Weaknesses In Inventory Count Procedures, Bank Reconciliation Errors And Control Procedures, Tests Of Controls In Accounts Payable Area

Identifying weaknesses in inventory count procedures

Question:

1)

You, the auditor, attended the inventory count (stocktake) of your client Smith Equipment and observed the following during the count:

1. Warehouse staff counted specific areas of the stock as determined by the warehouse supervisor ; staff members ,including the warehouse supervisor , were allocated their own area to count on their own.
2. Several blank sheets of paper were issued to each member of staff doing the counting.
3. Staff was instructed to write down the stock description and number counted.
4. Staff was told to write the stock quantities in pencil on the sheets to ensure errors could be corrected.
5. Any staff that completed a section early was allocated to another area to help out one of the other staff.
6.The supervisor collected all sheets at the end of the count to finalise the stock count.

Required:
Identify the weaknesses in the stocktake procedures above and identify how they could be improved.

2)
You, the auditor, have spent 5 years as an auditor. In this time you have come across numerous  errors in performing bank reconciliations. The following are some of these errors:
1. An unreconciled item of $340 was on the final bank reconciliation of the client and was deemed by the client to be immaterial.
2.Two deposits totalling $4070 relating to accounts receivable were collected on 3July (30 June year end) but recorded as cash receipts on 30 June.
3.An amount from an associate company of $40,000 was banked 2 days before the end of the year in the client’s bank account and then paid back 1 week after the end of the year.
4.A cheque for $6,000 was omitted from the outstanding cheque list on the bank reconciliation at 30 June. It cleared the bank on the 14 August.
5.A bank transfer of $20,000 was included as a deposit in transit at 30 June in the accounting records.

Required:
(a) what control should be implemented to reduce the likelihood of each of the above?
(b) What is an audit procedure to detect or prevent each of the above?

3)

The following is an extract from a working paper containing the results of the tests of controls in the accounts payable area:

Test                                                          Result                                                                 Conclusion Selected a number of supplier           Six out of 50 invoices tested had                   Accepted as the invoices and checked that the           not been authorised. Incorrect discounts     errors in the pricing and discounts have been        were recorded for these invoices. A follow   discounts claimed reviewed and authorised by the         up of the four incorrect invoices did not     were immaterial. Purchasing manager                             not highlight a pattern or specific reason for the errors.

Required:
(a) Identify the key assertion addressed by the test procedure.
(b) Provide an explanation as to why the conclusion reached is appropriate or inappropriate.
(c) Outline the key control procedure

Stock taking procedures to be followed:

a) The auditor should have counted the stock himself or should have got that done through his staff.

b) The reasons for the issue of the blank sheets must be ascertained. As such this could have been done in order to ensure that the discrepancy is duly noted down

c) Writing down the stock description along with the count seems sensible

d) The staff should have written down the discrepancies in pen so that they could not have been erased. The responsibility of the staff of the auditor is to highlight the discrepancies and report them to the management and the shareholders.

The following are the weaknesses observed:

a) The stock sheets should have been checked and ensured that they are up to date.

Common errors in bank reconciliation

b) It must have been ensured that the product costs are up to date

c) The unit sizes should have been checked

d) The records of the last stock taking should have been taken into account

(My business, 2015)

 e) The stock in respect of whom the invoice has been issued but is still there in the warehouse must be recorded.

f) Ensure that there are separate labels and shelves for the different stock that has been received. And ensure that the same have been duly accounted for.

g) The following must be given to the staff of the auditor:

a) Clipboards

b) Stock sheet

c) Write off sheets

d) Pens

e) Calculators

f) Hand held scanners

h) The inventory must be hand counted and no estimation must be done. All the boxes must be opened and thoroughly checked.

i) The use of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones etc must be discouraged

j) The inventories must be checked as against the accounting records and re-checked for the discrepancies. The note must be prepared for the variances and the necessary follow up must be done.

k) Once the stock has been finalised, the inventory recorded should be updated in the accounting packages

An inventory or the stock taking auditing has to be very well planned so that there is minimum disruption, the inventory records are accurate and the information could be used so as to make more informed decisions.

(Smith, 2015)

Controls on reconciliations:

1. Each and every item must be checked for the reconciliation
2. The cash receipts and the payments must be thoroughly reconciled with the cash and bank account
3. The transactions entered into with the associate companies have to be eliminated and so, must be cross verified during the time of audit
4. The bank reconciliation statement must be prepared
5. The bank reconciliation statement must be prepared

The following are the procedures that could be followed when it comes to reconciliation of accounts:

a) Ensure that all the appropriate accounts have been reconciled and this includes the new accounts

b) Ensure that there is an overall reconciliation policy that must be very well adhered to and is followed across the company.

c) Ensure that the reconciliation includes the tile, description of the account, the procedures and the instruction with regard to how to complete the reconciliation.

d) The supporting’s of the account balances must be documented and reconciled.

The account reconciliations must be accurate:

a) The person who is preparing the account reconciliation must know what a reconciliation is and how it should be prepared. In order to illustrate this, the cash accounts will have a general ledge and a bank statement so as to perform the reconciliation

b) Ensure that the balances that are being reconciled are correct and mostly updated

c) Ensure that the reconciliation actually supports the balances and is not just a repeat of the general ledge or the roll forward of the balance

d) Ensure that the reconciliation contains only the usual balances and not the unusual balances

The account reconciliation must be complete and reviewed regularly

a) Due dates must be created for the reconciliations

b) There must be a mechanism for the tracking status of the reconciliations

c) There must be a high risk for the reconciliations that due early and so, the potential problems must be identified.

d) The unidentified differences must be reviewed and the necessary adjustments must be posted till the time accounting period is open

Control procedures to reduce likelihood of errors

The account reconciliation must support the accounting principle

a) The reconciliations must follow the local principles of accounting

b) Ensure that the reconciliations are objective and that they identify the unidentified differences that are consistent and that the transactions are behind the general ledge balance followed by the convention of conservatism

c) The reconciliations must be as per the policy of the company

The procedures must be reviewed and improved on a regular basis:

a) The policy of the account reconciliation must be reviewed so as to ensure that it accurately reflects the position of the company

b) The overall process must be identified so as to drive the quality and timeliness

c) The procedures for reconciliation must be reviewed.

d) The standard templates for the different types of the reconciliations must be reviewed for consistency and accuracy and completeness

All the errors can be realised when the statement of reconciliation is prepared.

(Accounting Web, 2015)

(OMH, 2015)

Controls on purchase discounts:

Many of the small businesses find the mistakes in purchases and accounts payable and this proves very costly for the business. This is the time when very careful attention is required and there must be internal controls on the same within the payment systems. It needs to be made sure that there are very careful and written procedures when it comes to accounts and payments so as to ensure that the staff knows all the processes that they are expected to follow.

Some of the most important processes that must be laid down are as follows:

a) Documenting all the procedures for purchases and the accounts payable.

b) Ensuring all the payments are in original invoices only and are not in photocopies or faxes. This is done so as to ensure that the amounts are not paid more than once.

c) After the payment has been made, ensure that the document is stamped so that the same cannot be misused.

(CPA Australia, 2015)

1. With regard to the case given, the given assertion is wrong since, the discounts should have been taken into account even when they were minimal.

2. Even when the purchase discounts were immaterial, the errors should not have been taken place. Each and every amount has to be duly authorised by the purchase manager.

3. The following must be adhered to when dealing with the purchases:

 a) Approvals: there must be a set of guidelines that must be followed when it comes to making the purchases and receiving the shipments. There must be a checklist that includes the names that are required in each of the case and the process. The auditor must and must ensure that there are appropriate signatures and the dates must also be verified so as to maintain an integrity for the process of an approval.

b) Validation of the vendor: the suitability of the vendors plays a very important when it comes to assessing the profitability of the company, the auditor must adhere to the guidelines and ensure that only the approved vendors are selected when it comes to making the purchases. The process of purchases must include choosing the vendors that offer a good quality of the inventory and the timing of the deliveries and the pricing. There must be a procedure for the reviewing of the vendor selection process so as to ensure that the purchase process is up to date. There must be methods to ensure that the vendors continue to meet the criteria of the company

c) Assessment of the quality: there must be a process that should be used to check the quality of the merchandise from time to time. During the process of audit, there must be a checklist to review the processes and then the reports of the inventory must be compared with the returns of the customer. The faults that are discovered during the delivery must then be checked.

d) Communication: there must be an adequate communication between the company and the vendors. The internal communications must also be checked so as to ensure accuracy and timeliness. All the departments and the employees must have a clear idea of the procurement processes from the accounting to the warehousing receiving and these must be checked during the process of audit.

(Small Chron, 2015)

References:

Accountingweb.com, (2012). Best Practices for the Account Reconciliation Process | Accounting WEB. [Online] Available at: https://www.accountingweb.com/article/best-practices-account-reconciliation-process/219543 [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].

Mybusiness1st.co.uk, (2015). Stock Taking Procedure – My Business 1st. [online] Available at: https://www.mybusiness1st.co.uk/Your-Finance/Costs-profit/Stocktaking/Reviewing-your-Stock-Taking-System [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].

Omh.ny.gov, (2015). Top Ten Internal Controls to Prevent And Detect Fraud!. [Online] Available at: https://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/resources/internal_control_top_ten.html [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].

Small Business – Chron.com, (2015). A Checklist for a Purchasing-Process Audit. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/checklist-purchasingprocess-audit-45378.html [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].

Smith, H. and Smith, H. (2015). 7 steps to a successful stock take. [Online] The Pulse Australia. Available at: https://myob.com.au/7-steps-to-a-successful-stock-take/ [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].

www.cpaaustralia.com.au, (2015). Internal controls. [Online] Available at: https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/business/internal-controls-for-small-business.pdf [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015].