Surprise cash count
Definition
An unannounced physical count of cash on hand at a specific location, compared against the accounting balance at the same moment. Persistently short counts across multiple observations constitute evidence of diversion.
Related terms
- Cash larceny
- Taking cash that has already been recorded in the accounting system. The record exists, so the theft creates a provable discrepancy between...
- Deposit verification
- Audit procedure that traces cash receipts from the point of collection through to the bank deposit, confirming that the amounts recorded match...
- Off-book scheme
- Any fraud in which transactions are never entered into the accounting records. Off-book schemes are the hardest to detect by accounting review...
- Register reconciliation
- The process of comparing point-of-sale transaction records against physical cash drawer counts for the same period. Persistent shortages on specific shifts, registers,...
- Skimming
- An off-book cash theft: revenue is stolen before it enters the accounting system, so no entry is ever made. Skimming is harder...
Explained in
- Cash Theft and Skimming SchemesAn unannounced physical count of cash on hand at a specific location, compared against the accounting balance at the same moment. Persistently short counts acr...