University of Missouri

Responsibilities at the department level

As an administrator/manager/employee of a department, you can do the following to enhance your department’s control environment and contribute to the University’s control environment:

  • Make sure job descriptions exist, clearly state responsibility for internal control, and correctly translate desired competencies.
  • Implement segregation of duties where duties are divided, or segregated, among different people to reduce the risk of error or inappropriate actions. No one person has control over all aspects of any financial transaction.
  • Make sure transactions are authorized by a person delegated approval authority when the transactions are consistent with policy and funds are available.
  • Ensure records are routinely reviewed and reconciled by someone other than the preparer, to determine that transactions have been properly processed.
  • Make certain that equipment, inventories, cash, and other property are secured physically, counted periodically, and compared with item descriptions shown on control records.
  • Provide employees with appropriate training and guidance to ensure they have the knowledge necessary to carry out their job duties. For example, if your department is a recipient of sponsored funds, make sure that individuals administering funds are well-trained on federal rules and regulations regarding the use of grant funds.
  • Make sure employee performance evaluations are conducted periodically. Good performance should be valued highly and recognized in a positive manner.
  • Make sure that appropriate counseling and/or disciplinary action is taken when an employee does not comply with policies and procedures and/or behavioral standards.

Utilize the Division & Departments Internal Review -Audit Questionnaire that can be located in the Forms section of the Division of Finance website. The objective of the internal controls checklists is to provide campus community with a tool for evaluating their internal control structure and general compliance by business process.