Your Treasurer Should Not Be Confirming Their Own Deposits

Your treasurer deposits KSh 50,000 into the organisational account on Monday. By Wednesday, they've also confirmed it went through. No one else checked. No one else signed off. This is how money disappears.

The principle is straightforward: the person handling cash should not be the same person verifying it arrived correctly. Yet in chamas, small businesses, and nonprofits across Kenya, treasurers routinely confirm their own deposits. It's not always dishonest—sometimes it's just convenience. But convenience and control are enemies.

This gap exists because many organisations lack formal structures. A chama with eight members might assume "we all know each other" is enough protection. An SME with a small team might think the cost of adding another approval step is wasteful. A nonprofit might be understaffed. These assumptions are risky.

Why separation of duties actually matters

Separation of duties is not bureaucratic theatre. It's a control mechanism that catches errors before they become losses. When your treasurer deposits cash, human mistakes happen: miscounting, transposition errors, failed transfers. When they also confirm the deposit, those mistakes stay invisible.

More concerning is intentional fraud. A treasurer with sole approval authority can skim funds quietly. They might record a KSh 100,000 deposit as KSh 85,000, pocket the difference, and because they're the only approver, no one notices for months. By then, the money is gone.

In 2024, a chama in Nairobi discovered their treasurer had been doing this for two years. She was the only person with access to the bank portal and the only person confirming deposits. The group recovered roughly 40 percent of what was missing. The rest was already spent.

Banks in Kenya provide audit trails through their portals—KCB, Equity, ABSA, Safaricom's M-Pesa for Business all log transactions. But if no one is checking those logs besides the person who made the deposit, the audit trail is worthless.

What good separation looks like

You need at least two people involved: one to execute the transaction, another to verify it. This doesn't mean doubling your work. It means dividing it.

For a chama, this might look like: your treasurer deposits contributions and records them in Chamabora, the chama record-keeping app, or a shared spreadsheet. The chairperson or vice-chair checks the bank statement weekly and compares it to the recorded deposits. Mismatches get flagged immediately.

For an SME, your accountant might execute payments, but you—the owner—should receive a weekly summary showing what left the account. You sign off on it or ask questions.

For a nonprofit, the treasurer handles day-to-day deposits and payments. The finance committee chair reviews bank statements monthly. Simple, not expensive, catches problems fast.

If you're unsure how to structure this for your specific situation, accountants on Kaziiko can design a control system that fits your size and budget. It's far cheaper than recovering stolen funds—or replacing a treasurer.

The hard truth: trusting people is necessary, but it's not a control. Controls are processes that make trust unnecessary. Your treasurer might be completely honest. But honest treasurers benefit from controls too—they protect their reputation. When someone else has verified the deposits, no one can later claim the treasurer lost money through carelessness or theft.

Start small if you must. But start now. Make someone else check the deposits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my organisation is too small for two people to handle finances?

Even a three-member team can work: one person deposits, another verifies using the bank statement. If truly only one person exists, at minimum have a second person review bank statements monthly. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Consider finding a verified Kenyan expert on Kaziiko to audit your finances quarterly.

Can I use digital tools to replace a second person?

Digital tools like Chamabora or Wave help with record-keeping and transparency, but they don't replace human verification. A tool can flag discrepancies, but a human must investigate them. Use technology to make the process easier, not to skip the process.

What should I do if I discover my treasurer has been confirming their own deposits for years?

Immediately involve the other leaders and, if applicable, your board or committee. Get a formal audit of all transactions from a qualified accountant. Preserve all bank statements and records. Depending on what the audit finds, you may need to involve police or take civil action. Act quickly—delays can be interpreted as complicity.

Does my chama need a formal policy on this?

Yes. Write it down: "Deposits will be made by the treasurer and verified by [the chairperson/vice-chair] within one week using the bank statement." Having it in writing makes it a rule, not a suggestion. Share it with all members so everyone knows what to expect.