Effective: 02 August 2004
Last Revised: 31 August 2018

Who Should Read This Policy

University staff responsible for cash handling and all affected and interested university employees.

Background & Purpose

Controls and safeguards must be adequate to provide management with a reasonable degree of assurance that cash and cash related transactions are properly accounted for and controlled.

This policy is written to clarify existing OUS policy and clearly establish rules pertaining to the following areas of cash handling:

1. Handling of Currency and Checks
2. Restrictive Endorsement of Checks
3. Deposit Requirements / Timeliness
4. Segregation of Duties

Policy

1. Handling of Currency and Checks
   • Cash receipts [currency, checks and bank deposit slips] must be deposited with the Cashiers Office. If circumstances warrant depositing directly to a bank, pre-approval must be obtained from the Cashiers Office.
   • Currency and checks must be recorded as soon as received. Initial record of all items received may be a pre-numbered receipt, a cash register tape, a mailroom log, a check log or some other remittance advice. If your department receives cash, you must issue a receipt. The receipt may be from a cash register or hand-written from a pre-numbered receipt book.
   • Refunds or expenditures must not be made from cash receipts.
   • All cash and checks must be in a secure area such as a safe or locked filing cabinet.
2. Restrictive Endorsement of Checks
   • All checks must be restrictively endorsed immediately upon receipt.
3. Deposit Requirements / Timeliness
   • Cash receipts, including checks, must be deposited with the Cashiers Office at least once per week. However, when $1,000 or more is currently on hand, it must be deposited within the next business day.
   • Currency or check shortages > $20 must be immediately reported to the Cashiers Office [6-3154].
4. Segregation of Duties
   • No one individual is to handle the cash transaction from beginning to end. If a department is unable to separate the receipt of cash and deposit function due to staffing limitations, a responsible employee independent of these functions (normally a department head or administrative senior employee) must be designated to verify that the total amount received equals the total amount deposited. This should be done daily, but no less than once per week. Authority The Director of Business Affairs has authority for administering this policy and has delegated its implementation to the University of Oregon Cashiers Supervisor.

References

UO Policy, Finance and Business Affairs, Section 6.005
https://policies.uoregon.edu/finance-and-business-affairs

Related Procedures

Cash/Check Handling
https://ba.uoregon.edu/content/cashiering-and-commerce

Account Codes / Index Codes
https://ba.uoregon.edu/finance-and-accounting/chart-of-accounts

Q&A

May my department open its own bank account? No. All cash and checks must be deposited through Cashiers into the UO account with Treasury.

If my department has received cash (coin & currency), can I campus mail it to the Cashiers Department? All coin and currency must be hand-delivered to the Cashiers Department in the Business Office.

What do I do if I receive a check from someone that is not in US Dollars? Deposit it as normal using the face value of the check. When the check is sent to the bank, the bank will determine the exchange rate that day, and will issue a credit or debit to the UO. Your Index will then be equally credited or debited. This process could take 2-3 weeks.

How do I process Money Orders and Travelers’ Checks? They are deposited to the bank as checks, and should be treated as checks on your deposit.

Contact

Cashiers Supervisor 541-346-3164