Closing the Cash: A ₹1,250 Shortfall and a Disputed Deposit
At 18:20, after the counter has closed, the branch cash book shows total collections of ₹92,400 for the day while the physical cash in the drawer is ₹91,150 - a shortfall of ₹1,250. During the day the branch handled 63 savings-bank transactions, 9 money-order payments and 4 registered bookings. The clerk recalls paying a money order for ₹1,250 at about 14:00 and cannot immediately find the paid voucher. Separately, a woman who deposited cash at 11:40 returns at 18:00 saying she gave ₹6,000 but her passbook shows ₹600, and she has a counterfoil that appears to read ₹6,000. The sub-postmaster has gone home but is reachable by phone. The branch has a CCTV camera over the counter and a change fund of ₹5,000 kept separately.
1. List, in order, what you do about the ₹1,250 shortfall tonight, and state what you must not do.
Read the worked answer
Order of work matters more than speed.
- Recount the drawer yourself and have a second official recount independently, in each other's presence. Include the change fund in the count only if it is meant to be in the drawer - otherwise it is a separate reconciliation and mixing it hides the real figure.
- Voucher check: account for every paid voucher - money orders paid, withdrawals paid, refunds, postal orders. The missing ₹1,250 money-order voucher is the most likely explanation, so search the bundles, the paying-in tray and the MO paid list. Confirm whether the payee's signature and date-stamp exist on a duplicate or office copy.
- Trace the money order through the paid-list entry and the MO journal; a paid item with a missing voucher is a records defect, not automatically a loss.
- If the shortage survives all checking, record it in the cash book and the shortage/error register, inform the sub-postmaster by phone the same evening and confirm in writing, preserve all vouchers, the CCTV footage and the drawer count sheet.
Must not do: put personal money in the drawer to balance the book, alter or rewrite a voucher, delay reporting to protect a colleague, or accuse anyone before an inquiry. Recovery, if any, follows the prescribed inquiry, not a quiet adjustment.
2. The woman with the ₹6,000 deposit is at the counter. How do you investigate and what do you tell her?
Read the worked answer
First separate the two problems: her deposit is a posting issue, not part of the ₹1,250 cash shortfall, unless the count proves otherwise. Say so, because it stops her assuming her money has vanished.
Investigation, in this order: locate her pay-in slip; compare the amount in figures and in words; check the counterfoil she holds; check the date-stamp and the counter clerk's initials; check the ledger credit and the passbook entry.
- If the slip reads ₹6,000 and the ledger shows ₹600, it is a posting error. Correct it under the sub-postmaster's authority with a proper correction entry, update the passbook, and give her a written confirmation with the date and amount.
- If the slip itself reads ₹600 while her counterfoil shows ₹6,000, the slip is disputed; do not correct on the spot. Register the complaint, obtain her counterfoil copy, and refer it for inquiry with the CCTV as corroboration.
What to say: acknowledge, apologise for the inconvenience without admitting fault, give a written acknowledgement with a reference number and a definite date for the outcome, and never promise an immediate credit you cannot authorise. Keep the conversation at a side desk, not in front of the queue.
3. How do you protect both the customer relationship and the office's records in this situation?
Read the worked answer
Three things are at stake: the customer's money, the office's cash book, and the evidence.
Records: the cash book and the ledger must show the facts, not a tidied version. A correction entry carries the sub-postmaster's approval, a reference to the original voucher and a reason. The shortage is recorded in the error register even if it is later traced. The disputed deposit is entered in the complaint register with time, name, amount and the documents produced. Vouchers are neither removed nor rewritten.
Evidence: preserve the CCTV footage before the retention period runs, keep the counterfoil copy, and note who was at the counter at 11:40.
Relationship: tell the customer what you have done, what happens next and when she will hear from you; give her the sub-postmaster's name and the office number. Explain that her savings balance is not affected by the day's cash reconciliation and that the bank and the complaint are being handled separately. Do not discuss the shortfall, the clerk's recall of the money order, or any suspicion about staff - that is an inquiry matter and repeating it damages both the colleague and the office.