Internal Cash Control: Idaho Company

Resources: Ch. 4 of Essentials of Accounting

Write a paper that addresses the following questions:

o Read scenario E4-5 on p. 194 of your text. Answer questions A & B.

o Read scenario P4-1A on p. 197 of your text. Answer the question at the bottom of the scenario piece.

o Read scenario P4-2A on p. 197 of your text. Answer questions A, B, & C.

Include how a company could use the five basic principles of cash management to increase accuracy for a business.

E4-5 At Idaho Company checks are not prenumbered because both the purchasing agent and the treasurer are authorized to issue checks. Each signer has access to unissued checks kept in an unlocked file cabinet. The purchasing agent pays all bills pertaining to goods purchased for resale. Prior to payment, the purchasing agent determines that the goods have been received and verifies the mathematical accuracy of the vendor's invoice.

After payment, the invoice is filed by vendor and the purchasing agent records the payment in the cash disbursements journal. The treasurer pays all other bills following approval by authorized employees. After payment, the treasurer stamps all bills "paid," files them by payment date, and records the checks in the cash disbursements journal. Idaho Company maintains one checking account that is reconciled by the treasurer.

Instructions

(a) List the weaknesses in internal control over cash disbursements.

(b) Write a memo indicating your recommendations for improving company procedures.

o Read scenario P4-1A on p. 197 of your text. Answer the question at the bottom of the
scenario piece.

o Read scenario P4-2A on p. 197 of your text. Answer questions A, B, & C.
¿ Include how a company could use the five basic principles of cash management to
increase accuracy for a business.

PROBLEMS: SET A
Identify internal control principles for cash disbursements.
(SO 1, 3)
Identify internal control weaknesses in cash receipts.
(SO 1, 2)

P4-1A Guard Dog Company recently changed its system of internal control over cash disbursements. The system includes the following features.
Instead of being unnumbered and manually prepared, all checks must now be prenumbered and written by using the new check writer purchased by the company. Before a check can be issued, each invoice must have the approval of Jane Bell, the purchasing agent, and Dennis Kurt, the receiving department supervisor. Checks must be signed by either Tom Kimball, the treasurer, or Karen Thews, the assistant treasurer. Before signing a check, the signer is expected to compare the amounts of the check with the amounts on the invoice.

After signing a check, the signer stamps the invoice "paid" and inserts within the stamp, the date, check number, and amount of the check. The "paid" invoice is then sent to the accounting department for recording.

Blank checks are stored in a safe in the treasurer's office. The combination is known by only the treasurer and assistant treasurer. Each month the bank statement is reconciled with the bank balance per books by the assistant chief accountant.

Instructions
Identify the internal control principles and their application to cash disbursements of Guard Dog Company.

P4-2A The board of trustees of a local church is concerned about the internal accounting controls pertaining to the offering collections made at weekly services. They ask you to serve on a three-person audit team with the internal auditor of the university and a CPA who has just joined the church. At a meeting of the audit team and the board of trustees
you learn the following.

1. The church's board of trustees has delegated responsibility for the financial management and audit of the financial records to the finance committee. This group prepares the annual budget and approves major disbursements but is not involved in collections or recordkeeping. No audit has been made in recent years because the same trusted employee has kept church records and served as financial secretary for 15 years. The church does not carry any fidelity insurance.

2. The collection at the weekly service is taken by a team of ushers who volunteer to serve for 1 month. The ushers take the collection plates to a basement office at the rear of the church. They hand their plates to the head usher and return to the church service. After all plates have been turned in, the head usher counts the cash received. The head usher then places the cash in the church safe along with a notation of the amount counted. The head usher volunteers to serve for 3 months.

3. The next morning the financial secretary opens the safe and recounts the collection.

The secretary withholds $150-$200 in cash, depending on the cash expenditures expected for the week, and deposits the remainder of the collections in the bank. To facilitate the deposit, church members who contribute by check are asked to make their checks payable to "Cash."

4. Each month the financial secretary reconciles the bank statement and submits a copy of the reconciliation to the board of trustees. The reconciliations have rarely contained any bank errors and have never shown any errors per books.

Instructions
(a) Indicate the weaknesses in internal accounting control in the handling of collections.
(b) List the improvements in internal control procedures that you plan to make at the next meeting of the audit team for (1) the ushers, (2) the head usher, (3) the financial
secretary, and (4) the finance committee.
(c) What church policies should be changed to improve internal control?