Department Change Account Policy : University of Dayton, Ohio

Department Change Account Policy

Purpose

This policy defines the expectations and requirements for the establishment and maintenance of a University department change account.

Scope

This policy applies to all University departments.

Policy History

Effective Date: December 6, 1993

Approval: March 4, 2026

Policy History:

Approved in original form: December 6, 1993
Approved as amended: December 11, 1995
Approved as amended: July 24, 2000
Approved as amended: June 28, 2016
Approved as amended: March 4, 2026

Maintenance of Policy: Director of Student Accounts, Finance and Administrative Services

Definitions

"Change Account:" A change account is a starting cash drawer used may be established for those by auxiliary departments/units for a specific point of sale where starting change is required for a specific business transaction. An example is the cash used during the book buyback event at the bookstore at the end of each semester.

Policy

The University operates its campus operations as a cashless system. Therefore, no petty cash is permitted to be maintained by any department, and the need for a change account will be for limited purposes only, as approved by the Controller’s Office in consultation with the Office of Student Accounts and the Treasurer’s Office.

Change accounts are approved when a need for a starting cash drawer is established and documented by a department head for a specific event or ongoing purpose.

Money is to be kept separate and not comingled with other funds.
Physical cash must be secured at all times.

Any requests for a new change account or modifications to an existing change account require the approval of the University Controller’s office.

Change accounts are to be counted and reconciled daily to point-of-sale or other retail transaction systems. Change orders (i.e., requests for replenishment of change amounts) must be authorized by an appropriate department head and submitted to the University Cashier’s office in the Office of Student Accounts.

Any theft of a department change account must be reported immediately to Public Safety and the University's Safety, Audit, Risk and Compliance department. A copy of the Public Safety report should be filed with the Internal Auditor.

Department change accounts are subject to periodic surprise audits and should always be ready for such. Department change account custodians are responsible for ensuring that these policies are followed by the users.

Failure to follow these policies may result in the loss of your department’s change account.

Reference Documents

Appendix A: University of Dayton Department Change Account Procedures
Appendix B: Departments Approved for Recurring Department Change Accounts

Appendix A

University of Dayton Department Change Account Procedures

Establishment/Modification of a Department Change Account

Any requests for a new change account or modifications to an existing department change account require the approval of the University Controller’s office.

Requests must be made in writing (email to controller@udayton.edu) and include the following:

1. Physical location of account
2. Security of account when in use and when not in use
3. Responsible persons & Department
4. Purpose or need for the account
5. Amount requested (including currency denominations)
6. Time frame account is to be open

If the request is approved, written approval will be sent along with instructions to pick up funds from the Office of Student Accounts. The University does not maintain cash balances, therefore department change request require coordination with the University bank to obtain the currency. As such, requests should be made at least one week in advance of need in order to ensure funds will be available in the Office of Student Accounts.

Reconciliation of a Department Change Account

The department change account should be counted daily however the cash on hand must be reconciled with the receipts and submitted monthly to the University Controller’s office (St. Mary’s Hall +1662, fax 93816 or controller@udayton.edu ) by the 10th of the following month.

How to Close a Department Change Account

Take cash to the Office of Student Accounts and indicate you are closing your University change account. Cash should be deposited into the fund from which it was originally withdrawn. An email should be sent to cashiering@udayton.edu to notify the Head Cashier in the Office of Student Accounts prior to the return of the funds to ensure someone would be present to receive the funds.
A copy of the receipt which includes the amount returned when closing your account should be retained in your department files as proof you closed the account. An additional copy of the closing receipt should be forwarded to the University Controller’s office (St. Mary’s Hall +1662)

Appendix B

Departments Approved for Recurring Department Change Accounts

The University Bookstore and the University of Dayton Catering are the only departments approved for annually recurring department change accounts. These units must still request starting cash amounts from the University Controller’s office before the start of each event.