The Gazette 1961 - 64

slips of paper. Neither method is satisfactory as the information is frequently incomplete and the cashier has to make further enquiries; thus time is wasted. This can be saved if the profit-earners are made responsible for passing complete details of receipts and payments to the cashier. So that this information is standard for all transactions, a printed slip should be designed for the purpose. Having received the information the cashier writes up the books of account and, in conventional book-keeping systems, the details must first be written in a book of prime entry and then copied into one or more other books. It is here that a considerable amount of time can be saved by eliminating unnecessary copying operations. If the writing up of the books of prime entry is combined with the ledger posting at least one copying operation can be eliminated. Although the finished article will not be as neat as if the operation had been carried out on a book-keeping machine, the same result will be obtained if the posting is made in longhand. It may also be possible to eliminate other copying operations at the same time by doing away with books which do not serve any really useful purpose. Apart from eliminating unnecessary copying operations, combining the ledger posting with writing up the books of prime entry also saves time in that checking the books to find and correct copying errors is unnecessary. Proving procedures can be designed which will eliminate the possibility of error almost entirely, provided the information passed to the cashier is correct. ii. Handling money The cashier must always be responsible for handling the money which is received and paid out. Cheques and cash should not be passed around the office but should always be passed direct to the cashier as soon as they are received. Cheques should not be drawn by anyone but the cashier, nor should any other member of the staff handle petty cash. The slips on which the posting information is passed to the cashier can be of great value in con trolling the movement of money and can eliminate the necessity for keeping separate records. If suitable procedures governing the use of the slips are devised, a further saving of the cashier's time can be achieved. iii. Collecting costs and keeping records of delivered bills Once a bill has been delivered, the collection of the costs due becomes the responsibility of the cashier. This is very necessary if the cashier is to exercise complete control over the firm's accounting pro- 7°

down under the strain of increased business. The book-keeping system in current use was designed in the days when the amount of work handled by a practice was comparatively small and it has not progressed as have other office systems. There are many reasons for this, but the principal one is that the majority of solicitors are not expert accountants and they would rather put up with a certain amount of inconvenience than attempt to improve a system whose working they do not fully understand. This situation continues until some sort of crisis occurs; usually it is simply that the pressure of work on the cash office becomes so great that the books fall into arrears and consequently all the work of the practice is disrupted. When this happens something must be done and there are two alterna tives. Either, additional staff are engaged to carry out the increased work or, an attempt is made to simplify the system by eliminating unnecessary operations so that the existing staff are adequate. The second of these alternatives is obviously the most sensible. Overheads must not be allowed to increase unchecked if the maximum profit is to be obtained. Having made the decision that the system should, if possible, be made more efficient, all unnecessary operations in the system must be eliminated. There are certain basic functions which should be performed in the cash office. i. To keep all the books of account, ii. To handle all money which comes into and goes out of the office. iii. To collect the costs and keep the records of all delivered bills, iv. To ensure that the Solicitors' Accounts Rules are observed at all times. v. To pay staff wages and to keep all the necessary records relating to them, vi. To prepare regular statements of the firm's financial position. For the purposes of this article it will be assumed that all the records kept by the cashier are, in effect, bound books, even though loose-leaf stationery may be used. It must also be assumed that the volume of work in the cash office is not great enough to justify the introduction of an accounting machine. Having agreed that none of the operations listed above can itself be eliminated, each must now be considered individually to find out what can be done to simplify them. i. Keeping the .books of account The information needed by the cashier for writing up the books is usually passed to him orally or on