Cash handling and controls

Cash is the easiest asset to lose and the hardest to trace. Good cash handling protects your members' money, your staff, and your SACCO's reputation.

Why it matters: Most cash losses come from weak everyday habits, not big heists. A few simple controls, applied every day, close almost all the gaps.

Keep cash safe and limit how much you hold

• Store cash in a locked safe or strongroom with restricted, logged access.
• Set a maximum holding limit for each teller drawer and for the safe.
• Bank surplus cash promptly once you pass the limit, rather than letting it pile up.
• Insure cash on the premises and in transit where you can.

Use dual control for valuables

• No one person should open the safe or vault alone, two authorised people together.
• Two people count and sign off when cash moves between the safe and a teller.
• Log every cash movement: amount, time, and who was involved.

Separate who handles cash from who records it

• The teller who receives or pays out cash should not also post the entries to the books.
• The person who reconciles should be a third person, not the handler or the recorder.
• This way no single person can take cash and hide it in the records.

Reconcile every day

• At the end of each day, count the physical cash and compare it to what the system says.
• Investigate any difference the same day, even a small one.
• A supervisor reviews and signs the daily reconciliation.

In CAMS, teller reconciliation compares each drawer to the books so differences show up immediately.

Quick checklist

• [ ] Safe and drawer holding limits are set and followed
• [ ] Dual control on the safe and on cash transfers
• [ ] Cash handler is not the person who records or reconciles
• [ ] Daily count reconciled to the system and signed off
• [ ] Surplus cash banked promptly
• [ ] Every cash movement logged