Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
Policy FN01 Cash Revenues requires the “acknowledgment of cash revenues accepted on behalf of the University at the time the revenue is received” and dictates that “serially numbered forms shall be used to document cash related transactions to enhance reconciliation and accountability.” This procedure defines the process for obtaining, utilizing, and reconciliation prenumbered receipts.
The Office of Budget and Finance has approved the use of two (2) types of preprinted, prenumbered receipts; Prenumbered Receipts University Park (see Exhibit A) or Prenumbered Receipts Commonwealth Campuses (see Exhibit B) (hereafter referred to as University receipts). University receipts will be used for all situations except where an existing University receipt is used at the time of transaction such as SGA Prenumbered Receipt, ASA Prenumbered Receipt, Bursar's receipts, cash registers, etc.
No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems and Procedures (designated representative of Office of Budget and Finance). See Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Paper Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility for complete details.
Requests for University receipts may be submitted by anyone within a business area; however, all shipments of University receipts must be delivered to the Financial Officer or Director of Finance & Business (hereafter referred to as FO) at a Commonwealth Campus for accountability purposes.
A journal entry in SIMBA is processed using the following information:
Upon receiving the request, the Office of Systems and Procedures (or delegate) will draw the requested number of University receipt books from inventory and ship to the FO (or hold for pick-up). The Office of Systems and Procedures (or delegate) will reply to the original email request acknowledging the order has been shipped and requesting the FO submit a delivery confirmation email reply upon receipt of shipment indicating the shipment was received in good order.
Commonwealth Campus locations must complete the Commonwealth Campus Prenumbered Receipt Book Order Form. The completed form is emailed to stationery@psu.edu with Commonwealth Campus Receipt Book Order referenced in the subject line of the email. MPC processes and ships the completed order to the FO for verification.
MPC completes the middle section of the Commonwealth Campus Prenumbered Receipt Book Order Form and emails the form to the Office of Systems & Procedures at AskGURU@psu.edu and includes Commonwealth Prenumbered Receipt Book Order in the subject line of the email when the order has been processed.
The Office of Systems and Procedures has provided the Commonwealth Campus receipt template to MPC for use when printing Commonwealth Campus receipt books. Any changes to the template must be requested through the Office of Systems and Procedures.
The College of Medicine has a previously approved arrangement with the Hershey Print Center to print the College of Medicine receipt books. The College of Medicine is to follow any Hershey Print Center instructions.
The Hershey Print Center must notify the Office of Systems & Procedures by emailing AskGURU@psu.edu when a College of Medicine order has been processed and include the sequential receipt number range, the date the order was delivered, and the name of the Financial Officer receiving the order. As a reminder, all orders must be delivered to the FO for verification.
Upon receiving the shipment of University receipts, the FO must promptly verify that the proper quantity and number series was received. The FO replies to the email sent by the Office of Systems and Procedures (or delegate) indicating the order has been received and indicates if the order is accurate or if there were any damages or discrepancies.
Upon notification of a problem, the Office of Systems and Procedures (or delegate) will contact the FO and provide instructions as to the resolution of any discrepancies.
Upon receiving the shipment of receipts from MPC, the FO must promptly verify that the proper quantity and number series was received. Follow any MPC instructions upon receiving the shipment of prenumbered receipts. Any damages or discrepancies between the packing list (if provided), the shipment, and the original order are to be reported to the MPC.
The Office of Systems & Procedures (or delegate) contacts the FO at the Commonwealth Campus to confirm that the order from MPC has been received. The FO replies to the email sent by the Office of Systems and Procedures indicating the order has been received and indicates if the order is accurate or if there were any damages or discrepancies. This completes the three-point goods confirmation process.
Upon receiving the shipment of receipts from Hershey Print Center, the FO must promptly verify that the proper quantity and number series was received. Follow any Hershey Print Center instructions upon receiving the shipment of prenumbered receipts. Any damages or discrepancies between the packing list (if provided), the shipment, and the original order are to be reported to the Hershey Print Center.
The Hershey Print Center must send an email to the AskGURU mailbox indicating the following:
The Office of Systems and Procedures (or delegate) will email the College of Medicine FO to verify the information provided by the Hershey Print Center. The Financial Officer replies to the email sent by the Office of Systems and Procedures indicating the order has been received and indicates if the order is accurate or if there were any damages or discrepancies.
The information provided by the FO will be compared to the information provided by Hershey Print Center for verification and documentation. This completes the three-point goods confirmation process.
The FO is required to maintain accurate inventory records of the supply and use of prenumbered receipts. Use of either the Prenumbered Receipt Issuance Log or a spreadsheet containing the same information as the issuance log (Exhibit C) is required. At a minimum, these records must readily provide the following information:
For audit control, each prenumbered receipt book must be assigned to a specific individual. Only under rare circumstances may more than one individual use the same book. If the FO feels that it is absolutely necessary for multiple individuals to share the same book, one of those persons must be identified as taking the responsibility for the use of the book. No more than four (4) individuals may share one book. The FO will distribute the books locally.
Receipts must be returned to the FO when the need for receipts no longer exists and the Prenumbered Receipt Issuance Log Returned section completed. When additional books must be issued on a temporary basis, as in peak work periods, they must be assigned individually, and the recipient's name recorded. Partially used books must be returned to the FO at the end of such temporary work periods, and the book signed back into inventory by the FO. This absolves the recipient of responsibility/accountability of the receipts.
When all receipts in a book have been issued, the completed book is to be returned to the FO and the “returned” section of the Prenumbered Receipt Issuance Log completed. See the Financial Records Retention Schedule for the retention period.
See the Prenumbered Receipts instructions for details on completing the prenumbered receipt form.
All deposits must be prepared in accordance with Policy FN01 Cash Revenues. It is especially important that each prenumbered receipt be traceable to a Cash Deposit Journal Entry in SIMBA. For auditing purposes, the Cash Deposit Journal Entry number should be written on the associated prenumbered receipt when preparing the deposit and the prenumbered receipt number entered in the text field of the line-item entry field of the Cash Deposit Journal Entry.
The FO is responsible for monitoring the use of prenumbered receipts on a continual basis. This is accomplished by verifying that every prenumbered receipt issued is tied to an actual processed bank deposit in SIMBA and that there are no missing prenumbered receipts that were not deposited. The risk is that individuals are collecting funds that are never deposited. A spreadsheet can be utilized to provide a list of each prenumbered receipt in a book assigned to each individual. Each receipt number can be validated as used when the prenumbered receipt is processed on a deposit entry in SIMBA . FO’s should inquire about missing prenumbered receipts and obtain evidence as to why a prenumbered receipt was skipped (such a voided receipt). The spot-checking of number series is not acceptable.
The following are to be retained from the end of the fiscal year plus three (3) years. If an audit hold has been placed, the documents must be retained until the audit hold is released:
These retention times correlate to the retention of bank statement information.
Violation of a financial policy should be reported to your supervisor, unit manager, your Human Resources representative, and/or office responsible for the policy. Where those resources are inadequate, you may choose to make an anonymous report through the Penn State University hotline by calling 1-800-560-1637.
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 retention must be managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and retention schedules approved by the Records Management Advisory Committee, Office of General Counsel, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. These records retention schedules are derived from - or based upon - federal, state, and local statute or regulations, University Policy, industry standards, and business needs. All University Records must be maintained in such a manner to provide ease of access, establish a suitable audit trail for all transactions, and to be reviewed prior to disposition.
Upon completion of the retention period, University records must be disposed of via secure destruction or transfer to University Archives, unless an exception to the disposition process set forth below applies. If the disposition method for University Records states “Review by Archives” on the records retention schedule, the employees responsible for those records should consult the University Archivist for a final determination of disposition. For University records that must be securely destroyed, units may arrange for shredding services by either contacting the Blue/White Shredding Program or the Inactive Records Center.
Exceptions to the practice are as follows:
To safeguard the privacy of individuals, records that Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as defined in University Policy AD53 Privacy Policy, or student records, as defined in University Policy AD11 Confidentiality of Student Records, must be destroyed beyond recovery. For additional information regarding privacy and the protection of an individual’s personal information, see Policy AD53 Privacy Policy.
Additional questions may be directed to the Records Management Office.
For questions, additional details, or to request changes to this procedures, please contact the Office of Systems & Procedures.
November 5, 2021