Policy 2.3.5: Cheque Control

Effective date: April 1, 1999
Responsibility: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The Corporation will ensure proper care, custody and control over cheques by establishing adequate procedures, guidelines and standards regarding all aspects of the production of cheques including ordering, issuing, printing and signing, distribution and replacement.

HISTORY

  • This policy was updated July 2007.
  • This policy was updated November 2003.
  • This was originally Corporate Finance and Administration Policy 202.10 - Cheque Control

REFERENCES


PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

All questions pertaining to the interpretation or application of this policy should be referred to the Director, Policy and Internal Control. The responsibility for interpretation of this policy ultimately resides with the Director, Cash Management.


DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE TO UPDATE THIS WEBPAGE

Corporate Secretariat.

APPENDIX A - PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES

While cheques are usually printed only by Shared Services, a cheque printer and cheque stock is located in Toronto for the purposes of printing cheques where the need is urgent or as a back-up to the Shared Services operations. These procedures and guidelines apply to all cheque printing locations.

1.1 Cheque Control

In consultation with the Director, Cash Management, the Regional Comptroller, Ottawa will be responsible for ordering cheque stock. The cheque formats will be designed to meet the Canadian Payments Association (CPA) standards and will incorporate features deemed necessary to prevent fraud and theft.

The Manager, Disbursements (Shared Services) will be responsible for establishing the procedures and guidelines with respect to Accounts Payable and Casuals & Performers Payroll cheques to ensure the proper care, custody and control of cheque stock and for enforcing them. The Manager, Corporate and Pensionners Payroll (Shared Services) will have the same responsibilities for the Corporate Payroll cheques. These include principally:

  • Storing and issuing blank cheque stock;
  • Printing cheques and safeguarding and using signature cards;
  • Distributing printed cheques;
  • Replacing and revising issued cheques; and
  • Controlling returned cheques and cheques not presented for payment;

1.2 Segregation of Duties

The Director, Cash Management will be responsible for obtaining the required specimen signatures for Corporate cheques.

The Managers, Disbursements and Payroll, will be responsible for ensuring the adequate segregation of duties related to the production of cheques including:

  • Ensuring that employees involved in either the signing of cheques or distribution stages must not participate in other cheque handling tasks such as control of blank cheque stock, printing of cheques or reconciling bank accounts.
  • Ensuring that the cheque-signing officers verify that the quantity of cheques signed corresponds to the quantity of cheques issued and printed, and that the quality of the printing and signature placement complies with Canadian Payments Association (CPA) standards.
  • Ensuring that printed cheques will be distributed directly to the payees. The cheques will not be returned to persons involved in their preparation or to those who requested or authorized the payments. However, the senior financial officer may specifically authorize alternative delivery arrangements. If attachments accompany a cheque, these should be mailed in the same envelope with the cheque.

1.3 Cancelled or Withheld Cheques

Any CBC/Radio-Canada cheque, which is to be cancelled or withheld for any reason, will be immediately rendered non-negotiable in one of two ways:

  1. By being endorsed with a rubber stamp, "For deposit only to the credit of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation" and being deposited to the chequing account.
  2. By writing or stamping "VOID" on the face of the cheque and punching a hole in the bank account information on the MICR line.

Shared Services – Disbursements will process the cancellation and/or replacement of Accounts Payable cheques and payments. For Casual & Performers Payroll and National Payroll, Shared Services – Disbursements and Shared Services – Payroll will follow the procedures established in cooperation with Cash Management. These procedures are available on request from the Director, Cash Management.

Any cancellations, adjustments, recoveries of third party demands and replacements of payroll cheques are to be made by Shared Services – Disbursements and Shared Services - Payroll only.

1.4 Undeliverable Payroll Cheques

All cheques written for wages and salaries not delivered (for example, unable to find payee) within thirty calendar days following the pay date will be retained by Human Resources then transferred to the local senior finance officer for deposit to the credit of CBC/Radio-Canada. These deposits will be credited to "Undelivered Salary Cheques" (SAP account 22794).

Cheques for wages that are undeliverable and that have not been re-issued within 180 days of their original issue date must be remitted to Labour Canada. The remittance to Labour Canada discharges the Corporation’s liability to the payee. No replacement cheque will be issued for a payroll cheque that has been remitted to comply with Canada Labour Standard, Regulation 23 (Payment of Wages, Vacation or Holiday Pay or other Remuneration when Employee Cannot be Found). The Canada Labour Standard applies only to wages and salaries paid to employees (whether permanent, casual or contract) and not to payments for items such as work performed by independent contractors and freelancers or rights or residuals that are typically made under the Performers Payroll. The Canada Labour Standard applies to all forms of payments including direct deposits.

1.5 Replacement and Revision of Cheques

"Replacement cheque" is a cheque that replaces a cheque issued to the same payee and in the same amount as the original cheque.

"Revised cheque" is a cheque that replaces another cheque, but is issued in a different amount or to a different payee.

Detailed procedures for issuing replacement cheques are established by Cash Management in consultation with Shared Services – Disbursements and Payroll. The procedures provide instructions for the cancellation of issued cheques and their replacement and spell out the roles and responsibilities of all parties. A copy of the procedures is provided to finance offices and Shared Services – Disbursements and Payroll on request or when revisions are made.

In cases where the payee did not receive a cheque but it has been cleared by the bank, Shared Services – Disbursements and Payroll must first obtain a statutory declaration or letter of undertaking from the payee. Cash Management will then obtain a reimbursement of funds from the bank. Cash Management will advise Shared Services – Disbursements when to issue a replacement cheque.

1.6 Cheques not Presented for Payment

Cash Management will be responsible for accounting for and cancelling cheques not claimed by the payee, as follows:

  • The value of all stale-dated cheques remaining in the various "Cheques Written/Not Cleared Accounts" at year-end will be transferred to the "Reserve for Unclaimed Cheques".
  • Cheques outstanding for more than five years will be voided from the cheque registers and the value will be taken into income under "Cheques not Claimed by the Beneficiary".
  • Any request to replace cheques written-off must be authorized by the Director, Cash Management. These cheques will be charged against income under "Cheques not Claimed by the Beneficiary".

Search highlight tool