Timely reconciliations of bank and investment accounts are absolutely essential; however, relying on this activity to promptly detect questionable transactions that may need to be reviewed further is not enough. A majority of school districts have implemented positive pay for their checking accounts to prevent someone from attempting to increase the amount on an existing check or to prevent someone from creating duplicate checks. Under positive pay, school districts send their banks a list of check numbers, amounts, dates and payees to indicate which checks are valid and should be accepted. Under positive pay the bank will not pay checks that are not on the list. It’s also recommended that only the exact amount for the current payroll and accounts payable runs be deposited into the district’s accounts. Be aware that if you have declined positive pay you may have released your bank from liability for any check fraud that would have been discovered if the school district had accepted positive pay. Positive pay is an effective process to help protect your district from counterfeit checks.