Key Financial Controls

The Departmental Administrator has overall responsibility for ensuring that all receipts of cash, cheques, and credit card transactions are effectively managed.

Identified below are the key financial controls that must be complied with.

  1. All cash received is counted and recorded, and physically secured.
  2. Cash and cheques are collected, banked and deposited in a designated University bank account as soon as possible.
  3. Receipts of monies via card transactions (including in respect of online stores and EPOS where applicable) are controlled in accordance with cashiers' regulations, processes and financial controls.

Gifts and donations

With respect to gifts and donations, the Departmental Administrator has responsibility for ensuring that gifts and donations made to the University are accurately recorded and advised to the Gift Registry.

Identified below are the key financial controls that must be complied with.

  1. Details of all University gifts and pledges received by the department are notified to the Gift Registry via the banking form.
  2. The department reviews its gifts received practices on a regular basis to ensure they are in accord with the Financial Regulations.
  3. Cash received as donations is always held securely.
  4. Gifts and donations (including physical gifts in kind) are always used for the purposes for which the donor intended, and in accordance with the donor's wishes.

Segregation of duties

One of the key financial control principles to be adopted in all University finance processes is the need to ensure no single member of staff completes all stages of any particular process. This principle requires an adequate 'segregation of duties' when designing work flows. As an example in the Cash and Banking process:

  • Staff who are responsible for reconciling cash held, or banked, to the system cash records must not have accessed the records being reconciled, nor have physical custody of, or otherwise secure, transfer, or bank, the cash or cheques.
  • Staff who are responsible for recording and notifying the Gift Registry of gifts received should not have the physical custody of, or otherwise secure, transfer, or bank, the cash or cheques received as gifts.

For further advice on this subject please contact Financial Assurance Services.