Protect your government's money with SAO's suite of cash receipting resources

Summer is here, and it's time for swimming, barbecuing and garage sales. If you have ever held a garage sale, you know that cash talks. Cash has the power to convince you to sell your worldly goods, but if you are not careful, it can also vanish into thin air. As auditors, we would say that if cash could really talk, it would tell you to protect it.

It's your money to make or lose at your garage sale, so you are free to make deals and take as many risks with your cash as you want. Although governments aren't holding garage sales, they are collecting the public's money and need to safeguard it every step of the way.

We know governments face challenges managing cash collections and striking just the right balance between internal controls and the costs of those controls. That's why SAO has published a variety of resources to help you put the proper safeguards in place. Get started today by downloading, printing or bookmarking the resources, trainings and articles below.

Resources

• SAO's Cash Receipting Guide – This comprehensive resource can help you develop policies and identify best practices and other ways to improve your receipting process. Leadership, managers, supervisors and cashiers can all find information tailored to them in this guide.
• Internal Control Checklist for Cash Receipting – This detailed checklist can help you assess your government's cash receipting internal controls.
• Free on-demand training on cash handling controls — This training follows an actual fraud case while covering important best practices for internal controls and preventing cash receipting fraud. Watch on your own schedule and receive Continuing Professional Education Credit (CPE).
• Double count your way to better cash receipting controls – This blog post explains why money should never transfer from one employee to another without being counted and documented first.
• Protect yourself against losses. Consider bonding today – This blog post explains bonding requirements, encourages the bonding of cash handlers, and provides some advice for those purchasing bonds.
• Is it time to review your deposit practices? – This blog post discusses changes in your government over time that might prompt you to reevaluate and adjust your deposit processes.
• Options are available for moving to ‘no contact' cash receipting – Governments reduced in-person receipting at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the advice in this blog post on contactless receipting holds true today, especially for reducing labor costs.

For help

Remember, we are here to help. If you have specific technical accounting questions, please submit them using our HelpDesk in the client portal.

We also have financial management specialists at SAO's Center for Government Innovation available to talk with you about best practices, resources or internal controls. For assistance, reach out to us at Center@sao.wa.gov.