Answer To: HOLMES INSTITUTE FACULTY OF HIGHER EDUCATION HA2042 Accounting Information Systems Individual...
Sarabjeet answered on Sep 17 2021
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Executive Summary
Adam & Co, a wholesaler of industrial products in Perth. Adam & Co purchases inventories from the manufacturers in China, Thailand and Vietnam. The business has centralized accounting system with network terminals in different locations. This report will analyze Adam & Co. Expenditure cycle. The report highlights some of the weaknesses of the internal control of the risk-related spending system. These risks include financial losses, debt accumulation, loss of reputation, etc., which are harmful to the business.
Contents
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 4
Purchases system: System Flowchart 4
Purchase system internal control weakness 6
Cash Disbursements System: System Flowchart 9
Cash disbursement system internal control weaknesses 10
Payroll System: System Flowchart 12
Payroll system internal control weaknesses 13
Conclusion 14
References 15
Introduction
As business scales expand, information management and decision making based on such data becomes more complex. The company system needs to be reviewed to make decision making easier from simple low-level decisions to strategic plans developed by top management. The report is administered by the general manager to assess the process, risks and internal controls of its expenditure cycle. With the exception of the smallest companies, most companies use computerized systems, also known as electronic data processing systems. This report includes the following items: system flow chart of the procurement system; system flow chart of the cash payment system; system flow chart of the payroll system; description of the weaknesses of each system's internal control and the risks associated with the identified weaknesses
Purchases system: System Flowchart
(
Purchases
Inventory check
XYZ Product required
Vendor
Received
Warehouse
Accounts Payable
Vendor selection
Digital purchase order (PO) created
2 hard copies printed
PO1
PO2
Selected vendor
File
Invoice
I
Packing slip
Reconcile and preparation of two hard copies of Receiving Reports (RR1 &RR2)
RR1
RR2
RR2
+ goods
Update inventory
RR filed temporarily
PO
Reconcile
PO
RR
Invoice
Cash disbursement
Update accounts
PO
RR
Invoice
)
Purchase system internal control weakness
Small business operators and owners know the requirement for the internal controls as well as develop easy systems to implement in their businesses. Whether the company is an independent operator or has various workers, the introduction of internal controls will make sure that business operations are more efficient, resources are not lost, or unpleasant surprises are reduced. The first drawback that is apparent in the system is the lack of purchase approval rights, which may result in unnecessary purchases or personal purchases by staff (Fauzi and Setyawan, 2018). The financial theft of the company due to excessive and unfair costs is an imminent risk of this approach. Based on the information provided in the case study, it appears that there is no segregation of authorized purchases based on purchase cost. The most significant control activities involves separation of duties, correct authorization of activities and transactions, appropriate documentation moreover records, actual control of records and assets, and independent inspection of performance. This is a serious flaw combined with a complete lack of approval authority, which provides a large amount of power to the accounts receivable staff who can abuse it to order personal items or steal in the name of product purchases. There are no new studies on suppliers offering competitive prices, better quality and/or shorter lead times (Yazawa, 2015). There may be partiality or collusion where the employee receives the benefits of a continuous order, gifts and/or rebates from the supplier. Separation of duties needs different individuals to be responsible for the different factors of the relevant activities, especially those that involve approval, record keeping or custody.
Small businesses are most vulnerable to fraud as they often do not have helpful internal controls. Businesses can also paralyze companies and try to make up for every possible surprise. But by eliminating the opportunities and motivations of fraud and theft, and ensuring that the right system is in place to stop the error and quickly identify errors and anomalies, you can stop the fraud first, if it fails, and take corrective action to reduce the loss. Many activities are under the supervision and control of accounts payable staff, and to some extent are the supervision and control of the receiving staff. The accounts payable staff controls the supplier's selection, order placement, update invoice file, update account payable ledger, furthermore inventory control accounts in general ledger (Hong and Lee, 2015). The consignee checks the goods, checks the items against the data in digital purchase orders and packing list, prepares to receive the report, and updates the inventory subsidiary ledger. The accounts payable staff who submitted the report in the...