COMMON AUDIT ISSUES
Timely Deposit of Receipts
State statutes require that all monies collected by or for the University be deposited within five working days of receipt. We continue to encounter stale dated checks that resulted from someone in a department being out of the office or on vacation and no one knowing what to do with the money. Worse yet, and it has happened, checks that don't get deposited risk being mislaid or stolen. Summer break is the most common time for this problem.
Every department should have a process in place to ensure all receipts are deposited in a timely manner. This includes having alternative staff who can make deposits when the person who routinely handles the money is absent or on vacation. If you receive money for services or as a gift and the person who routinely handles it is absent for some period and you are unsure of how to handle it, don't hesitate to call your dean's office for direction. Think of how a donor or parent feels if the check they sent to you takes three or four months to clear the bank. Is that the image you want to present?
Business Services News - June 2000