Franklin & Marshall College

Purpose

To establish sound cash management practices and safeguard cash receipts against theft or loss. For this policy, "cash" is defined as currency, coin, checks, money orders, and credit card receipts.

Policy

This policy applies to cash received or collected by a Franklin & Marshall College Department or Student Organization for College-related activities. All cash received or collected for College-related activities must be deposited with the Business Office via the Cashier Window on the day it is received (click here for the Cashier Window hours of operation).

Cash received after the Cashier Window is closed for the day, or over a weekend or College holiday, must be taken to the Department of Public Safety where it can be placed in a secure envelope and deposited in a drop safe located in the main lobby. Please Note: only the tamper-proof envelopes provided at the drop safe may be used for these deposits. The cash depositor must then send an email to to notify the Cashier of the drop safe deposit. The Cashier will then reply to the e-mail from the depositor and instruct them to complete the deposit transaction at the Business Office the next business day during Cashier Window hours.

In addition, cash depositors are required to:

• complete a Deposit Ticket for all funds deposited at the Cashier Window. The Deposit Ticket includes the deposit date, description, depositor organization, account number to credit, preparer name, and total amount of the deposit, including the portions that are currency/coin, checks, etc. (click here for the Deposit Ticket form).
• wait for a receipt from the Business Office at the time of deposit. The Cashier will count any currency or coin items being deposited in the presence of the depositor.
• plan ahead and request new account numbers, as needed, prior to collecting cash.

Precautions should be taken when transporting cash for deposit to the Business Office. Public Safety should be contacted for escort purposes when large amounts of cash are involved.

This policy does not apply to cash collected for non-College related activities. Instances where cash is collected on campus in these circumstances should be very limited and the party collecting the cash should take the necessary precautions to ensure that it is properly safeguarded.

If this policy is not followed, the College will not be responsible for cash that is lost or stolen as a result. In addition, a violation of this policy, whether or not such a violation results in loss to the College, may lead to corrective action. Violations by faculty members will be handled as outlined in the Faculty Handbook.

Faculty and professional staff should see the Standards of Conduct policy for additional information regarding expected standards of conduct at the College.

Procedures

In addition, the following cash handling procedures must be observed by all College Departments and Student Organizations.

• Access to cash must be restricted to a very limited number of accountable individuals. These individuals must be pre-approved to handle cash by a department manager, supervisor, or faculty or administrative advisor. Managers, supervisors, and advisors must ensure these individuals understand this policy and their overall cash handling responsibilities.
• Cash received should be recorded immediately by the Department or Student Organization accepting the cash. The following are examples of information that is to be recorded: the exact amount of cash received; the date cash is received; the name of the individual who submitted the cash; the reason it was submitted; and the name of the individual who received the cash. These recordings should be made on a cash register, a computer system data entry terminal, a pre-numbered receipt form, or on a handwritten log.
• A receipt should be issued to the individual providing the cash, where required.
• All checks should be made payable to "Franklin & Marshall College".
• No one individual should handle a cash transaction from beginning to end. One individual should accept the cash, while another should be responsible for record keeping to record the receipt for deposit purposes. In cases where this is not possible, additional management review and supervision is necessary to ensure that proper cash controls are maintained.
• Deposit each day's cash receipts intact as discussed above.

Cash should be concealed from view whenever possible. The Business Office has a supply of metal cash boxes that can be signed out, as needed, for campus activities and events.

Questions

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Business Office at extension 4205.