Last month, Rochester had an annual risk assessment audit conducted by a major financial institution. The audit, completed at Rochester’s corporate offices, covered a variety of items, including operational procedures, DOT requirements and procedures, business continuity plan procedures, and employee training.
Bill Pryor, Rochester’s director of compliance, said that Rochester has worked with this particular financial institution to complete this type of annual audit for several years now and the result has been a stronger partnership. “Audits like this one provide Rochester with an opportunity to demonstrate how we are implementing best practices in every aspect of our business,” he said.
Nowadays, as many in the industry know, audits are more common and more frequent, often a requirement of anyone who handles cash on behalf of the bank or retailer. While many may dread these requests, Rochester believes in welcoming them. One-hundred-ninety-nine. That’s the number of audits Rochester completed last year. This number doesn’t even include the monthly audits performed in Rochester’s cash rooms.
A good audit program, Pryor explained, is a combination of internal audits and third-party audits. “Our audit program is always evolving to allow Rochester to evaluate, maintain, and oversee company standards and implement procedures and changes that help us deliver our mission – with honesty and integrity, to profitably provide the safe and secure transportation of valuables while giving professional and extraordinary service to the customer,” Pryor said. “Through our internal and external audits we know we become a stronger, more secure company and discover ways to better serve our customers.”
In addition to the audit requests of customers, Rochester completes its own third-party risk assessment each year. Lowers Risk Group, a risk management company, is hired to audit cash rooms and other areas of the business. Diane Cahill, director cash vault services for Rochester, oversees the cash room audits and believes they are absolutely essential. “Many customers never come to audit their cash,” she said. “This is just another way to reassure them that we are following secure procedures to keep their cash intact.”
On a quarterly basis, Rochester completes an audit at each branch that includes ATMs, cash and coin inventory, street surveillances of its vehicles and staff in action, and many other items. Those audits are then compiled to provide key executives with a snap shot of how policies and procedures are being executed.
Whether done internally or by a third-party, Pryor said audits are critical to ensure that the company is compliant with best practices. Cahill added that it is this type of vigilance that ultimately helps Rochester better serve its customers.
