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#921064 - 03/12/08 05:48 PM Suspense Account Audit
Happy Offline
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We are planning to add another audit to our schedule this year. A suspense account audit. Does anyone do this audit? Is it a worthwhile audit? Is it necessary? What scope do most of you use? I just got done with the BSA audit so this one should be easy, right?

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Audit
#921236 - 03/12/08 07:00 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Happy
Countess Kiwi Offline
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ha ha.

Yes you should do one or incorporate it into other audits. What is actually sitting in those suspense accounts? I have seen some nasty stuff that should have been cleared out right away and it has sat in there for a while. Make sure there are controls to clean out those transactions and that fraud is not occuring.

Good luck
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#921262 - 03/12/08 07:08 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Countess Kiwi
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We include it within the scope of our accounting audit.

I would look at items currently sitting in suspense, how long they have been sitting there for (should they have been cleared or written off by now), and who clears the items. I would also look at a sample items which have been cleared out of suspense to see by whom and if they were cleared appropriately.
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#921267 - 03/12/08 07:10 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit A_G
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What scope do you use? A month?

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#921336 - 03/12/08 07:45 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Happy
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As in how often is the suspense account area audited or as in when doing the audit how much activity am I looking at?
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#921342 - 03/12/08 07:46 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Happy
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As in how often is the suspense account area audited or as in when doing the audit how much activity am I looking at?
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With the lights out, it's less dangerous.

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#921386 - 03/12/08 08:05 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit A_G
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How much activity are you looking at?

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#921395 - 03/12/08 08:10 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Happy
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Anything stale dated gets looked at - usually anything sitting in suspense for more than X amount of days - depending on what goes in and out it could be 30, 45, 60, etc. Depends on what your suspense accoutns are used for.

Then usually a year worth of activity - obviously not every item - but a random sample of a couple items from each month.
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#921411 - 03/12/08 08:22 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit A_G
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Thanks for the help. I will see what I find.

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#921483 - 03/12/08 08:58 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Happy
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When you do the longer look, make sure you are looking for items that are rolled to new entries within your clearing timeframes. I have seen more than one "suspense account" kite in my lifetime.
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#921997 - 03/13/08 04:23 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit rlcarey
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Would you elaborate on the suspence account kite? I was told once that I should be on the lookout for that but I'm not really sure how it would work and what I should be looking for.

Thanks

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#923691 - 03/15/08 01:26 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Reed
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It could involve a couple of different schemes. One is to clear an entry in an account with other entires into the same account. This way the latest entry into the account is within the required clearing time. Another is when several different suspense or clearing accounts are involved and the money just goes from one to the another within the clearing deadlines.
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#923799 - 03/17/08 01:06 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit rlcarey
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Interesting, thanks.

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#927251 - 03/20/08 07:19 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit Reed
GregS Offline
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The tellers who held each others checks and counted them as cash moved up to accounting and figured it out. Suspense kites occasionally grow, too.
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#959890 - 05/15/08 10:02 PM Re: Suspense Account Audit rlcarey
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I have each branch do a monthly "suspense account" audit report which is turned in to me with each item detailed (date item went in, what the item is, how much, when the anticipated date out will be, etc). The accounts on the report include all suspense resource and suspense liability accounts at the branch level. Any item over 45 days must be written off to losses. The report must include a detailed general ledger printout for each account so that we can verify there aren't any "roll over" items. Also, this report must be done as of a different day each month, on a surprise basis, by someone other in the branch than the person or persons that make up the tickets to those particular accounts. This way, the branches do their own audit and I review and monitor.

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