With Respect to Disbursements, What Are the Key Internal Controls

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The Answer is To avoid improper use of cash and to assure that liabilities are paid at the proper amount cash payments should be tightly controlled. Key internal controls related to financial reporting include:
i) The most critical control element for disbursements is authorization. Check preparation should be segregated from purchasing and payment authorization. This facilitates the independent review of payments to assure that they are proper and accurate. Note that checks are often prepared electronically and signed using a check-signing machine. The trend toward electronic funds transfer reduces the need for manual controls but creates a need for other types of controls that require evaluation by an IT specialist.
ii) Payable postings should be verified.
iii) Documents supporting disbursements should be canceled after payment to assure that the same liability is not paid twice.

With Respect to Disbursements, What Are the Key Internal Controls

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