Question

Listed below are five procedures followed by Eikenberry Company.

1. Several individuals operate the cash register using the same register drawer.
2 .A monthly bank reconciliation is prepared by someone who has no other cash responsibilities.
3. Joe Cockrell writes checks and also records cash payment journal entries.
4 .One individual orders inventory, while a different individual authorizes payments.
5 .Unnumbered sales invoices from credit sales are forwarded to the accounting department every four weeks for recording.
Indicate whether each procedure is an example of good internal control or of weak internal control. If it is an example of good internal control, indicate which internal control principle is being followed. If it is an example of weak internal control, indicate which internal control principle is violated.
Procedure IC Good or Weak Related Internal Control Principle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Answer 1

1. Several individuals operate the cash register using the same register drawer. Weak Internal Control. Establishment of Responsibility Internal control violated.

Having many individuals have access to the cash register can lead to theft. Establishment of Responsibility is an internal control that calls for the minimal amount of people being able to do one task. This way issues can be traced faster.

2 .A monthly bank reconciliation is prepared by someone who has no other cash responsibilities. Good Internal Control. Independent Internal Verification control followed.

Independent Verification occurs when a person who is an employee of a company but not related to a task, audits that task to find out if any irregularities are present. It ensures unbiased review.

3. Joe Cockrell writes checks and also records cash payment journal entries. Weak Internal Control. Segregation of Duties Internal control violated.

Segregation of duty calls for the division of a job process into tasks that different people are to accomplish especially in relation to cash. It can help avoid fraud because people will not be able to approve payments for themselves which is what Joe Cockrell can do in this scenario. Joe can withdraw and decide not to record it.

4 .One individual orders inventory, while a different individual authorizes payments. Good Internal Control. Segregation of Duties Internal control followed.

Segregation of duty calls for the division of a job process into tasks that different people are to accomplish especially in relation to cash. By having one individual order inventory and the other authorizing payments, fraud can be better avoided.

5 .Unnumbered sales invoices from credit sales are forwarded to the accounting department every four weeks for recording. Weak Internal Control. Documentation Procedures Internal control violated.

Documentation procedures in a company ensure that the paper trail is efficiently recorded so that transactions can be followed up speedily. By sending unnumbered sales invoices to the Accounting department as well as taking so long to do so, the company is running an inefficient documentation process that will make tracking transactions more difficult.