The successful operation of any enterprise depends mainly on the impeccable state of the cash desk and the quality of operations. Current legislation clearly regulates this area. The norms provide for various types of checks of financial turnover in companies. One of them is the audit of the cash desk at the enterprise. Let us consider in more detail what this check is. 
General information
Audit of cash at the checkout is a set of measures to assess the compliance of transactions with the law, the timeliness and correctness of their implementation. Such an inventory may act as an independent check or be one of the stages of control by the authorized bodies. A cash desk audit is considered one of the mandatory and regular supervisory activities.
Verification Steps
The audit of the cash desk involves the following stages:
- Recalculation of cash and comparison of data obtained from reporting securities with actual amounts.
- Monitoring compliance with financial discipline.
Cash desk audit and information analysis form a reliable idea of how the funds are used in the organization, as well as the negative and positive directions of the company. The significance of these events is difficult to overestimate. The inventory analyzes the positive experience of the enterprise in the field of management. In addition, an assessment of violations and abuses is carried out. Like any other control operation, the cash desk is audited using special methods that ensure its systematic implementation.
Purpose of the procedure
The audit of the cash desk and supervision of compliance with financial discipline are aimed at establishing the reliability of the information provided in the statements by comparing the data with the actual state of affairs. Another purpose of the procedure is the identification and suppression of violations of the law in the field of turnover of funds. The results of the audit of the cash desk allow the auditor or inspector to form an objective opinion on the financial statements of the company, refuting or supporting its business reputation.
The legislative framework
The procedure for auditing the cash desk is strictly regulated. In accordance with the law, authorized to perform this procedure:
- Representatives of company control bodies are competent employees of the company.
- Rosfinnadzor employees.
- Tax inspectors.
The cash desk audit can be initiated at the enterprise and directly by its manager. In this case, the director of the company enters into an agreement with an independent auditor or a company with appropriate accreditation. Until 2012, banks had the authority to conduct control procedures. Today, the law does not provide for such checks.
Procedure specifics
The procedure for the audit of the cash desk is developed and approved by local regulations in the framework of the law. For example, the Regulation on the implementation of internal financial control provides:
- Formation of an authorized commission.
- The list of controlled objects.
- Frequency of cash withdrawal.
- Rules in accordance with which the execution and audit of the cash desk is carried out.
Inspectors of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate carrying out supervisory measures evaluate the completeness of capitalization and accounting of revenues from the main and additional activities of the company. According to the administrative regulations, officials can check any company that produces cash with or without cash register, but with the use of payment cards with the right to issue receipt documents drawn up on strict accounting forms in accordance with a cash receipt.
Subjects
A sudden audit of the cash desk can be performed at any company, regardless of ownership, by the tax office. According to clause 5.14.1 of Regulation No. 278, the control exercised by the bodies of the Federal Service for Supervision of the Supervision of the Supervision of Natural Resources and Oversight of the Russian Federation is mainly aimed at companies that:
- Receive funds from state funds. These include financial assistance, government guarantees, budget loans and loans, investments from extrabudgetary sources and the federal budget.
- They use property and material assets that are in state ownership.
Inspection Frequency
The cash desk audit within the framework of the internal audit is carried out:
- at least 1 time per half year or quarter;
- on the 1st day of the year that follows the reporting year;
- when transferring cases by the cashier or specialist, replacing him, to another employee;
- in other cases, at the discretion of the director of the company, in accordance with the adopted financial policy of the company.
Enterprises with large cash turnover, as a rule, practice checks on a monthly basis or on the last / first day of each month.
Unscheduled inspection
Management has the right to initiate an inventory when it considers it necessary. Such a check is considered sudden. Its difference from the planned procedure lies only in the fact that the date of its implementation is not determined. In some cases, such an audit of the cash desk is caused by the director’s alertness or by the presence of direct suspicions of abuse among employees who are responsible for maintaining financial discipline in the company. Inspections carried out by inspectors of the Inspectorate for Inspection of Tax Inspectorates or the Federal Service for Supervision of Inspection of the Federal Service for Supervision of Emergencies are usually unscheduled. The directive regulating the audit procedure does not directly establish the term “surprise”. However, ensuring unscheduled and non-disclosure of the stages of preparation of the audit acts as one of the mandatory requirements for qualified employees.
Inventory Terms
Registration of cash desk is carried out first of all by the order:
- Director of the company, if this is an internal audit.
- The head (or his deputy) of the Federal Service for Financial Supervision or the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate.
The order indicates the timing of the procedure and confirms the authority of the control group. In addition, the auditor or commission certifies their identity by presenting the relevant documents. Only after performing these mandatory actions, the company can provide the necessary securities, many of which contain trade secrets, and cash.
Reviewer Requirements
Starting the audit, the inspector must be guided by the established rules. In particular, the employee must ensure by his actions:
- Competence.
- Surprise
- Validity.
In practice, unfortunately, these qualities are not always manifested by inspectors. Nevertheless, the auditor must be mindful of professionalism in any situation. Bias leads to the need to conduct repeated audits, delaying the process of identifying circumstances in which there have been violations. Another important factor is the continuity of the audit. During the audit, the inspector or other authorized person should not be distracted. All initiated actions must be completed without interruption. 
Important point
Even the intermediate indicators obtained during the inventory should be discussed only with the management of the company. This is especially important in cases where an audit of the cash desk of a bank or other large financial organization is carried out.Such a discussion helps to eliminate shortcomings and errors that were made during the audit, as well as significantly saves time and guides inspectors to objectivity in assessing the situation.
General order
The appearance of an external or internal auditor, as indicated above, is necessarily accompanied by the issuance of an appropriate order. It acts as the basis for the implementation of control measures. A cash inventory should be carried out by a commission. In addition to the auditor himself, in this process there is a cashier, accountant, as well as an uninterested person. The inspection order includes all the important points of the procedure:
- The circle of persons who are members of the commission is determined.
- The deadline for events and delivery of results.
The same information is contained in the notification, which is sent by the competent supervisory authorities.
Training
The inventory begins with preparation. During it, the cashier gives the authorized commission the latest transaction report, draws up a receipt, which confirms the absence of unrequited cash and unaccounted documents. The chairman of the control group endorses and dates all received papers. At the same time, they are marked "Before revision", since they have not yet been recorded in the registers, and operations on them have already been completed.
Cash withdrawal
This is the next stage of the audit. Withdrawal of money is carried out by means of sheet conversion and comparison of the received amounts with the reporting data. In addition, the movement of funds and the availability of accounting forms are checked. This is done by comparing actual balances with information from the logs. At the end of these actions, information is recorded in a special audit of the cash desk. It is compiled in 2 copies. 
Check cash retention requirements
During the audit, it is established:
- Are safes with serviceable locks present in the room?
- How is the transportation of cash and ensuring its safety during transportation.
In addition, a study is conducted of the results of previous inspections and an analysis of their frequency.
Discipline Assessment
During the audit, the compliance of the design of primary documents with the requirements of the law is checked. In particular, the presence of the necessary details and signatures on the securities authorizing the execution of operations is established. Inspectors verify the correctness of the compilation of calculated and payroll the presence in them of the timing of payments, signatures, certifying receipt of funds and permitting their issuance. Design requirements must also be observed. cash book.
It should consistently numbered pages, entries should be in chronological order. If there are corrections, corrective comments are required. The Commission also checks the validity of payments for certain economic needs, material assistance, bonuses and other things. In the course of control measures, a complete audit of the completeness and timeliness of capitalization of funds received from the bank, and the establishment of discrepancies in the sequence of events when transferring cash to the organization servicing the account (if any) are performed. The timeliness of the surrender of balances received under the report or not used on business trips is subject to verification.
Cash desk audit paperwork
The legislation establishes a unified form of the form in which the information obtained during the audit is entered. Registration of the results of the cash desk audit is carried out according to f. No. INV-15. The following shall be entered in the form:
- Information on the amounts of funds for the reporting and actual availability.
- Information on the comparison of the above positions.
- The result of the comparison.
Positions for reporting and actual status may be the same. In this case, the state of affairs at the checkout is good.If the amount of reporting funds is greater than the actual availability, then there is a shortage. If the situation is the opposite, and there is more money at the box office than in the documents, then there is surplus. All this information is summarized and entered in the form. The audit certificate of the cash desk is drawn up in text form. As a conclusion, it advocates a section on conclusions and proposals. Briefly, it lists the identified violations and provides recommendations for their elimination.
Inventory deadlines
They are established by law. The time frame for each particular enterprise will depend on the amount of data to be verified. However, in any case, it should not be more than 45 days. In exceptional cases, however, the law also allows for its extension. In particular, this occurs in situations where the intervention of the investigating authorities is necessary. The audit of the cash desk for tax inspectors is limited to 20 days.
What are the consequences of violations?
If, in the process of cash recounting, the inspectors revealed a discrepancy with the reporting data, the cashier must give written explanations of their reasons. The discovered surplus is accepted for accounting on the same day, and the shortage must be recovered from the responsible person. In case of serious violations of the law, the auditor has the right to refer the case to the investigating authorities or other authorities to initiate administrative proceedings. In these cases, to the head of the company or financially responsible person a large fine may be imposed. As a rule, such liability takes place in case of gross and repeated violations of legislative requirements. A negative audit result will require the director of the company to immediately take appropriate measures to eliminate violations. The necessary measures are developed during the discussion of the data received by the commission during the verification. Liquidation measures are recorded in the corresponding protocol.
Assessment of the status of control
An audit of the cash desk and verification of compliance with financial discipline acts as an effective way to monitor cash flow at the enterprise. In most cases, using this tool allows you to stop or prevent violations in the company on time.
There are certain signs, according to which it is possible to assess the insufficiency or complete absence of internal supervision of the movement of finances at the cash desk of the enterprise. These include, in particular:
- The lack of a clearly established system for performing sudden audits with a complete recount of cash on hand and other valuables to be controlled.
- Formality of such inventories.
- The appointment of the same individuals to the control group is ongoing.
- Performing an inventory at a predetermined time - when the cashier has the opportunity to prepare for the audit.
- Lack of material responsibility of the person in preparation for the audit. This indicates that such an event is not usual for him.
- The absence of a contract with the cashier establishing his full liability. If such an agreement is not concluded, then the identification of a shortage will not have any legal consequences.
- The presence of the facts of the signing of warrants instead of the accountant and manager by third parties not authorized by the written order of the director of the business entity for this.
- Assignment of the duties of a cashier in the event of his temporary absence (due to illness, in connection with vacation and for other reasons) to the employee without the consent of the head. In such situations, not only the written order of the director should be adopted, but also an appropriate contract should be concluded with the employee on his full liability. Otherwise, such an appointment will be illegal.
