ROWAN UNIVERSITY 
 

Title: Bank Account Policy
Subject: Accounting Services
Policy No: Fin: 2015:07
Applies: University-Wide
Issuing Authority: President
Responsible Officer: Senior Vice President for Finance and CFO
Adopted: 10/3/2016
Last Revision: 11/16/2016
Last Reviewed: 11/16/2016

I.  PURPOSE

This policy governs all bank accounts maintained for operational purposes including institutional accounts, departmental accounts, and all other operating bank accounts.

II.  ACCOUNTABILITY

Under the direction of the President, the Senior Vice President for Finance and CFO shall implement this policy and the Director of Accounting shall ensure compliance with the policy.

III.  APPLICABILITY

It is the responsibility of every faculty and staff member who is involved in any financial activity on behalf of the University to be fiscally responsible and to exercise appropriate financial controls.

IV.  DEFINITIONS

1. Bank Errors – Mistakes made by the bank. Bank errors could include the bank recording an incorrect amount, posting a transaction that does not belong to the University (e.g. deposits, checks, charges and fees, etc.), or omitting an amount from a University's bank account in error.

2. Deposit In Transit – Cash and/or check that has already been received and recorded by the University, but are not yet recorded by the bank. A deposit in transit occurs when a deposit arrives at the bank too late for it to be recorded that day, or if the entity mails the deposit to the bank (in which case a mail float of several days can cause a delay), or the entity has not yet sent the deposit to the bank.
3. NSF check – A check that was not honored by the bank due to insufficient funds in the account. NSF is an acronym for "non -sufficient funds." The entity that presents an NSF check for payment may be charged a processing fee by its bank. The entity issuing an NSF check will be charged a fee by its bank.
4. Outstanding check – Check that has been written and recorded in the University's cash account but has not cleared its bank account as a deduction from cash.
5. Reconciling Items – Discrepancies noted as a result of the bank reconciliation process for which adjustments or corrections should be made to reconcile the bank statement to the University's books. Reconciling items could be due to timing; certain items are not cleared through the bank by the statement's cutoff date, e.g. deposits in transit, outstanding checks, bank fees, penalties, interest, etc.

V.  POLICY

1. Rowan University maintains multiple bank accounts for various business purposes. These accounts are registered under Rowan's name and Corporate ID number at these banks, and include only signers that are listed in our current Corporate Banking Resolution approved by the Board of Directors of the University.
    
2. Rowan University maintains bank accounts for operational purposes, including institutional accounts, departmental accounts, and all other operating needs. Because of various tax and regulatory requirements, the use of Rowan University, R.U., or Rowan in the name of the account, or the use of Rowan University's Corporate ID number for any other bank accounts is prohibited. The Senior Vice President for Finance and CFO shall approve establishing, modifying or closing of Rowan University bank accounts.
    
3. To ensure the University's cash records are complete, accurate and properly monitored, Accounting Services has established the following internal controls for maintaining and reconciling the account(s):
   1. General ledger account balances can be substantiated by supporting detail records;
   2. Accuracy and completeness of individual transactions that have been posted to the general ledger;
   3. The information transmitted to, contained in, and reported from the University's financial systems is accurate, complete and recorded in a timely manner;
   4. The information can be relied upon for making financial and administrative decisions;
   5. Efficient and effective audit process; and,
   6. Fraud, theft, compliance violations and other irregularities are quickly detected and reported to the appropriate authorities.
    
4. All bank accounts are maintained and reconciled by Accounting Services.