Lesson 2 AP: Audit of Cash and Cash Equivalents - Notes

Assertions (COVER)
1. Completeness (Cut-off, Proof of Cash)
2. Obligations
3. Valuation (Face Value, Exchange Rate, NRV)
4. Existence (Cash Count, Bank Reconciliation, Interbank Transactions)
5. Rights

Composition of Cash
1. Cash on Hand = includes undeposited currency and coins, undeposited checks (payable to the entity or bearer), bank drafts and money orders.
2. Cash in Bank = demand deposit, checking account and saving deposit that are NOT legally restricted.
3. Cash Fund = are set aside for CURRENT purposes such as petty cash fund, payroll fund and dividend fund.

Composition of Cash Equivalents
*Commercial Paper / Money Market Instrument / Time Deposit / Treasury Bills
   acquired at MOST three months before maturity.

Initial Valuation
*Face Value

Subsequent Valuation
*General Rule = Face Value
*Except:
     a. Foreign Currency
          *at Current Exchange Rate
     b. Cash in Financial Institutions with Financial Difficulty or in Bankruptcy
          *lower of NRV or  Face Value

Necessary Disclosures:
1. Temporary Placements of Excess Cash (Predetermined)
2. Cash Compensating Balance

Other Things to Remember:
1. Bank overdrafts are liabilities. Offset it only against other existing accounts in the same bank to reflect the total balance of your account in that bank.

2. Post-dated checks are not yet part of cash receipts or disbursements because before the date written on the check, the holder of such CANNOT encash it yet.

3. Commercial Paper / Money Market Instrument / Time Deposit / Treasury Bills with 3 months left until maturity but purchased more than 3 months before maturity are still classified as short-term investments because the standard says so. The standard does not consider it as "highly liquid".

4. Undelivered checks are still part of cash and removed from cash disbursements because the payment of a check requires its delivery to the payee.

5. Returned checks are restored back to its corresponding receivable or payable because there was no encashment made by the payee.

6. Stale checks are restored back to its corresponding receivable or payable because the negotiability of the check expired. Banks usually don't honor checks that are not encashed within a "reasonable time" (normally within six months) after the indicated issue date. If the amount of the stale check is immaterial, it is normally accounted as miscellaneous income or expense.

7. Legally restricted compensating balances carries the classification of its related loan (either short-term or long-term investment). It is not classified as cash because you cannot withdraw such amount immediately.

8. NSF or DAIF checks are debit memos from the bank because no amount was collected from such check. Therefore, the corresponding receivable of such check is restored.

Cash Short or Over
*Accountability = the amount of cash that MUST BE present.
*Accounted for = the amount of cash COUNTED.
*Cash Shortage if Accountability > Accounted for
*Cash Overage if Accountability < Accounted for
In computing for the cash shortage or overage, do not account for cash that you did not include in the accountability.

Bank Reconciliation
1. Book reconciling items:
     a. Credit memos
     b. Debit memos
     c. Book errors

2. Bank reconciling items:
     a. Deposits in transit
     b. Outstanding checks
     c. Bank errors


 Sources: Financial Accounting 1 (Valix et. al), Advanced Auditing (Espenilla) & The Accounting Standards