Cash Float Accounts

A department may require cash for making change (i.e. cash float). This may be an ongoing requirement or related to a specific event.

In either case, when cash is required for purposes of making change, an account is established to record the movement of cash from the University’s bank account to the department. The new account identifies the requesting department as the new custodian of the designated amount of cash. Since this is simply the reassignment of a cash asset, there are no entries to the department’s revenue or expense accounts. A specific custodian of the cash float must be identified.

Expand All | Collapse All

Key Requirements

Summary of key requirements

  • Identify operations requiring a cash float.
  • Determine the optimal level of the fund.
  • Assign a fund custodian.
  • Complete the cashfloat form and send to the Financial Services Department (also refer to the instructions for completing the cash float form)
  • Maintain the security of the cash: locked metal box kept under locked protection, e.g. locked desk, safe.
  • Maintain balance intact.
  • Upon request, confirm the balance to the Financial Services Department.
  • Deposit cash float funds promptly with the Cashier, Financial Services Department, when no longer required.

Action to avoid

Accounting records will not properly reflect departmental operations if the cash float is not used as expected. It is important to avoid:

  • expenditures from the fund
  • adding departmental cash receipts to the fund.

Approvals

The signature of the head of the unit is required to: establish the fund, increase or decrease the fund, change the fund custodian, or close the fund.

Thefts/Fund Shortages

The department should report any thefts or attempted thefts immediately to the University of Toronto Police and to the head of the department.

Shortages are the responsibility of the custodial department and amounts required to restore the fund must be charged to a departmental account. This can be done from petty cash or using a Cheque Request Form.

Any transaction to restore a fund shortage should be so identified and approved under the signature of the head of the department.

Fund overages

Fund overages may be the result of short changing a customer. If the appropriate disposition of the excess amount of cash cannot be determined, the excess should be deposited to a departmental account through the Cashier, Financial Services Department.

Report all fund overages to the head of the department.

Opening a Cash Float

Department
Complete the Cash Float Form and submit along with a completed Cheque Request Form to:

Financial Services Department
Accounting Services
215 Huron Street, 2nd Floor

Leave the Account Number field blank on the Cheque Request Form. The Financial Services Department will process the payment, and inform the originating department of the account number that has been assigned to the fund. For more information on completing the cash float form, refer to the instructions.

Increasing and Decreasing the Amount of the Cash Float

Increase
Complete the Cash Float Form and submit along with a completed Cheque Request Form to the Financial Services Department, as above.

Decrease
Complete an Internal Cash Receipts Deposit Form and submit along with the cash for deposit to the Financial Services Department, Cashier’s Office.

Complete the Cash Float Form and submit along with a copy of the completed internal cash receipts deposit form to Accounting Services as noted above.

Changing the Cash Float Custodian

Complete the applicable section of the Cash Float Form and send to the Financial Services Department (as above), or fax 416-978-5572.

Closing the Cash Float

Complete an Internal Cash Receipts Deposit Form and submit along with the cash in the amount of the fund to the Cashiers Office, Financial Services Department.

Complete the Cash Float Form and submit along with a copy of the above completed Internal Cash Receipts Deposit form to Accounting Services, Financial Services Department

Reporting

The department can use the FIS Display Vendor Line Items transactions (Accounts Payable >> Account >> Display) to view the balance of the cash float account. For additional information, contact your FAST Team Representative or Accounts Payable.

 

Last revision: November 17, 2006