01081973 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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I~ I I I City of San Marcos -6- Decemher 27, 1972 Accountinfl Procedures Manual Any system of internal control should he designed to safeguard City assets and provide checks on the functions of the accounting system. An essential feature of a system of internal control is an accounting procedures manual. We suggest that an accounting procedures manual be obtained or developed for the City for the reasons described below: 1. An accounting procedures manual provides a readily accessahle description of accounting transactions and procedures of various origins, describing and providing illustrations. 2. Required monthly and annual financial statements as well as format of special reports, such as for grants, are described. 3. The manual is a means of classifying, for easy reference, policies and procedures issued by the Councilor City Managar. 4. New employees may use the manual as a training aid. They receive complete and unbiased instructions relating to their job functions. Cash Disbursements During the examination of cash disbursements it was noted that approval for payment was not evidenced on some of the invoices and that some invoices were not being paid timely. We suggest that an accounts payable file be maintained. should be accumulated for the period when payment is due. Checks be prepared and forwarded with supporting data to the appropriate for signature and approval. lnvoices should then City official A check signing machine in use by the City requires the insertion of two keys to operate the machine. The two keys should he in the custody of inde- pendent employees to provide the City with better internal control. ~ During the examination of Corporation Court receipts, we noted that the petty cash funds are greater than operational needs. To prevent large cash build-ups and increased exposure to the depart- ment, we recommend that all receipts be deposited timely and that the change fund of the cashier be limited to some reasonable amount. During our engagement we noted excessive build-ups of cash in demand deposit accounts. The amounts exceeded the operating needs of the funds.