Budget and Finance Policy and Procedure Office
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
Auxiliary & Business Services (ABS), in conjunction with the Office of Budget and Finance, has established a Bank Deposit Bag Tracking System. This procedure is to assure that the University's cash receipts are properly safeguarded and deposited in a timely manner in accordance with Policy FN01 Cash Revenues.
Departments/Colleges wanting to participate in this service should contact their Financial Officer (FO) who will, in turn, obtain approval from the Office of Budget and Finance. Any request received by the Office of Budget and Finance directly from a department/college will be rerouted back to the appropriate FO.
ABS will provide the approved depositor with a supply of pre-numbered, bar-coded deposit bags (Exhibit "A"). ABS records the sequential series of bags provided along with the assigned department name into the bag tracking software. An automated message is sent to the ABS Accounting Financial Coordinator when a Department/College's supply of bags needs to be replenished.
In preparing a deposit for the bank, the individual must prepare a deposit ticket. The deposit ticket must be completed in full, with coin, cash and a summary of checks/money orders/traveler's checks being listed (see Procedure FN2001 Processing Cash Revenues for specific details on preparing deposits). The individual making the deposit must identify the department name and SIMBA Cash Deposit Journal Entry number on the deposit slip, as well as the bag number of the deposit bag being used. Additionally, a self-addressed envelope should be included in the deposit bag so the bank may return the deposit ticket back to the area making the deposit (note: this should be the address of the individual preparing the corresponding Cash Deposit Journal Entry for this deposit).
Using the Auxiliary & Business Services (ABS) supplied bar-coded deposit bag (Exhibit "A"), provide the following information on front of bag:
Place the prepared deposit into the bank bag along with the completed deposit slip, and the self-addressed envelope. Remove the paper receipt from back of security seal to expose adhesive and seal by pressing firmly on the entire length of the security seal. If sealed improperly; do not attempt to reseal bag. (Destroyed bags need to be marked as such in the tracking application in order to delete them from inventory.)
Begin the tracking process by logging onto the Bag Tracking System and selecting "Prepare/Drop Bank Deposit Bag." Complete each of the following steps:
Upon completion of the drop, the preparer returns to their workstation and re-enters the bag tracking website and completes the following steps:
If the depositor should fail to update the deposit from PREPARED to DROP/HOLD; the ABS Accounting Financial Coordinator will notify the depositor with a request to change the status. This will not delay the deposit; if a bag is recorded at the drop location, it is deposited.
ABS generates a report indicating which locations have a deposit pending and, according to a predetermined route, bags are picked up and scanned by ABS staff along with an armed guard. This scan results in an update in the software indicating that the deposit has been retrieved.
All bags are transported to the Housing and Food Services (HFS) Building and rescanned as received. The bags are then separated by bank and placed in the appropriate transport bag (No bags are opened).
ABS has contracted Brinks Armored Car Service to transport deposits to the appropriate banks. All bags are scanned by Brinks (transferring responsibility from Penn State University to Brinks) and transported to the appropriate bank.
On the next business day following deposit, the bank returns the deposit slips. These completed deposit slips are picked up by Brinks staff and delivered to ABS in the HFS Building. ABS staff then distribute via campus mail in the envelope provided by the depositor.
The Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Financial Officer is responsible for working with Internal Audit when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits relating to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Financial Officer would also be responsible for working with the external auditor and/or a central university office related to these procedures.
University Records must be retained and managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and the University’s Records Retention Schedules.
Additional questions may be directed to the the Records Management Officer.
For questions, additional detail, or to request changes to this procedure, please contact the Auxiliary and Business Services Financial Coordinator.
09/3/2021