Type of Policy
Administrative
Policy No
1.5.3
Effective Date
Last Revised
Review Date
Policy Owner
Controller's Office
Contact Name
Amy Herron
Contact Title
Controller
Contact Email
amy.herron@business.gatech.edu
Reason for Policy

To provide guidance to schools, colleges, departments or units of the Institute as it relates to Departmental Petty Cash funds.

Policy Statement

This procedure describes the methods required to establish and maintain a petty cash fund along with procedures for the operation and replenishment of the fund. Please refer to "Petty Cash Fund General Guidelines" for specific information regarding allowable petty cash transactions.

Scope

This policy applies to all schools, colleges, departments, and units of the Institute.

Procedures

Fund Establishment
To establish a departmental petty cash fund, Section one and three of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form is to be completed and submitted to the Controller's Office for approval and establishment of the account.

If approved, the Controller's Office will establish the petty cash fund account number and forward the information to the Bursar's Office for processing. For funds established for $500 or less, the Bursar's Office will provide cash to the custodian for the amount of the fund. Upon acceptance of the funds, the custodian will receive the cash and sign Section Five of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form. For funds established for more than $500, the Bursar will forward the information to Accounts Payable for check preparation and Accounts Payable will notify the department when the check is ready. Upon acceptance of the funds, the custodian will receive the check and sign Section Five of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form at the Bursar's Office.

If changes to the established fund amount become necessary, a new Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form must be submitted to the Controller's Office noting the existence of the current petty cash fund and the request for an increase or decrease of funds and/or change of custodian. (Changes are noted in Section Two of the Form.)

Reimbursement Requirements
Departments should submit original receipts for petty cash purchases (see "Petty Cash Fund General Guidelines" for specific information on allowable purchases) to the fund custodian. To improve financial reporting, we recommend that the reimbursement request submitted within ten (10) working days following a purchase, or, if at year end, by the published cutoff date. Failure to turn in receipts promptly may jeopardize reimbursements if the funding source has lapsed. Prior to reimbursement, the fund custodian should ensure that the following information and attachments are included with the reimbursement request:

  1. Original of the vendor's customary receipt which includes:
    • Vendor name
    • Date of purchase
    • Items purchased (to be completed by department if not on receipt)
    • Price per item
    • Total price for the quantity received
  2. Appropriate accounting distribution
  3. Custodian may require purchaser to sign or initial original receipts.

Upon receipt of completed information, the petty cash expenditures will be reimbursed by the fund custodian.

Replenishment Requirements
Fund replenishment requests should be submitted to the Bursar's Office on the Petty Cash Replenishment/Reimbursement Request Form. The form must be completed in full and signed by approved Departmental representative. Requests should include a summary of all charges by account number. The summary should include each unique accounting distribution only once with the total of all charges for the account. Replenishment requests along with two copies of the request (form only) should be attached to supporting original receipts and submitted to the Bursar's Office. The requests for Fund replenishment should be submitted in a timely manner and allow ample time for processing. Cashiers may not be able to provide immediate replenishment upon presentation by Department at certain times of the school year (registration). Specific monetary denominations can be arranged for larger reimbursements by contacting the Cashier's Office via phone at (404) 894-5542.

Monthly Maintenance Requirements
Each month a cash count of the petty cash fund should be performed by a supervisor or department manager (someone with reporting authority over the custodian). This cash count should always be done in the presences of the custodian, and when completed should be documented and signed by the performer as well as the custodian. Any over/shorts should be reported to the Controller's Office for proper recording and the Bursar's Office to correct the cash position. This document should be maintained with the petty cash fund as it must be available during any surprise cash counts performed by Internal Auditing.

Closing the Fund - Voluntary
In the event that a fund is to be closed voluntarily, the following steps are to be followed by the custodian:

  1. Notify the Controller' Office and the Bursar's Office of the intent to terminate the account.
  2. Prepare final replenishment request.
  3. Submit all cash on hand and final cash count to the Bursar¹s Office.

The Bursar's Office will review the final cash count and provide information to the Controller's Office, who will close the general ledger account for that fund. Termination of the funds will be noted on the original establishment form and a copy will be forwarded to the custodian by mail.

Closing the Fund - Involuntary
Repeated violations of petty cash procedures can result in termination of the fund. The fund will be closed by the Controller's Office and replenishments will no longer be processed. The petty cash custodian is ultimately responsible for the disposition of funds.

Responsibilities
  • Campus Schools, Colleges, Departments or Units are responsible for managing departmental petty cash funds per the guidelines and procedures in this policy.
  • The Controller’s Office is responsible for establishing the petty cash fund account number on the ledger.
  • The Bursar’s Office is responsible for replenishing departmental petty cash funds as requested.
Enforcement

To report suspected instances of noncompliance with this policy, please visit Georgia Tech’s EthicsPoint, a secure and confidential reporting system, at: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/en/report_custom.asp?clientid=7508

Policy History
Revision Date Author Description
10-03-2014 Controller’s Office Updates to verbiage