1. N9G “TOOLBOX”

2. What is the N9G Tool Box?
The N9G tool box provides the field with helpful information on wide range of subjects.
The tool box provides information to CNIC Regions & Installations; keeping them “audit-ready” at all times.
We have provided each of you with a tool box, just make sure as we provide you a tool monthly, you keep it in your tool box!

3. Topics that will be filling your Tool Box Monthly
Cost of Goods Sold November
Cash & Cash Handling December
Managers Financial Review January
NAF Personnel February
Contracts March
Reconciliation April
Assets Inventory May

4. Cash Handling &Cash Controls within your operation
Are you confident that your cash is effectively protected?
You may think that your present controls are adequate enough to cover your cash against theft or embezzlement; yet, even you must take into account the actual effectiveness of internal controls actually instituted to protect your own interests.
A report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) states that a fraud suspect is not easy to pick out from a crowd. More than 80% of the frauds in the ACFE study were committed by individuals in accounting, operations, retail sales, management, customer service and purchasing.
More than half of all cases in the study were committed by individuals between the ages of 31 and 45, and the median losses tended to rise with the age of the perpetrator.
All fraudsters exhibit behavioral warning signs of their misdeeds such as living beyond ones means or exhibiting control issues.
Unfortunately only 2% - 5% of all thefts are actually caught through an audit placing a higher responsibility on management and supervisory staff being vigilant to recognize any possible red flags.

5. Guiding Principles for Setting Up Policies & Procedures
First we all must understand that a reference to cash covers more than just the actual currency that physically exists and is actually on hand within your operation or facility.
Conversely since we are speaking of cash and its controls we should always remember that one of the controls for keeping money secured is to make sure that only a minimum amount is physically available within each establishment, facility, and or individual cashier. This requirement should be reevaluated at least semi-annually or more often as the business environment changes i.e. decrease in patronage increase in charge cards thus decreasing cash requirements etc.
Cash and cash equivalents denotes that the monies subject to internal controls not only include those that are kept with the central cashiers’ safe, in the local managers safe or by the individual cashiers. Cash and cash equivalents also includes the funds in the bank controlled not only by the central cashier, but also the accounts payable clerks, HR for payroll, purchasing agents, card holders etc. to which these funds are withdrawn as a means to meet the MWR/NGIS operational and financial requirements

6. Guiding Principles for Setting Up Policies & Procedures
Secondly we must always remember that not only is there a CNIC requirement but best practices recommend depositing cash received during the day to a local depository bank.
In some instances, and as required a “Two-Person” team is used as a control or an armored vehicle is contracted and used to pick-up the deposit to ensure security of transport.
Most importantly the best place for your cash is in the bank and not in your safe or the cashiers safe.
Finally, the most important aspect of cash management is to institute efficient and effective security measures for cash handling.
Internal control policies and procedures are therefore implemented to safeguard funds and monies against theft, waste and embezzlement.

7. Guiding Principles for Setting Up Policies & Procedures
There are twelve operational principles that must be observed and used as guidelines for setting-up your policies and procedures for managing cash and tacking its movement.
1. Recording and documentation of transactions
2. Segregation of duties and responsibilities
3. Authorization of transactions
4. Timeliness of payment
5. Review and verification of documents
6. Security of physical conditions
7. Supervision, monitoring and traceability of fund movements
8. Planning and budgeting controls
9. Establishment of accountability
10. Limitations over accessibility and availability
11. Summarization and reports
12. Element of surprise in relation to periodic audits and related initiatives.
Policies and procedures can be formulated by integrating the 12 basic principles above as your built-in preventive and corrective measures in managing your facility or operation

8. Securing the Monies Collected from Business Operations and Other Sources
Your daily cash receipts are the most vulnerable and theft sensitive transactions related to cash handling.
Internal control requires that balancing and reconciliation procedures are performed daily to ensure that all monies received are handled and recorded accurately.
Keep it in mind that cash receipts include customers’ checks and credit card payments as well.

9. Securing the Monies Collected from Business Operations and Other Sources
Some key elements to ensure positive internal controls from daily cash receipts include but not limited to:
Each person entrusted with cash has signed a sub-custody letter
Letter is to be retained at the accounting office or with person who issued the funds.
Copy of the letter with the custodian/cashier
Recording all overages and shortages
Investigate all that exceed your established limit
Investigate individual cashiers that are consistently over/short even though they are below your established limit
Ensure receipts are issued for manual operations on all sales

10. Securing the Monies Collected from Business Operations and Other Sources
Cashiers do not have access to the subtotal or “Z” readings. If cashiers have access to their own register readings it:
Allows for excess cash to be taken
Allows for register reconciliation by the cashier if a shortage exists due to conducting manual or off-book sales
Are the receipt books controlled and verified by someone other than the cashier?
Surprise cash counts must be conducted during the shift not prior to or after close out
Credit cards must be reconciled at the time of the cash count
Run the “X” reading or sub-total to verify funds
All funds must be rung into the register or a manual receipt is to be issued
Investigate / explain ALL overages and shortages at the time of cash count

11. Securing the Monies Collected from Business Operations and Other Sources
A Daily Activity Report (DAR) is prepared by each cash register operator at the end of his/her shift.
Copies of the reports retained and submitted to facility management and original placed into the cash drop bag for accounting.
The cash register is utilized purely for sales transactions and should not be used for in-house check cashing
Refunds are to be made only if approved by management and enough cash sales have been generated
Discounts given should be reviewed to ensure they were legitimate
Reversals have been approved by management or investigated

12. Physical Handling of Cash and Daily Cash Receipts
All monies received over-the counter are to be counted and verified in front of the patron before processing the official receipt that acknowledges receipt of payment. The following basic controls should be in place:
Official receipts are pre-numbered regardless if it is manually or electronically prepared or generated
The person receiving the cash payment should not perform dual functions related to accounting or recording of business transactions. Examples include:
Petty cash custodian does not issue him or herself cash to make purchases
Catering individual should not be generating the catering contract, receiving payment, and controlling the catering program
If checks are accepted they are only payable to the MWR or NGIS entity.
Postdated checks are never accepted.
All documents to substantiate the days cash receipts are turned in

13. Petty Cash Transactions
The amount of temporary outstanding petty cash fund advances and all funds on hand should always agree with the authorized amount of the petty cash fund
Petty cash fund reimbursements should never exceed the total authorized amount of the fund and are required to be completed on the last day of every month
Ensure that all disbursements, including petty cash reimbursement requests, are properly supported and contain the original signatures of the petty cash custodian and receiving individual
Consider suspicious and investigate any cash receipt without a printed store name shown on the document
Confirm unusual cash receipt documents with the vendors to determine authenticity.

14. Petty Cash Transactions
Review similar invoices and receipt stubs to determine if the documents are being reused or copied If the receipts for petty cash expenses don't contain current dates (such as dates prior to the last reimbursement request), review the supporting documents for previous petty cash reimbursement requests to determine if the expense was paid again in a prior period. Mark all petty cash expense documents "paid" to preclude their re-use on subsequent reimbursements

15. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Separation of duties
One of the most important steps you can take to protect cash — and your operation — is to separate cash handling duties among different people. With proper separation of duties, no single person has control over the entire cash process.
Best practice is to have different people:
Receive and deposit cash
Record cash payments to receivable records
Reconcile cash receipts to deposits and the general ledger
Bill for goods and services
Note: The key to effective cash control while separating duties is to minimize the number of people who actually handle cash before it's deposited.
Potential consequences if duties are not separated:
Concealed errors or irregularities going unchecked
Lost or stolen cash receipts
Inaccurate application of revenue to the respective cost centers and general ledger accounts

16. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Accountability, authorization, and approval
Cash accountability ensures that cash is accounted for, properly documented and secured, as well as being traceable to specific cashiers.
When proper cash accountability exists, you can answer the four W's during a process:
Who has access to cash
Why they have access to cash
Where cash is at all times
What has occurred from the transaction's beginning to end
Best practices:
Record cash receipts when received.
Keep funds secured in individual cash safes.
Document transfer of all funds on a cash receipts or sub-custody letter.
Give a receipt to each customer; if register is inoperative provide a pre-serialized manual receipt.
Never share your POS passwords, Swipe Key, or cash drawer keys.
Issue each cashier a separate cash drawer.
Supervisors or manager on duty will approve all voids, refunds, and over rings

17. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Accountability, authorization, and approval, continued
Potential consequences if accountability does not exist
Lost or stolen cash receipts
Inaccurate application of revenue to the respective cost centers and general ledger accounts
Improper use of MWR/NGIS assets

18. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Security of Assets
Be sure to keep all of your resources physically protected, including your cash handlers. To promote a safe work environment when working with cash the following recommendations are provided.
Best practices:
Restrict access of cash to as few people as possible.
Lock cash in a secure location: individual safes for cashiers and managers
Director or Central Cashiers to maintain emergency combinations and or keys to all safes; assign passwords only to authorized personnel.
Change combinations to all safes annually or when the custodian of funds is changed or when the custodian leaves.
Minimize the amount of funds held overnight.

19. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Security of Assets, continued
Minimize the amount of cash used for daily operations to the minimum needed – reevaluate annually or when patronage changes
Use a buddy system when taking funds from one location to another.
Count cash in a non-public area not easily visible to others
Potential consequences if cash is not secured
Unsafe work environment
Lost or stolen cash receipts

20. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Review and Reconciliation
Your reconciliation activities confirm that you've recorded transactions correctly. Perform monthly reconciliations of cash receipts and bank account statements to provide good checks and balances
Best practices
Compare DAR to actual deposit and sales records
Record, count and balance cash receipts daily
Perform periodic surprise cash counts other than the required quarterly counts

21. General Rules for Cash and Cash handling controls
Review and Reconciliation, continued
Potential consequences if review and reconciliation activities are not performed
Errors, discrepancies, or irregularities not detected
Lost or stolen cash receipts
Inaccurate application of revenue to the respective cost centers and general ledger accounts