What is separation of duties?
The separation of duties is one of several steps to improve the internal control of an organization’s assets. For example, the internal control of cash is improved if the money handling duties are separated from the record keeping duties. By separating these duties the likelihood of theft is reduced because it will now require two dishonest people working together to admit to each other that they are dishonest, plan the theft, and to then carry out the theft. One person will have to remove the cash and the other person will have to falsify the records.
Without the separation of duties, the theft of cash is easier. One dishonest person can steal the money and enter a fictitious amount into the records—thereby concealing the theft.
One of the basic audit objectives when we review an organization framework is the proper segregation of duties. Though it is basic, it is by far the most potent as it ensure that errors or irregularities are prevented or detected on a timely basis by employees in the normal course of business.
Segregation of duties provides two benefits:
• A deliberate fraud is more difficult because it requires collusion of two or more persons; and
• It is much more likely that innocent errors will be found.
At the most basic level, segregation of duties means that no single individual should have control over two or more phases of a transaction or operation. Management should assign responsibilities to ensure a crosscheck of duties.
If a single person can carry out and conceal errors and/or irregularities in the course of performing their day-to-day activities, they have generally been assigned or allowed access to incompatible duties or responsibilities. Some examples of incompatible duties are:
| An Employee who… | Should not… |
| Opens mail and endorses checks | Handle cash receipts |
| Prepares a document | Approve that same document |
| Handles cash receipts | Endorse checks Maintain petty cash funds Receive deposit slips or corrections from bank |
| Prepares bank deposits | Receive deposit slips or corrections from bank Verify cash receipts Maintain petty cash fund Perform audit function |
| Prepares Payroll | Payment of payroll |
Take note when we review duties or responsibilities, we can broadly classified it into the four categories which are:
- Authorization;
- Custody;
- Record-keeping; and
- Reconciliation.
In an ideal system, different employees would perform each of these four major functions. In other words, no one person should have control of two or more of these responsibilities. The more negotiable the asset, the greater the need for proper segregation of duties, especially when dealing with cash, negotiable checks and inventories.
Authorization
Authorization is the process of reviewing and approving transactions or operations.
Some examples are:
• Verifying cash collections and daily balancing reports;
• Approving purchase requisitions or purchase orders;
• Approving time sheets, payroll certifications, leave requests and cumulative leave records; and
• Approving change orders, computer system design or programming changes.
Custody
Custody is the process of having access to, or control over, any physical asset such as cash, checks, equipment, supplies or materials.
Some examples are:
• Access to any funds through the collection of funds or processing of payments;
• Access to safes, lock boxes, file cabinets or other places where money, checks or other assets are stored;
• Custodian of a petty cash or change fund;
• Receiving any goods or services;
• Maintaining inventories; and
• Handling or distributing paychecks/advices, limited purchase checks or other checks.