Give me an example of a time you noticed a mistake in a cash transaction or counting money. How did you handle it?

Situation

During a school fundraiser, I was assigned as the cashier handling payments for tickets and merchandise. After my shift, when tallying the receipts, I noticed a discrepancy: the cash on hand was short by PHP 500 compared to the sales record.

Task

I needed to immediately report the discrepancy, identify the cause, and ensure the cash balanced before turning over the collections to the treasurer.

Action

I recounted the cash twice to confirm the shortage. I then reviewed the sales log entries and compared them with the receipt stubs. I discovered that I had incorrectly given change for a large bill, thinking it was a PHP 1000 note when it was PHP 500. I wrote a short incident report explaining the error and notified the faculty adviser. I also suggested we implement a procedure to verify large bills with a marker or UV light to prevent future mistakes.

Result

The shortage was accepted as an honest error by the adviser, and I was allowed to cover the difference from my own pocket as a lesson. The fundraiser implemented my bill-checking suggestion for the next event, reducing errors.