2018-01 Performance Audit Report: Cash Handling at County of Hawai'i's Mass Transit Agency

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When duties cannot be segregated due to the small size of the department or division, compensating controls should be considered. These compensating controls should include monitoring activities such as a detailed independent review. While Mass Transit has implemented some monitoring controls (a review of the end -of -day cash receipts), the County Transportation Specialist should not have access to cash and review and approve their own work. Independent monitoring is insufficient When duties are not adequately segregated, it is even more vital that the cash handling process be independently reviewed and monitored regularly. Because management performs part of the cash handling process, work should be reviewed for completeness and accuracy. Specifically, we observed the following: Prior to October 2017, the Account Clerk would empty multiple fare boxes onto the breakroom table, count cash, and prepare the bank deposit slip. There was no reconciliation of the cash to the bus trip sheets to calculate any cash overage/shortage. During the course of the audit, an independent employee began verifying the cash to the deposit slip. However, there is still no independent review of the trip sheets to verify the cash over/short. • Mass Transit does not conduct a reconciliation to ensure all trip sheets were received, all cash collected was collected from bus fares, all deposits were made to the bank, and all treasury receipts were processed. This reconciliation would help ensure cash collected, deposited, and recorded was accurate and intact. • Bus tickets are not pre -numbered and are not adequately secured. As a result, management cannot determine if all bus tickets are accounted for and bus ticket inventory is complete. • There is no review for consecutiveness and completeness of taxi coupons or bus passes. Controlling and reviewing pre -numbered coupons and passes help deter and detect potential theft of cash receipts. Furthermore, since duties are not adequately segregated, this review is imperative to ensure all revenue is collected and deposited timely. • Instead of purchasing pre -numbered, pre-printed receipts, Mass Transit created receipts using a Word document. One employee maintains the Word document receipts for taxi licenses and the Mo'oheau Bus Terminal (MBT), while a second employee maintains the Word document receipts for the Mass Transit Administrative Office. Both employees also perform over-the-counter transactions. Using a Word document allows for easy manipulation of the receipt numbers. Furthermore, management cannot adequately review for consecutiveness and completeness. We observed instances of duplicate, triplicate, and missing receipt numbers at MBT. Mass Transit Cash Handling Audit Results 112