ACCOUNTS 
16- 
and of intermittent commitments such as bills payable, 
and of special commitments, as for example large or special 
expenditure on plant or buildings. 
Speaking generally it will be the duty of the secretary 
to see that the directors are provided at their meetings with 
a summary of the financial transactions since their previous 
meeting, a statement of the cash resources at the time of the 
meeting, a statement of cheques to be drawn or bills to be 
accepted at the meeting, and a forecast of the anticipated 
collections and disbursements to be made. 
Subsidiary to the work of the cashier as affecting the 
secretary is the petty cash, which in the case of large concerns 
may involve the disbursement of very considerable amounts 
annually. It is advisable that the petty cash should be in the 
nature of an imprest fund, and that a synopsis of the expendi- 
ture through the petty cash during any given period should 
be provided, and a cheque drawn for the total amount, so as to 
bring the fund up to its original amount. In this way the 
expenditure from petty cash is brought before the secretary 
and directors in an analysed form, and their especial attention 
is called to any large or exceptional disbursements. 
In the case of branches it may be arranged for their petty 
cash expenditure to be made from an imprest fund provided 
out of the petty cash of the main office, and always forming 
part of the petty cash balance of that office. 
Postage should be subsidiary to petty cash, and should 
be treated as an imprest fund, to be brought up daily to 
its original amount. The cashier, or some other official 
appointed by the secretary for the purpose, should examine 
the postage book and the balance of stamps and money in 
hand at irregular intervals, and the secretary himself should 
endeavour occasionally to examine and call for the postage 
book, and the record (if a separate record be kept) of the 
cost of telegrams despatched. The consciousness that such 
an examination may at any time be made is a powerful 
deterrent of petty defalcations. 
It will be found also that the cost of providing printed petty 
cash dockets is amply repaid. It will also be found a salutary 
provision to couple with the use of these dockets the rule 
that no payment is to be made by the cashier without the 
counter-signature of the head of a department, or (if the sum 
be over a certain predetermined amount) of the secretary 
himself. This should apply also to payments which cannot 
immediately be passed through the books, such as advances 
(to be accounted for later) to members of the staff for travelling 
expenses. 
Statements 
for Board. 
Petty Cash,