Questions to ask yourself regarding Segregation of Duties:
Is the person who handles your cash also the person responsible for recording the cash?
Does the person who pays or orders inventory also receive the materials?
Are two or fewer people responsible for the accounting function?
Is only one person responsible for reviewing financial statements each month?
Account and bookkeeping functions are designed to crosscheck each other. If the same person is responsible for multiple duties, the natural checks and balances of the system are removed. Trust is not the issue here, verifying your business transactions is. Do not give a single person unquestioned authority of your finances.
Questions to ask yourself regarding Bank and Credit Card Reconciliation:
Do you review cancelled checks on a monthly basis?
Do you compare payroll checks with your current employee records?
Do you review funds transferred between accounts?
Is someone responsible for reviewing reconciliations each month?
Bank and credit card statements can only flag discrepancies if they are reconciled on a timely basis. Reconciliations should be done once a month and bank adjustments need to be tracked carefully from one month to another.
Questions to ask yourself regarding Safeguarding Assets:
Are blank check stocks and signature stamps safely secured?
Do you restrictively endorse all checks when received?
Do you deposit checks and cash daily?
Do you perform periodic physical inventory counts?
Do you maintain a list of office equipment?