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Date Created:    April 30, 2024     Last Updated:   June 9, 2026

Overview: 

Cornell Retail Services accepts cash at the Main Store and the Statler Hotel locations. The opening cash balance and sales are tracked in NetSuite Point of Sale and are updated as sales are rung through the registers.  Deposits are processed weekly. Additional processes and controls for vault security access and opening and closing registers are in place to protect cash and to prevent opportunities for fraud or theft. 

Criticality:  High

Frequency:  Other

Turnaround:  Same Day

Cashiers:  Verify and record opening till counts in NetSuite, inspect counterfeit bills, run End of Day register process for NSPOS, and count cash drawer at closing. 

Cash Manager: Responsible for processing deposits, verify reserve safe count, and assists in resolution and reconciliation of discrepancies.  

Theft Control Officer: Reviews security protocols and researches cash discrepancies in the main store location through surveillance camera footage. 

Store Managers: Responsible for ensuring vault security, distributing, and collecting deposit bags from workstations for each business day, runs Sales Audit Reports, and assists in resolution and reconciliation of discrepancies. 

  • NetSuite
  • NetSuite Point of Sale (NSPOS)
  • Kuali Financial System
  • Sales audit reports, closing till receipts, deposit sheets, shared drive
  • NetSuite
  • NetSuite Point of Sale (NSPOS)
  • Kuali Financial System (KFS)
  1. Opening till count is less than $300.
  2. End of day cash drawer NSPOS calculated count vs actual count discrepancies.

Opening and Closing Process: 

  1. The closing cashier prepares bank bags, $300 per bag, for the next business day. 
  2. The opening store manager opens vault room and unlocks the MOD safe to sign out bags to distribute to workstations. 
  3. Cashiers verify the bag count before logging onto the register for the day. If the bag count has a discrepancy at the Main Store or Statler the cash manager, theft control officer, and store manager are notified for resolution and reconciliation.  
  4. Cashiers log onto registers and record opening till in NetSuite POS. 
  5. NetSuite POS tracks cash opening balance and sales rung into the register throughout the day. Any large bills received at the register are inspected by the cashier to ensure it is not counterfeit. Bills are kept out of the register until transaction is completed and then secured in the drawer. 
  6. Register is closed at the end of the day by the closing cashier who runs the End of Day process in NetSuite POS for the register. 
  7. Cash drawer is counted by a trained cashier and observed by another staff member. The total is entered into NetSuite POS. NSPOS calculates the expected ending count based on cash sales. If the calculated differs from the actual count the system will automatically create an entry to over/short to the GL. 
  8. The closing cashier will leave $300 in a bank bag for the next business day. The rest of the cash will be placed in a deposit bag with closing till receipt from the workstation, which includes workstation number, date, and amount. 
  9. Main Store closing manager signs in the deposit bag and drops in the slot at the top of the reserve safe within the vault, puts the $300 bank bag in the MOD safe within the vault, initials the closing checklist, and shuts and arms the vault door. 
  10. Statler closing supervisor locks deposit bags in safe until brought to the Cash Manager at the Main Store. Supervisor brings deposit which includes cash, two copies of deposit sheet, and copy of daily deposit calculation to the main store location for the Cash Manager to process. 

Cash Deposit Process: 

  1. Opening store manager runs the previous business day Sales Audit Report and saves to the shared drive. 
  2. Cash Manager reconciles the Sales Audit Report to the previous business day cash bags returned from the registers. Cash manager counts the reserve safe weekly. The reserve safe count is verified by the vault backup monthly. The counts are signed and saved to the shared drive.  
  3. Over/Short is calculated by comparing each workstation POS sales reports to actual amount received from the cashier. Any discrepancy + / - $5 and counterfeit bills are reported to the store Theft Control Officer and the store manager. The Theft control Officer will review camera footage at Main Store and report any issues. Counterfeit bills are reported to CUPD and Cash Management.  
  4. Closing till receipts are taped on the deposit tracking sheet with manual counts noted and keyed into the excel deposit sheet and the KFS Sales Deposit sheet form on the shared drive. 
  5. Store management verifies the deposit totals. 
  6. Two copies of the deposit form, the daily reconciliation calculator sheet and cash is placed in a locked bank bag. Armored truck pickup is scheduled for every other Thursday. If the cash total is under $200 the Cash Manager sends an email to cancel the armored truck pickup. 
  7. Cash Manager scans check to the bank for deposit. Cash is held in the reserve safe until picked up. 
  8. Cash manager creates KFS AD edoc and GL entry in NetSuite ERP for deposit. 
  9. If the bank or Cash Management have a discrepancy with the deposit it is written off or a correction is made to the AD edoc.

Key Risks 

Key Controls 

Risk of individuals having access to the cash vault and safes 

  1. Main Store cash safes are behind two locked doors with both key access codes and vault dial. Cameras inside face the vault and there are cameras outside of vault entry door. Only store managers, cash manager, and cash manager backup have access to the vault. Door dial codes are changed twice a year in January and July, when job duties are changed, or staff are terminated. 
  2. Statler Lobby shop is key access only to store staff. Locked combination safe is kept inside back storeroom. Codes are changed when job duties are changed, or staff are terminated. 

Risk of internal theft 

  1. Opening till counts, end of day cash drawer counts, and deposit totals are verified and/or observed. 
  2. Camera footage is reviewed by the theft control officer for any cash discrepancies in the Main Store. 
  3. Safe combinations are updated each semester. 

Cornell Finance Staff

  • Monitoring the over/short account
  • Review of sales and gross margin trends

FTC

  • Undeposited Funds- FTC reconciles the undeposited funds account. Any discrepancies are reconciled to the register logs and verified with the Cornell Store.
  • KFS – Kuali Financial System
  • GL – General Ledger
  • NSPOS – NetSuite Point of Sale System

CRS Cash Handling Process Flow Chart (3 pages)

Process Testing
Date: 6.26.24
Name of process being tested:Retail Cash Handling Process


Staff observed for process:
Staff Name/TitleBre-Anna Murphy, Retail Sales Specialist
Staff Name/TitleRyan Walker, Retail Manager, Sales & Services
Staff Name/TitleHelen Jessop, Acct Rep IV


Control Points:
Confirm all key control points are being followedYes, (note - did not observe closing process, but evidence existed that the process was adhered to as expected)
Are there workarounds being used in lieu of documented process?n/a


Observations:
Identify/list  any deviations to established process in narratives:Safe double counting


Recommendations:
Recommendation for improvements to process:Double counting of safe was not in place.  Recommended this change with a signed count for both Helen and the verifier.

Recommended daily count be signed in Adobe by Helen

*Modify process narrative to note that vault dial codes are changed in Jan and July
Action Plan:
Assign responsibilities and deadlines for implementing recommendations.Helen Jessop and Jodie  
Plan for addressing any issues or deficiencies identified during the audit.Will perform June count today


Wrap-up
Schedule follow-up audit to monitor implementation of recommendations and track progress.Will send proof of June monthend safe double count and signatures
Provide a pass/fail assessment of process compliancePASS


Note all source documents used for testing here:Retail Cash Handling Process Narrative

Cornell Retail Services Cash Handling Flow Diagram - Main Store

062624 ICP Testing Response CRS Cash Handling Month's End Verification

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