Travel Advance Account and Petty Cash Account (APS 010)

Overview

Applicable to

State agencies and institutions of higher education.

Policy

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller’s office) requires state agencies and institutions of higher education to complete the steps outlined in APS 010 for establishing, administering, overseeing and reducing or closing out travel advances and petty cash accounts.

Legal Citations

Government Code, Sections 403.241-403.252, 660.025.
Texas Administrative Code, Title 34, Part 1, Chapter 5C, Rule 5.22(h).

Legend

Background

Definition/Introduction

A petty cash account is a set amount of money held outside the state treasury to be used for the purposes specified in Government Code, Sections 403.241-403.252. The account can be funded from any method of finance used by an agency. Each state agency that establishes a petty cash account must follow internal agency guidelines and procedures for state officers and employees regarding travel advances and/or petty cash accounts. The following guidelines, requirements and procedures must be followed in creating and accounting for travel advances and petty cash accounts.

Bond Coverage

Bond coverage may be purchased to ensure adequate protection for all agency assets, including travel advances and petty cash accounts, according to Government Code, Sections 653.001-653.012.

Purpose of Petty Cash Account

A petty cash account may be established and used for:

• Making change of currency.
• Advancing travel expense money to state officers and employees.
• Making small disbursements where formal expenditure procedures are not cost-effective.
• Any similar purpose or combination of purposes a state agency considers prudent for conducting state business.

Accounting for Petty Cash Account

Government Code, Section 403.245 states:

• The creation of a petty cash account is not an expenditure of state money or a reduction of appropriation.
• The replenishment of a petty cash account is an expenditure from the corresponding fund and will be drawn from the appropriation the expenditure would otherwise have been made from.

Monetary Limits for Petty Cash Accounts

Per Government Code, Section 403.246, the monetary limits for each type of petty cash account are:

• A petty cash account established for changing currency may not exceed $500.
• A petty cash account established for making minor disbursements by the central office of a state agency may not exceed $1,000.
• A petty cash account established for making minor disbursements by offices other than the central office of a state agency may not exceed $500.
• A petty cash account established for advancing travel expense money to state officers and employees may not exceed one-twelfth of a state agency’s travel expenditures in the immediately preceding fiscal year.
• A petty cash account established for a purpose or a combination of purposes the agency considers prudent for conducting state business may not exceed the amounts determined by the Comptroller’s office as necessary for the efficient operation of the agency.

Exceptions to Petty Cash Monetary Limits

The monetary limits in Government Code, Section 403.246, apply to all state agencies and petty cash accounts except as noted in Section 403.252:

• State agency funds located outside the state treasury.
• The petty cash accounts maintained by the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation or its successor agency under Health and Safety Code, Section 533.037(d)(4).
• Imprest funds kept by enforcement agencies for the purchase of evidence or other enforcement purposes.

Request a New Petty Cash Account or an Increase to an Existing Account

Introduction

This section outlines the procedures for:

1. Agencies requesting a new petty cash account or an increase to an existing petty cash account.
2. The Comptroller’s office review and approval of agency requests for new or increased petty cash accounts.
3. Agencies creating or increasing petty cash accounts, including processing the necessary accounting transactions.

Agency Procedures for Requesting New or Increased Petty Cash Accounts

To request a new petty cash account or an increase to an existing one:

Step	Action
	If …	Then …
1	Your agency’s petty cash account request includes non-central office locations	Complete pages 1 and 2 of the Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213), then proceed to step 2. This form identifies the type of petty cash account requested and other necessary information such as the amount requested, funding source and estimated total petty cash disbursements for the fiscal year. Page 2 of the form documents the field office account and supports the amount appearing on the request form for non-central office disbursements.
	Your agency is only requesting a petty cash account for a central office location	Complete page 1 of the Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213), then proceed to step 2.
2	If …	Then …
	Your agency is requesting an amount in excess of the statutory limits specified in section 403.246	Attach supporting documents to the request form detailing the reason for exceeding the statutory limits, then proceed to step 3.
	Your agency is requesting an amount not in excess of the statutory limits specified in section 403.246	Proceed to step 3.
3	Forward the request form and supporting documents, if applicable, to the agency’s appropriation control officer (ACO) in the Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division for approval. Mail the form and documents to one of these addresses: Email ACO.reports@cpa.texas.gov Physical Address Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Fiscal Management Division Appropriation Control Section 111 E. 17th Street, Room 1001 Austin, Texas 78774-0001 INTERAGENCY Mailing Address Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Fiscal Management Division Appropriation Control Section P.O. Box 13528 Austin, Texas 78711-3528

Comptroller Procedures for Creating or Increasing a Petty Cash Account

The Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division must follow these procedures when creating or increasing a petty cash account:

• On receipt of the completed Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213) from the agency, review to ensure:
  • The form identifies the type of petty cash account requested, the source of funding, the requested amount and the anticipated disbursement for the fiscal year.
  • The request complies with Government Code, Sections 403.244 and 403.246.
  • The requested petty cash amount is authorized under Government Code, Section 403.246.
    • If the amount requested is in excess of the monetary limitations of petty cash accounts specified in Government Code, Section 403.246, determine if the request is appropriate.
  • The total estimated disbursement from the petty cash account during the fiscal year will not exceed available agency appropriations from the fund.
  • The form is signed by an authorized agent of the agency.
• Notify the State Auditor’s office (SAO) of any approved requests that exceed the statutory petty cash account limitations.
• Notify both the requesting agency and the SAO on approval of the petty cash account request.
  • Notify the SAO of any approved requests that exceed the statutory petty cash account limitations.
• If it is a new account, establish appropriation 94992 (this appropriation is charged to generate the warrant used to create the petty cash account).
• Require an annual certification from agencies confirming the authorized and available amount for petty cash accounts as of May 31.
• As soon as possible after the beginning of each fiscal year, review each petty cash account to ensure:
  • The corresponding agency has a sufficient appropriation from the fund to cover projected disbursements from the account during the current fiscal year.
  • The current amount of the account complies with the specified monetary limits.
• Send the results of the review to the SAO.
• Temporarily lapse a state agency’s unencumbered appropriations from the appropriated fund in an amount equal to the shortage in the agency’s petty cash account if the SAO certifies to the Comptroller’s office that a shortage exists.
• Reinstate a state agency’s lapsed unencumbered appropriations if the SAO certifies to the Comptroller’s office that the agency has adopted procedures to prevent the occurrence of similar shortages.

Note: The Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division will follow its regular procedures for auditing claims against the state as part of the procedure for replenishing a petty cash account.

Agency Procedures for Creating or Increasing Petty Cash Accounts

Introduction

On approval from the Comptroller’s office, agencies should follow the steps below to create or increase petty cash accounts.

Step 1

Establish a program cost account (PCA) on the USAS Program Cost Account profile (26) screen that infers:

• Program code: 3997*
• Appropriation: 94992
• Fund: Agency fund that reimbursement will be made from

* Program code 3997 should report to 2990 and program code 2990 should report to 1990.

Note: Contact your appropriation control officer if appropriation 94992 does not exist.

Step 2

Process a budget revision transaction to increase appropriation 94992.

Note: An agency may increase appropriation 94992 for the entire certified amount, or process budget revisions throughout the year, as long as the total budget revision amount does not exceed the amount certified.

Use document type A, batch type 1 to enter and complete the budget revision transaction as shown in the table below.

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
006/Adjust Exp Budget	94992 – Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	7000	Determined by Agency

If a revenue budget is necessary, a budget revision transaction must be completed as shown in the table below.

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
009/Adjust Rev Budget	94992 – Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	3000	Determined by Agency

To fund the revenue budget, a journal voucher must be completed as shown in the table below.

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
406/Rev Transfer Out	As Determined by Agency	Actual Revenue Object	Determined by Agency
405/Rev Transfer In	94992 – Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	Actual Revenue Object	Determined by Agency

Step 3

Complete the transaction to generate a warrant to fund the petty cash account as follows:

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
263/Creation/Increase to Imprest, Petty, Travel Cash Account	94992 – Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	7900 – Imprest 7904 – Petty 7905 – Travel	Determined by Agency

T-code 263 posts to the following GL accounts:

• DR-1 INPUT  CR-1 1009
• DR-2 5501    CR-2 5600

This transaction code requires that one of the following GL accounts be input:

If …	Then use one of these GL accounts …
The cash is physically kept at the agency	GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel
The cash is kept in a local bank account	GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel

Step 4

On receipt of the warrant generated from T-code 263, deposit the warrant to a local bank account or cash the warrant and place the proceeds in the physical location of cash on hand at the agency.

Agencies should make every effort to open petty cash accounts at banks or financial institutions that offer interest-bearing accounts.

Interest earned on the petty cash accounts must be deposited with the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations Division into the general revenue fund, appropriation 99906, object code 3852, unless the agency has a specific statute directing interest to a special fund. For instructions on processing interest deposits, see Depositing Earned Interest.

For warrant cancellations, use T-code 951R. Due to system programming limitations, this will also require the use of T-code 632 to debit GL account 5600 and credit the original GL that was entered on the purchase voucher.

Note: T-code 632 does not allow petty cash GL accounts. For the warrant cancellation entry to process using T-code 632, contact your financial reporting analyst to temporarily allow the original petty cash GL account on the T-code 632 Trans Code Options Profile (28B).

Request Location Change for Existing Petty Cash Accounts

Introduction

Agencies may request changes to the locations where petty cash is held, provided the agency notifies the Comptroller’s office and the total amount of approved petty cash is not changed.

For example, an agency has two petty cash accounts; one is held in a local bank account and one is held at the agency’s location. The agency would like to deposit cash from its existing petty cash on hand into the local bank account rather than requesting an increase for the petty cash account. This would result in a permanent reduction in the cash on hand and a permanent increase to the cash held in the local bank.

Agency Procedure for Requesting Location Change for Existing Petty Cash Accounts

Agencies must follow the steps below to request a location change for existing petty cash accounts.

Step 1

Complete and sign the Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213). Follow the instructions in the form to enter the appropriate values in each field.

Step 2

Forward the completed request form and supporting documents, if applicable, to the agency’s appropriation control officer (ACO) in the Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division. For mailing address information, see Agency Procedures for Requesting New or Increased Petty Cash Accounts.

Comptroller Procedures for Reviewing Location Change Requests

The Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division must follow these procedures when reviewing and approving requests for location changes of existing petty cash accounts.

• On receipt of the completed Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213) from the agency, review to ensure:
  • The form identifies the type of petty cash account requested, the source of funding, the requested amount, the current location and the requested new location.
  • The value entered in the Amount Requested field matches the value entered in the Current Authorized Amount field.
  • The form is signed by an authorized agent of the agency.
• Notify both the requesting agency and the State Auditor’s office (SAO) on approval of the petty cash account request.

Agency Procedures for Processing Location Change of Existing Petty Cash Accounts

On approval from the Comptroller’s office, the agency can process the necessary transactions to complete the change in location. These transactions also allow for the reclassification of the existing petty cash general ledger (GL) balances. This entails a three-part process:

1. Draw a check or otherwise remove cash in the “from” petty cash account and deposit to the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations division.
2. Process the transaction to generate a warrant for the “to” petty cash account.
3. Deposit or cash the resulting warrant to fund the “to” petty cash account.

Use the following transactions to process the location change:

If the location change is to …	Then process the deposit using …	And generate the warrant using …
Reduce cash held in a local bank account and increase cash held at the agency	T-code 183 Appropriation 94992 COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel	T-code 263 Appropriation 94992 COBJ: 7900 – Imprest 7904 – Petty 7905 – Travel Input GL Account: GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel
Reduce cash held at the agency and increase cash held at a local bank account	T-code 183 Appropriation 94992 COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel	T-code 263 Appropriation 94992 COBJ: 7900 – Imprest 7904 – Petty 7905 – Travel Input GL Account: GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel

On receipt of the warrant generated from T-code 263, deposit the warrant to the local bank account or cash the warrant and place the proceeds in the physical location of cash on hand at the agency.

For warrant cancellations, use T-code 951R. Due to system programming limitations, this will also require the use of T-code 632 to debit GL account 5600 and credit the original GL that was entered on the purchase voucher.

Note: T-code 632 does not allow petty cash GL accounts. For the warrant cancellation entry to process using T-code 632, contact your financial reporting analyst to temporarily allow the original petty cash GL account on the T-code 632 28B profile.

Request Reclassification of Petty Cash Account Type

Introduction

Agencies may request reclassification of the type of petty cash account, provided the agency notifies the Comptroller’s office and the total amount of petty cash is not changed.

For example, an agency has a petty cash account used to make small disbursements. The agency would like to reclassify the type to advancing travel money instead, with the amount remaining the same.

Agency Procedures for Requesting Petty Cash Type Reclassification

Agencies must follow the steps below to request the reclassification of petty cash types.

Step 1

Complete the Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213). Follow the instructions included with the form for the appropriate values for each field.

Step 2

Forward the completed request form and supporting documents, if applicable, to the agency’s appropriation control officer (ACO) in the Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division. For mailing address information, see Agency Procedures for Requesting New or Increased Petty Cash Accounts.

Comptroller Procedures for Approving Reclassification of Petty Cash Types

The Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division must follow these procedures when reviewing and approving requests for reclassifying petty cash types.

• On receipt of the completed Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213) from the agency, review to ensure:
  • The form identifies the type of petty cash account requested, the source of funding, the requested amount, the current authorized amount and the current location.
  • The net of the current authorized amounts between petty cash types is the same as originally authorized.
  • The form is signed by an authorized agent of the agency.
• Follow internal procedures to temporarily allow the applicable petty cash GL accounts on the T-code 632 28B profile.
• Notify both the requesting agency and the State Auditor’s office (SAO) on approval of the petty cash account request.

Agency Procedures for Processing Reclassification Transactions

On approval from the Comptroller’s office, the agency can process the necessary transactions. These transactions are necessary to allow for the reclassification of the existing petty cash general ledger (GL) balances.

Use the following transactions to process the reclassification:

If the cash is …	Then reverse the original petty cash GL posting using …	And post to the new petty GL using …
Held in a local bank account	T-code 632 COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel	T-code 632R COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel
Held at the agency	T-code 632 COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel	T-code 632R COBJ: 3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty Input GL Account: GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel

Reimbursement of Travel Advance Expenses and Petty Cash Accounts

Procedure for Reimbursing Travel Advance Expenses

Follow the steps below to reimburse travel advance expenses.

Step 1

An employee submits the actual travel voucher to his/her employing agency after the travel has been completed.

Note: Government Code, Section 403.248(b)(3), states that the Comptroller’s rules for travel advance account use must require a “final accounting” after a state officer or employee has incurred travel expenses. According to Section 403.248(c), “final accounting” means a reimbursement from or additional payment to a state officer or employee so the net amount received by the officer or employee equals the actual travel expenses incurred by the officer or employee.

See the Texas Administrative Code for additional information and requirements on travel advance expenses.

Step 2

Enter the following transactions to reimburse the travel advance expenses:

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA	TIN	PDT
247/V/P Non-Payroll Reimbursement Detail	Determined by Agency	Expenditure  comptroller objects related to travel as described in the Comptroller Manual of Accounts and Textravel	Determined by Agency	TIN for the traveling employee	The Payment Distribution Type (PDT) field must be populated with an R for warrant
904/Payment Reimbursement Vendor	Determined by Agency	Leave Blank	Determined by Agency	TIN for the agency whose travel expenses are being reimbursed	Leave Blank

If the reimbursement is for a prior appropriation year, year-end payable recognition requires that the above entries post to USAS using an effective date of 08/31/XX. If the reimbursement has already processed in the new fiscal year with a current effective date, use T-code 420 to recognize the payable as of 08/31/XX. For more information, see the Encumbrance Reporting and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

Note: Bank service charges must not be posted against petty cash, travel or imprest accounts. These charges must be reimbursed under comptroller object (COBJ) 7210 from appropriated funds, using the bank payee number.  

Step 3

The warrant generated from the reimbursement voucher will be made payable to the agency. Deposit the warrant in the travel advance local bank account or cash the warrant and place the proceeds in the physical location of cash on hand at the agency.

AFR note: For outstanding travel advances, a subsidiary ledger for travel cash should be used to track amounts receivable from employees. The balance sheet should always reflect the principle or authorized amount of the travel cash ledger regardless of the travel advances that may be outstanding or not yet expensed on receipt of a supporting expense report at fiscal year-end.

Procedure for Reimbursing Petty Cash Accounts

Follow the steps below to reimburse petty cash accounts.

Step 1

Prepare a USAS reimbursement voucher to reimburse a petty cash account. The voucher must be supported with appropriate receipts and invoices, which must be retained in the same order as the expenses are listed on the voucher. The voucher must be prepared for the total amount of the supporting claims with a breakdown of the charges by comptroller objects.

Step 2

Enter the following transactions to reimburse the petty cash expenses:

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA	TIN	PDT
247/V/P Non-Payroll Reimbursement Detail	Determined by Agency	The normal expenditure comptroller objects for items purchased as described in the Comptroller Manual of Accounts	Determined by Agency	TIN for the vendor that sold the purchase. If the agency has exhausted all resources and cannot obtain the specific vendor TIN/mail code, use the Comptroller-assigned TIN 31001035687.000, but ONLY for replenishing petty cash using third-party transactions.	The Payment Distribution Type (PDT) field must be populated with an R for warrant
904/Payment Reimbursement Vendor	Determined by Agency	Leave Blank	Determined by Agency	TIN of the agency’s petty cash account being reimbursed	Leave Blank

Reimbursement vouchers for petty cash accounts have the same approval requirements as any other purchase voucher.

Step 3

The warrant generated from the reimbursement voucher will be made payable to the agency. Deposit the warrant in the petty cash local bank account or cash the warrant and place the proceeds in the physical location of cash on hand at the agency.

Depositing Earned Interest

If the fund the petty cash account was created from does not have statutory authority to retain the interest earnings, the interest must be deposited with the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations Division into the general revenue fund, appropriation 99906, object 3852. Record the deposit in USAS using T-code 195.

If the fund the petty cash account was created from has authority to retain the interest earnings, the interest must be deposited with the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations Division into the fund, appropriation 00000, object 3852. Record the deposit in USAS using T-code 195.

Interest earnings must be deposited and recorded in USAS by the deadline published in USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045), Petty Cash Certification Web Application section.

If interest earnings are not deposited by the deadline, do not process generic transactions or restatements to report the interest earnings in the prior fiscal year. Interest earnings are not treated as increases to petty cash accounts. For assistance, contact your agency’s appropriation control officer or financial reporting analyst.

Reducing or Closing Out Petty Cash Accounts

Procedure for Reducing or Closing Out Imprest, Travel Advances or Petty Cash Accounts

Follow the steps below to reduce or close out imprest, travel advances or petty cash accounts.

Step 1

Draw a check or other form of remittance from the petty cash local bank account payable to the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations Division. If the cash was maintained at a physical location at the agency, remove the cash from the location and deposit with Treasury Operations.

The agency must complete a deposit transaction as follows to deposit the funds into Treasury Operations:

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
183/Clos/Decr of Imprest, Pty, Trv Acct.	94992 – Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	3779 – Imprest 3780 – Travel 3781 – Petty	Determined by Agency

T-code 183 posts to the following GL accounts:

• DR-1 0045 CR-1 INPUT
• DR-2 5100 CR-2 5000

This transaction code requires that one of the following GL accounts be input:

If …	Then use these GL accounts …
The cash is physically kept at the agency	GL 0015 – Cash on Hand – Imprest GL 0020 – Cash on Hand – Petty GL 0030 – Cash on Hand – Travel
The cash is kept in a local bank account	GL 0041 – Cash in Bank – Imprest GL 0042 – Cash in Bank – Petty GL 0043 – Cash in Bank – Travel

Step 2

Following deposit of the petty cash account reduction or close-out remittance to appropriation 94992, transfer the cash out of appropriation 94992 and into appropriation 00000 for the fund the petty cash account was created from:

If the originating fund was …	Then go to step …
The general revenue fund	3
A special fund (non-general revenue)	4

Step 3

If the originating fund was the general revenue fund (GR) fund, process the following transaction:

Agency	RTI	T-Code/Title	COBJ	Vendor No.
Affected Agency	003973	475/Accrued Transfers Out w/Liquid	7973	39029029020 000

Step 4

If the originating fund was a special fund or GR-dedicated fund (non-general revenue), process the following transactions:

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number/Title	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
405/Rev Transfer In	00000 - Unappropriated Activity	3970	Determined by Agency
406/Rev Transfer Out	94992 - Petty Cash/Travel/Imprest Advances	3970	Determined by Agency

Note: Reducing or closing out an imprest, travel advance or petty cash account does not increase an agency’s operating appropriations; however, it will increase the special fund or GR-dedicated cash balance the account was created from.

Step 5

Complete and sign the Petty Cash Account Request form (74-213), indicating on the form that the type of request is a “closure.” Follow the instructions included with the form for the appropriate values for each field.

Step 6

Forward the completed request form to the agency’s appropriation control officer (ACO) in the Comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division. For mailing address information, see Agency Procedures for Requesting New or Increased Petty Cash Accounts.

Note: The submission of the form serves as a notification only; an approval from the Comptroller’s office is not required for a petty cash closure.

Reimbursement of Lost, Stolen or Missing Petty Cash Accounts

Introduction

The Comptroller’s office allows reimbursement of lost, stolen or missing imprest, travel advances or petty cash, if certain criteria are met.

Reimbursement Procedure

Follow these steps to reimburse lost, stolen or missing imprest, travel advances or petty cash.

Step 1

The agency must:

• Exhaust all collection efforts.
• Report the loss to the local authorities as appropriate.
• Notify the SAO of the loss and the circumstances surrounding the loss.

Step 2

The agency must submit the following to the SAO to obtain a certification form from the SAO that a shortage exists:

• A police report or security officer’s report confirming amount of loss due to robbery or theft.
• Certification by the agency’s internal auditor or chief fiscal officer that money is missing and replenishment will be requested from the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
• A memo detailing procedures adopted by the agency to prevent similar shortages.

Submitting Reports to the State Auditor’s Office (SAO)

Find your agency’s SAO contact manager, then submit the required documents to one of these addresses:

Email
Use your agency’s SAO Contact Manager email
Attention: Reports

Mailing Address
State Auditor’s Office
Attention: Use your agency’s SAO Contact Manager name
Robert E. Johnson Building
P.O. Box 12067
Austin, Texas 78711-2067

Physical Address
State Auditor’s Office
Attention: Use your agency’s SAO Contact Manager name
Robert E. Johnson Building
4th Floor
1501 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, Texas 78711-2067

Fax
Use your agency’s SAO Contact Manager name
Attention: Reports
Fax: (512) 936-9400

Questions should be directed to the SAO contact manager.

The SAO will review the submitted documentation, certify the existence of the shortage and certify that the agency has adopted procedures to prevent similar shortages from occurring.

Step 3

After receiving the confirmation from the SAO, submit the following to your agency’s appropriation control officer (ACO):

• A letter explaining the circumstances for requesting the replenishment.
• Your certification from the SAO.
• A copy of the payment voucher.

Step 4

Process a transaction to generate a payment from the current appropriation year in USAS to fund the petty cash account. Complete the payment voucher as shown in the table below using document type 9, batch type 4.

T-Code/Title	Appropriation Number	COBJ	Appropriated Fund/Agency Fund/PCA
225/Establish Vouchers Payable	Determined by Agency	7899	Determined by Agency

Note: Use the agency vendor number as the vendor number. Comptroller object 7899 records the expenditure used to replenish petty, travel or imprest cash when there is a cash shortage (i.e., lost, stolen, etc.) in the local account. This object code requires an approval action code of 895 from the agency’s ACO.

Financial Reporting Treatment Example

Introduction

Establishing or increasing a petty cash account does not decrease an agency’s operating appropriations. Those actions will decrease the fund cash balance in the fund that was used to create the petty cash account and post the applicable accounting event for generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial reporting.

The financial statement impact is illustrated is the charts below.

Balance Sheet Impact

GL Account Title	Debit	Credit
Imprest, Travel Advances, Petty Cash Accounts	X
Cash in Treasury		X

Income Statement Impact for Appropriated Fund 0001

GL Account Title	Debit	Credit
Legislative Appropriation	X
Legislative Revenue		X

Note: There is no income statement impact for any other appropriated funds.

Example Setup

Assume the following conditions apply to the state agency in this section’s example.

The example agency has:

• $10,500 authorized petty cash in appropriation 94992 ($10,000 of this is held in a local bank account and $500 is in a lock box at the agency).
• A bank statement showing $9,000 as the bank balance.
• $1,000 in outstanding reimbursements to employees.

Financial Reporting Treatment Process

The financial reporting treatment of the example is illustrated in this chart:

Stage	Description
1	For the AFR and USAS, $500 should be reflected in GL 0020 – petty cash on hand.
2	For the AFR and USAS, $10,000 should be reflected in GL 0042 – petty cash in bank on the balance sheet.
3	In the deposit and investment note, the carrying amount will be $10,000. The bank balance will be $9,000 and should be provided.
4	The $1,000 of unreimbursed expenditures should be monitored in a subsidiary petty cash ledger. Outstanding reimbursements should not be reported as accounts receivable in USAS.
5	The $10,500 amount authorized in this example should be confirmed to the Comptroller’s office as required by its policy for USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045). The corresponding Aug. 31 amount is the amount reported in the State of Texas Annual Cash Report.