Procedure REVISION DATE CHAPTER TITLE CHAPTER NO. ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL Financial & Management 7 MILWAUKEE COUNTY

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1 7.17 IMPREST FUND (Petty Cash) PROCEDURES (1) PURPOSE. To provide a uniform method for replenishing a Petty Cash Imprest Fund for direct disbursements. (2) POLICY. It is the policy of Milwaukee County to limit disbursements from a Petty Cash Fund to only those items that cannot be paid for in the regularly prescribed manner or when normal purchasing procedures are not practical. (3) AUTHORITIES. Milwaukee County Ordinance has established and authorized the creation of Petty Cash funds. Section 15.17(2) provides a schedule of authorized funds and designates whether an Imprest Fund can be banked (checking account). (a) When allowed by Ordinance, the decision to use a bank is at the discretion of the department head. The decision to use a checking account should be supported by an analysis of expected activity and bank service charges. The Cash Investment Manager in the Treasurer s Office can assist in this analysis. (b) The Comptroller in the Office of the Comptroller, has set the Petty Cash limit for a single item purchase at $ Exceptions to this limit must be approved by the Office of the Comptroller. (c) The purchase authority granted here shall not be used for repetitive, consecutive or project purchases if the intent is to circumvent the administrative procedures relating to Purchase Orders. This would include repeated purchases of a single item where the unit cost times the quantity exceeds $50, or the purchase of materials for a project that exceeds $50 is a broken down to individual unit costs of $50 or less. (4) RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) It is the responsibility of the department head to designate an Imprest Fund Cashier, whose name must be submitted to the Office of the Comptroller, Accounts Payable Division, on an Authorized Signature Card, Form 6854 (see Appendix C). 1. To insure proper segregation of duties, the Imprest Fund Cashier must be someone who does not have cash handling responsibility for departmental receipts. (b) It is also the responsibility of the department head to assign an individual other than the Imprest Fund Cashier to reconcile and audit the Petty Cash fund no less than twice per year. (c) It is also the responsibility of the department head, or his/her designated representative, to sign and authorize the Petty Cash Replenishment Request, Form 2410, (Appendix B). This individual s name must be submitted to the Office of the Comptroller Accounts Payable Division, on an Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursement forms, with receipts attached. (d) In general, cash advances from the Petty Cash fund are not permitted. Exceptions to this policy must be signed and approved by the department head. The cashing of personal checks is strictly prohibited

2 (e) Funds maintained in cash must be secured in a locked area. (f) At all times, the petty cash fund must be supported by available funds and approved Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursement forms, with receipts attached. (5) PROCEDURES. (a) Reimbursement from Petty Cash. 1. An employee requesting a petty cash disbursement must fill out (in ink/or type) the form Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursement, Form #3146 (see Appendix A). Submitting this form for approval prior to incurring an expenditure will be at the discretion of the department head. The form has signature lines if pre-approval is required. The following information is to be entered: a. Name b. Title c. Date of request d. Purpose of disbursement e. Anticipated cost f. Vendor s name g. ADVANTAGE coding 2. After making a purchase, the employee is required to obtain an original copy of the vendor s receipt. In circumstances where a receipt is not available (photocopies, parking meters, phone calls, etc.), indicate the detail of the actual cost on the form. NOTE: Per Wis. Statute Section 77.54, Milwaukee County is exempt from Sales Tax. 3. Employee must enter the Actual Expense in the blank indicated. 4. Employee signs form. 5. Submit form and receipt to supervisor for approval. Supervisor signs form. 6. Submit approved form and receipt to Imprest Fund Cashier. The Imprest Fund Cashier shall perform the following prior to the disbursal of funds. If there are exceptions to any of the following items, return form to the employee or supervisor for correction. a. Determine that Account Coding is completed b. Verify that employee has signed the form c. Agree receipt dollar amount (if attached) to Actual Expense dollar amount on form d. Verify that supervisor s signature is proper based on employee/advantage coding

3 7. Sign form and disburse funds. If funds are maintained in a checking account, indicate check number on form and update the check register. 8. Temporarily file form by date for later attachment to Petty Cash Replenishment form. (b) Petty Cash Replenishment. 1. The department can request replenishment by submitting Form No. 2410, Petty Cash Replenishment Request (Appendix B) to the Office of the Comptroller, Accounts Payable Division. Generally, this should not be submitted more than once per month. Fill out form (in ink/or type) as follows: a. Name and number of organizational unit. b. Date prepared. c. Date of purchase. d. Name of vendor from whom goods were purchased (not the name of the employee to be reimbursed). e. Account code distribution. f. Amount of expenditure. g. Total of all expenditures. h. The Payable To should be the name of the Imprest Fund Cashier, who has a properlycompleted Signature card on file in the Office of the Comptroller, Accounts Payable Division (Appendix C). Include the address where check should be sent and contact phone number in case there are questions. i. The Imprest Fund reconciliation must be completed (lower left-hand corner of the Request ). 1) Insert on first line the Petty Cash amount authorized for your department. The second line is the actual cash amount on hand as of the date of reconciliation. The difference between line one and line two is the amount to be replenished, and this amount should agree with the total of all of the receipts. j. Obtain the authorized signature of the designated Imprest Fund Cashier. k. Receive the approval signature of the designated Request authority. The approver must have a properly completed signature care (Appendix D) on file in the Office of the Comptroller, Accounts Payable Division. l. Attach all Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursement forms to the completed Request and forward to the Office of the Comptroller, Accounts Payable Division, Courthouse Room 301. m. Maintain a copy of all Requests for audit and analysis purposes

4 (c) Petty Cash Reconciliation. 1. Reconcile the Petty Cash fund at least semi-annually, using Form 3145 Reconciliation - Imprest Cash Fund, (Appendix E). This should be completed by an individual other than the Imprest Fund Cashier. The Imprest Fund Cashier should be present when the reconciliation occurs in order to answer any questions. This reconciliation should also be performed whenever a new Imprest Fund Cashier is designated. 2. Prepare the form as follows: a. Name and number of organizational unit b. Petty cash fund name - this should agree with the name in County Ordinance c. Preparer s name d. Date of preparation - Indicate the date that the reconciliation was performed e. Imprest Fund Cashier s name f. Authorized balance - Amount per County Ordinance g. Less Opening Bank Balance - For those units that have all or a portion of their imprest funds in a checking account, indicate the bank balance of that account. h. Less Cash on Hand - Using the format shown, indicate the breakdown in petty cash funds on hand. Summarize to a total balance of cash on hand. i. Less Outstanding Checks - Any outstanding checks should be listed here or a report should be attached. Disclose the date of disbursement, vendor and dollar amount. j. Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursement Forms in which funds have been issued - Indicate all issued disbursement forms here. These forms represent cash that has been disbursed but not submitted for reimbursement. k. Less Petty Cash Replenishment Forms completed and in-transit to Accounts Payable - If you submitted a Replenishment request but have not as yet received a check, indicate that amount here. l. Less Imprest Petty Cash Balances in other locations related to this fund balance. Certain departments (such as Parks) distribute their Petty Cash funds to separate units to make the funds available to cashiers or supervisors. Attach a form that shows the location, name of cashier and amount of petty cash account. 3. Total all of the above items to arrive at the Net Variance. This amount should be $0. If not, then provide explanation for the variance. a. If the balance is greater than $0, then your imprest cash balance is Short of funds. If, after investigating the shortage in funds, you find that your balance is still greater than $0, prepare a check request. Attach a copy of the Reconciliation report to the check request, and if the difference is over $50, a letter must be written to explain the shortage. Charge the variance to your Org. Unit and Account This account is designated as the Cash Over (Short) account

5 b. If the balance is less than $0, then your imprest cash balance is Over in funds. Prepare a cash deposit or write a check to the Treasurer for the amount of excess funds. Charge the variance to your Org. Unit and Account This account is designated at the Cash Over (Short) account. 4. Sign the Imprest Cash Fund Reconciliation Report. 5. Obtain the signature of the Imprest Fund Cashier on the Reconciliation report. If the duties of the Imprest Fund Cashier are being transferred to a new person, then obtain the signature of both the old and new custodian. 6. Maintain a file of Imprest Cash Fund Reconciliation reports

6 7.17-Appendix A

7 7.17-Appendix B

8 SAMPLE Completion of Signature Card for Petty Cashiers Only Allows a Petty Cashier to Disburse Funds, Sign Authorization for Petty Cash Disbursements (Form 3146) and Petty Cash Replenishment Reports (Form 2410) 7.17-Appendix C

9 SAMPLE Completion of Signature Card so the Petty Cashier s Approver May Authorize the Petty Cash Disbursements (Form 3146) and Petty Cash Replenishment Reports (Form 2410) 7.17-Appendix D