GENERAL LEDGER JOURNALS IN APTOS

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GENERAL LEDGER JOURNALS IN APTOS
Presenter Anne Shrubshall Date FASIG 25 May 2007
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

• What is a journal?
• Why do we need journals?
• Audit trail
• Issues for discussion
• Who should create journals?
• Authorisation
• Journal protocols

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What is a journal (1) ?

• Vouchers
• All transactions in Aptos are held within
  vouchers
• Vouchers contain the double entries (debits and
  credits) that underpin all accounting systems
• Vouchers are generated as part of transactional
  processing
• sales ledger
• purchase ledger
• cash receipting

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What is a journal (2) ?

• Vouchers can also be created manually
• These are then called journals
• A journal can be input against any ledger
• Purchase ledger journal
• Sales ledger journal
• Cash book journal
• General ledger journal

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What is general ledger journal?

• A voucher which creates a transaction manually
  on a general ledger code
• Each journal must contain at least one
• Debit entry
• Credit entry
• The total of debits must equal the total of
  credits
• Transaction type on reports - GLJ

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Debits and credits

• Debits
• What is a debit (DR)
• Debit entries appear as positive (no brackets)
  on transaction reports
• Expenditure is shown as a debit
• A debit entry increases expenditure
• A debit entry reduces income

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Debits and credits

• Credits
• What is a credit (CR)
• Credit entries appear as negative (with
  brackets) on transaction reports
• Income is shown as a credit
• A credit entry increases income
• A credit entry reduces expenditure

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Why do we need journals?

• Correcting errors one to one entries
• Making allocations one to many entries
• Year end entries across years
• Accruals
• Prepayments
• Accrued/deferred income

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Audit trail

• A journal derives from outside Aptos
• How do I know it is a journal
• Transaction type GLJ
• Reference should begin J
• From transaction back to source documentation
• Who did it?
• When?
• Why?

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How do we get a journal done?

• Input by Finance Services
• manually
• electronically
• Input it yourself
• DISCUSSION POINT

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Risks of devolved input

• Incorrect journals can cause havoc!
• Distorts financial reports
• Creates further incorrect entries
• Have to be a detective to sort it out
• Can be a mechanism to hide fraud
• External auditors now take a download of all our
  journal entries

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Minimising Risk - Authorisation

• Request to Finance Services
• Journal request form (needs revising)
• Email
• Spreadsheet
• Devolved input
• Only one person involved?
• Authorisation outside the system?
• Authorisation within Aptos?

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Minimising Risk - Journal protocols

• General
• Approval to input journals
• Training
• Detail for journals
• Header record
• Reference system
• Narrative
• Source documentation
• Correction/reversal of previous journals

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Where do we go from here?

• Gather information - questionnaire
• Test out system authorisation
• Draw up protocols
• Revise journal request form
• Design spreadsheet template for bulk journals
• Guidance on web

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ANY QUESTIONS?