Which practice is a primary purpose of 'dual control' in cash-handling?

Which practice is a primary purpose of 'dual control' in cash-handling?

• A. Requiring two people to handle cash to prevent theft
• B. Assigning cash handling to a single trusted employee
• C. Using automated counting without human oversight
• D. Signing off on cash handling after the fact

Answer: (A)

Dual control in cash handling means two people are involved in the critical steps of handling cash so that no single person has full control. This setup creates checks and balances, making it much harder for someone to misappropriate cash because another person is involved to verify and review actions in real time. The best choice reflects this preventive, oversight-based approach: requiring two people to handle cash to prevent theft. Assigning cash handling to a single trusted employee increases risk, since one person would have sole control. Using automated counting without human oversight removes the necessary real-time verification that dual control provides. Signing off after the fact doesn’t prevent issues and relies on after-the-fact records rather than simultaneous checks.

Dual control in cash handling means two people are involved in the critical steps of handling cash so that no single person has full control. This setup creates checks and balances, making it much harder for someone to misappropriate cash because another person is involved to verify and review actions in real time. The best choice reflects this preventive, oversight-based approach: requiring two people to handle cash to prevent theft.

Assigning cash handling to a single trusted employee increases risk, since one person would have sole control. Using automated counting without human oversight removes the necessary real-time verification that dual control provides. Signing off after the fact doesn’t prevent issues and relies on after-the-fact records rather than simultaneous checks.