Check out these four tips to improve your internal controls.
- Monthly Review of Pledged Collateral. We recommend a review is performed to ensure the entity is fully covered with pledged collateral throughout the entire year (MN Statute 118A.03). We can provide a template to help you or give you more guidance on this topic.
- Review of Bank Reconciliations. We recommend someone other than the person preparing the reconciliation review the reconciliation on a monthly basis. This could be another person working in the city or school district office that has knowledge of financial information or a member of the council or board. Doing this will ensure that cash is being recorded properly.
- Review of Payroll Process. We recommend payroll is reviewed before it is paid to the employees by someone other than the person preparing the payroll and the checks. Things to look at include: 1) verifying that time sheets are accurate, and 2) matching the time sheets or salaries to the payroll register to ensure that hours are being recorded properly.
- Petty Cash Log. When an entity has petty cash on hand, we recommend maintaining a monthly log. This log should track when the transaction took place, who performed the transaction, the amount of the transaction, and a description of the transaction.
For more information, contact one of our Governmental Audit experts.
