Petty Cash Interview Preparation Guide

Petty cash book is a formal summarization of petty cash expenditures, sorted by date. In most cases, the petty cash book is an actual ledger book, rather than a computer record. Thus, the book is part of a manual record-keeping system.

There are two primary types of entries in the petty cash book, which are a debit to record cash received by the petty cash clerk (usually in a single block of cash at infrequent intervals), and a large number of credits to reflect cash withdrawals from the petty cash fund. These credits can be for such transactions as payments for meals, flowers, office supplies, stamps, and so forth.

A somewhat more useful format is to record all debits and credits in a single column, with a running cash balance in the column furthest to the right, as shown in the following example. This format is an excellent way to monitor the current amount of petty cash remaining on hand.

Variation on the petty cash book is to maintain it as a spreadsheet, where each item is recorded in a specific column that is designated for a particular type of receipt or expense. This format makes it easier to record petty cash activity in the general ledger.

petty cash reconciliation is a formal review of petty cash records. The intent of this activity is to see if there have been any undocumented disbursements. Such disbursements are a common problem in petty cash, where there is a high risk of fraud. Also, since most petty cash custodians are not trained as accountants, they may incorrectly record disbursements. For these reasons, a petty cash reconciliation should be conducted at regular intervals.
The review can be treated as an audit, which means not warning the petty cash custodian of the arrival of the reviewer.

Take the following steps to reconcile petty cash:
★ Ascertain stated balance
★ Obtain reconciliation form
★ Calculate withdrawn cash
★ Summarize vouchers
★ Investigate variances
It is useful to charge unexplained differences to an expense account set aside for that purpose. By doing so, it is much easier to track the cumulative amount of undocumented losses over time. Also, consider having a policy that requires the internal audit staff to be notified if the amount of an unexplained shortage in a petty cash fund exceeds a certain amount.

If the company uses a formal reconciliation form, obtain a blank copy and use it to document the following steps.

Review the company's petty cash policy and determine the stated petty cash balance for the fund to be reviewed. Petty cash funds can have different stated balances, since some experience higher transaction volumes than others.

Count the cash remaining in the petty cash fund and subtract it from the stated balance for the fund. The result is the amount of cash withdrawn from the fund.

Petty cash system is a set of policies, procedures, controls, and forms that a company uses to dispense cash for various miscellaneous needs, such as office supplies and services.