Segregation of Billing Duties

Local governments bill or invoice for a variety of services such as utilities, fees, and rents or leases. Whenever possible, the public employee who prepares or revises the bill/invoice should not be the person who handles the cash or checks collected from the bill/invoice. Funds have been embezzled when employees responsible for taking in the receipts were able to hide their thefts by manipulating the related bills/invoices.

Any reductions in the billed amount should be approved by someone other than the person taking in the related receipts. On a regular basis, reconciliations between the billed, collected, and outstanding amounts should be performed.

Date this Avoiding Pitfall was most recently published: 7/8/2022