas received and processed. Treasury
should also check with departments if the numbering sequence is broken.
Discrepancies should be reported to the Accounting Office. Timing maybe
issuean since a department's daily work on the last day of the month may
not bereceived and validated by Treasury until the start of the next
month. (See SAMPLE 2).
Treasury Office:
The Treasury Office will maintain a log of daily cashier reports. The
purpose of this log is to maintain a audit trail of reports received, and
u
to assure timely processing of those reports. Voided reports will be
logged on the same log and marked "VOIDED", and the spoiled form will be
maintained inseparate file for the balance of the fiscal year. A
separate log will also be maintained for spoiled forms. At the end of the
fiscal year, all "VOIDED" receipt forme will be bundled and filed with
copies of the receipts processed. (See: SAMPLE 3).
Bank Deposit Tickets:
Each department will be provided with a book of bank deposit tickets.
Each check being deposited must be listed in the deposit ticket and the
checks and cash totaled as required by the bank. Bach deposit ticket
should have the name of the depositing department or office written on the
ticket. The deposit ticket should be prepared in triplicate: original for
the bank, oncopy for Treasury and o copy for the department.
Photocopies maybe maintained by the department. The Treasury copy should
be attached to the daily cashier report. Validated bank deposit tickets
will be received at the Treasury Office when bank bags are picked up. The
validated bank ticket will be verified and recorded on the Treasury log.
If deposits are made ev r the counter at the bank by a department rather
than through night drop, the receipt should be promptly forwarded to
Treasury. Do not hold the daily cashier's report until the department
receives the bank deposit ticket.
Each check deposited must be cross
referenced to a transaction so that
returned checks can be traced. That cross reference could be a parking
ticket number, account o receivable number, or part of the
endorsement, such as "Deposit to City of Bangor, Parks s Recreation
Department...". Returned checks are received at the Treasury Office, and
cross referencing on the check allows researching of the transaction and
account credited,
Deposits:
The Treasury Office will maintain a log of bank deposits made. Deposits
made by other departments will be recorded from the daily cashier's
report. The purpose of this log is to maintain a record of when deposits
were prepared and forwarded to the bank and when the deposit ticket was
returned by the bank. In this manner the Treasury Office will be able to
determine if a deposit receipt from the bank is missing and the amount of
deposits in transit for bank statement reconciliations. (See: SAMPLE 4).
Checks:
Each cashier will review the check for: name, address and telephone
number, preferably preprinted( check is not postdated nor staled dated
(more than 6 months old); the payee is "City of Bangor if its is some
other variation than the endorsement most reflect the payee indicated;
the numbers and written amount are the sees and the check is signed. A
cross-reference of aaunt number, transactions or by endorsement must
be written o stumpedoncheck by the cashier. Third party checks
should not be accepted for payment. Checks will not be cashed and change
will not be made. Overpayments by check will be refunded by check through
the requisition process. The prohibition on check cashing extends to city
payroll, city accounts payable and employee personal checks,
Returned checks will be assessed a $20.00 fee per Council Order 92-71.
Returned Checks:
The Accounting Office isresponsible for collecting returned checks. The
Accounting Office will deduct the value of the returned check from the
account credited. Collection letters will be sent from the Accounting
Office, and departments will be advised of deductions to heir accounts due
to returned checks. Departments maybe requested to assist in locating o
contacting the check writer, but custody of the check will remain with the
Accounting Office and not be forwarded to another department. Checks will
be returned to the check maker when redeemed. There is a $20.00 returned
check fee which will be credited to General Fund revenues.
The exception to this will be school department checks. The school
department, at its choice, may redeem its returned checks and then
undertaken its own collection activity.
Data Entry:
Currently, no department other than Finance has access to direct entry of
ash receipts data into the accounting system. All postings of cash
receipts are made by the Treasury or Accounting Offices. Changes in the
computer system could make off-site collections part of the data input
system, but this is not envisioned in the near term. In assigning account
unt
numbers for payments, no payments are to be credited to a expenditure or
c
a "99 Credits' account number without express permission of the Finance
Director or School Business Manager.
SAMPLE 1
City of Bangor
Report of Cashier Locations
Date Prepared:
Name of Preparer:
1. The Department/Division collects revenues
and
Payments on behalf of the City of Bangor for the following purposes:
2. Payments are collected at the following location (prepare one report
for each location):
3. Payments are received by the following personnel:
6. Receipts are _ are not provided to customers making payments.
All customers? Some customers?
If requested? Check serves as receipt?
5. Payments a are not rung through a cash register. If not,
how are they recorded and verified at the end of the day?
6. Cash up of the day's receipts are counted and verified by one _ or
more _ person.
7. Cash up variances, such as cash over or short, are resolved by whom,
cashier or third party/superviaor .
e. Do individual cashiers have restricted access to their cash or is
there a coon cash drawer with multiple cashier access?
Restricted multiple cashier access
9. Do other non -cashier personnel
have access to cash drawers]
Yes
No
, if yes who
safe , locked
desk drawer
30.
The personnel primarily charged with verifying the cash up
are:
11.
Cash up is completed daily
_, more than once a day _,
or less
then
once a day _.
12.
Deposits aanot
made directly to the city's
bank ac-
count. Assigned bank deposit bag
numbers are:
13.
personnel with access to the
bank deposit bag key(s) are.
14.
Bank deposits are prepared by
the following personnel:.
15. Monies a
enot
maintained
o site overnight,
i a:
safe , locked
desk drawer
or cabinet _n
other security
(ex
plain//pacify)
16. The following personnel have access to the secured storage location
(DO NOT WHITE DOWN THE SAFE COMBINATION, ONLY THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO
HAVE IT):
Safe combination:
Heya:
Other (specify):
17. The department /division acknowledges $eash drawer
change fund which is controlled by and the responsibility of the following
personnel:
18.
Personnel
who
deliver
deposits
directly to the
bank are:
19.
Personnel
who
deliver
deposits
to the Treasury
Office are.
20. Estimated annual volume of cash and checks handled at this location
are:
Cash $
Checks $
Highest singles day's cash deposit S
Signature of Department Head
This information is requested to assure adequate safeguards for cash
handling, and for bonding purposes.
SAMPLE 2
City of Bangor
Departmental Cash Receipts Log
Department:_ _______ Office/Location:
Amounts ________�
Serial Date Bank Bank Cash Check Date
Number Sent Bag Deposit Anount Amount Returned
SAMPLE 3
City of Bangor
Treasury
Office Cash
Receipts
Log
Interdepartmental
Receipts
I____________
Deposit ___________�
Department
Serial Date
Date
Deposit
Date Back
Received
Number Recd
Ret'd
Amount
Returned Bag
SAMPLE 4
City of Bangor
Treasury Office
Bank Deposit Log
Date Department Serial Bonier Amount Bank Receipt
Deposited Receipt Deposited Received
___________________________________________
SAMPLE 5
City of Bangor
Report of Daily Cashier Activity and Proof Statement
Department/Office: Date:
Transaction Total By Source
Register/Location/Cashier
Total Daily Transactions: $
Cash Proof
Cash
Checks
Deposits Made
Total Cash/Equivalents $
______________
Less Change Bund
Net Daily Receipts $
Cash Wer/Short ¢
Net Receipts Total $
Less:
Total Daily Transactions
Over/(Short)
Counted and verified by:
Register Transaction Numbers
Start of Day
End of Bay
Receipt Numbers
Start of Day
End of Bay
Deposit in Transit:
Original to Treasury with List of Accounts to be Credited
Duplicate Retained with Days Work
SAMPLE 6
City of
Treasury
Cash Proof
Date:
Transaction Totals By Source
Register/Location/Cashier
Register 1
Register 2
Other
------------
Total Daily Transactions: $
Cash Proof
Cash $
Checks
Deposits - Department Receipt
Total Cash/Equivalents $
Lose Change Fund
Net Daily Receipts $
Cash Over/Short
Net Receipts Total $
Less:
Total Daily Transactions
Wei/(Short(
Counted and verified by:
Bangor
Office
Statement
Register Transaction Roasters
Start of Day
End of Day
Receipt Numbers
Tax Receipts
Start of Day
- End of Day
Accounts Receivable Receipts
- Start of Day
End of Day
Miscellaneous Revenue Receipte
Start of Day
End of Day
Deposita in Transit
Original Filed With Cash Sheet Back op
Duplicate Retained In Book with Interdepartmental Reports