Resource Library - Accounts Receivable

From accurate and prompt billing to well-designed collection procedures, accounts receivable requires a robust set of internal controls to ensure your government collects the money it is owed. These guides, best practices and checklists can help you improve your government’s internal controls over accounts receivable.

Guide: Segregation of duties

Segregation of duties, or separating conflicting duty assignments, can help you protect your government’s assets. This guide can help local governments understand how to separate job duties when it’s feasible. It covers all types of financial processes from cash receipting to payroll and banking. The guide also includes additional control options for small governments or small operations within larger governments.

Keywords: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, AP, AR, Assets, Cash Receipting, Receipt, Receipts, Internal Controls, Payroll, Inventory, Procurement, Purchasing, General Ledger

Last updated: September 2019

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Checklist: Segregation of duties

This customizable checklist can help governments analyze their own internal controls and identify risky areas in need of possible improvement. This is one of many helpful checklists our Office offers.

Keywords: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, AP, AR, Assets, Cash Receipting, Receipt, Receipts, Internal Controls, Payroll

Last updated: September 2019

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Guide: Accounts receivable

This guide offers tips and best practices to help local governments strengthen internal controls for accounts receivable. It includes a suite of short, one-to-two-page resources for leaders, managers, supervisors and accounts receivable clerks. It can be printed in sections and distributed to whomever is in charge of certain responsibilities.

Keywords: AR, Internal Controls, Billing, Collections

Last updated: April 2023

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Checklist: Accounts receivable

This customizable checklist can help governments analyze their accounts receivable processes to identify areas in need of possible improvement. This is one of many helpful checklists our Office offers.

Keywords: Accounts Receivable, AR, Internal Controls, Billing, Collections

Last updated: April 2023

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Best Practices: Ensuring accurate billing from meter-read data

These best practices can help local governments improve their meter data collection, including ideas on how to prevent and detect unmetered properties, methods to limit and monitor estimated billings, and the types of red flags to look for in meter data.

Keywords: Accounts Receivable, AR, Internal Controls, Utility

Last updated: May 2023

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