In addition to the basic process flow just noted, the next controls are also useful for improving the security of the cash-handling operation.

• Only one person has access to each cash register during a shift. If mul­tiple people can access a cash register, then it is impossible to assign responsibility for the illicit removal of cash from the register. Thus, it is better to restrict access to a single person.
• Use video surveillance of cash register operators. Though not usually used except in high-volume cash-handling situations, it is useful for cash handlers to know that their actions are being recorded by a video camera. The mere presence of such cameras, even if the resulting video is not being actively reviewed, can be a deterrent to fraud.
• Move on-site cash to a safe for overnight storage. Cash registers are easier to break in to than a safe, so move all cash into the safe during nonbusiness hours.
• Change the safe combination periodically. The risk that the combination to the safe will become public knowledge will grow over time, espe­cially if anyone knowing the combination moves to another department or leaves the company. Accordingly, change the combination on a fixed schedule, and do so at once if anyone knowing the combination leaves the department.
• Position the safe in a visible location. A safe is easier to break in to if no one can see the perpetrator. However, if the safe is continually vis­ible to anyone working in the department, it is much more difficult to remove cash from it without being seen.
• Require supervisory approval of cash refunds. One way to steal cash is to take money from the cash register and record a refund on the cash register tape. By requiring a supervisory password or key entry every time a refund is issued, the cash register operator has no opportunity to steal cash by this method. If there is a minimum level above which su­pervisory approval is needed for a refund, then review the cash register tape for an unusually large number of cash refunds just below the ap­proval limit.
• Monitor metrics associated with cash removal. If employees are record­ing cash refunds on the cash register while pocketing the indicated re­fund amount, this means that inventory is not actually being returned by customers, as would normally be the case as part of a refund transaction. Thus, a rise in the level of inventory shrinkage is associated with this type of theft. It will also cause net sales to decrease as a proportion of gross sales. It is also possible to track the proportion of refunds to sales over time, preferably by individual cash register.

When actual cash payments are being handled, it is especially impor­tant to ensure that there is proper segregation of duties. Consequently, no one person should be responsible for more than one of these cash-related duties: receiving cash, recording cash payments, depositing cash, and reconciling cash. If the accounting department has too few employees to spread around this work, then consider using people from other departments for selected tasks.

[tags]basic cash, cash receipt, basic receipt[/tags]

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Tags: basic cash, basic receipt, cash receipt