Free Essay

Accounting Cuny

In:

Submitted By mzaman238
Words 1283
Pages 6
Case Study 2—Internal Control
Due by Sunday of Week 5, 11:59 p.m., mountain time
LJB Company, a local distributor, has asked your accounting firm to evaluate their system of internal controls because they are planning to go public in the future. The president wants to be aware of any new regulations required of his company if they go public, so he met with a colleague of yours at a local restaurant. The president of the company explained the current system of internal controls to your colleague. Your colleague has since been promoted to a tax position so she has passed on the information below so you can generate recommendations for the partner at your accounting firm to share with the president of LJB Company.
Since LJB Company is a relatively lean organization, they have a lot of faith in their long-term employees. They have one accountant who serves as treasurer and controller, which streamlines many of their processes. In this dual role, he purchases all of the supplies and pays for these purchases. He also receives the checks and completes the monthly bank reconciliation. The accountant is so busy that the company handles petty cash a bit differently. All employees have access to the petty cash in a desk drawer and are asked to only place a note if they use any of the cash.
The accountant has recently started using pre-numbered invoices and wants to buy an indelible ink machine to print their checks. The president is waiting to hear from you if this is a necessary purchase before authorizing.
On payday, the checks are picked up by the accountant and left in his office for pick-up. Before he leaves for the weekend, he will move the checks into a safe in his office.
The president is still quite embarrassed because he had to fire one of his employees for viewing pornography on a company computer. He later found out this individual was a convicted felon who served time for molesting children. The company had a hard time getting the employee to admit it was him because the company does not assign individual passwords. The president expressed his frustration because both he and the accountant both interview and approve all of the new hires.
Required:
Based on the above information, prepare a Word document to address the following. 1. Inform the president of any new internal control requirements if the company decides to go public. (7 points)

2. Advise the president of what the company is doing right (they are doing some things well), and also recommend to the president whether or not they should buy the indelible ink machine. When you advise the president, please be sure to reference the applicable internal-control principle that applies. (13 points)

3. Advise the president of what the company is doing wrong (they are definitely doing some things poorly). Please be sure to include the internal-control principle that is being violated along with a recommendation for improvement. (20 points)

You must prepare a formal report for the partner to distribute to the president, so no abbreviations or short-hand answers. You also must cite your references. At a minimum, your textbook should be cited.
Below is a grading rubric for this assignment. Category | Points | Description | Understanding | 10 | Demonstrate a strong grasp of the problem at hand. Demonstrate understanding of how the course concepts apply to the problem. | Analysis | 30 | Apply original thought to solving the business problem. Apply concepts from the course material correctly toward solving the business problem. | Execution | 10 | Write your answer clearly and succinctly using strong organization and proper grammar. Use citations correctly. | Total | 50 | A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements. |

Best Practices | |

The following are best practices in preparing this paper. * Cover page: Include whom you prepared the paper for, who prepared it, and the date. * Table of contents: List the main ideas and sections of the paper and the pages where they are located. Illustrations should be included separately. * Introduction: Use a header on your paper. This will indicate that you are introducing the paper.

The purpose of an introduction or opening is to 1. introduce the subject and why the subject is important; 2. preview the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered; and 3. establish the tone of the document.
Include in the introduction a reason for the audience to read the paper. Also include an overview of what you will cover and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the questions you are asked to answer in each assignment.) * Body of the report: Use a header with the name of the case study. An example is, "The Development of Hotel X: A World Class Resort." Proceed to break out the main ideas: State the main ideas, the major points of each idea, and provide evidence. Show some type of division, such as separate, labeled sections; separate groups of paragraphs; or headers. Include the information you found during your research and investigation. * Summary and conclusion: Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and the major support points from the body of the report; minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the subject. * Work cited: Use the citation format specified in the Syllabus.

United States worried about different company’s scandals that took place such as Enron, WorldCom, Tyco etc., after the government of America enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the year 2002 which center on protection against accounting frauds .The companies need to present its financials correctly. Before going public it is important for the company needs to undergo the external auditors test control so as to assure that the financial statements or reports presented by the company are true and correct. The financial reporting needs to be in the accordance to GAAP or IFRS and should fulfill the SOX law. (Internal control) LJB Company has been doing good job with creating an equal situation for employees .I felt that the managers and employees has stability for keeping good control within the company. Positive side is that the accountant pick-ups the checks and also stores them into safe in his office, but the manager should have the access to the safe to increase observation of the checks. Company has an accountant but instead of the accountant being the treasurer and controller they need to create a better separation of duties. My recommendation to the President that company has to be strict with the value of the employees; they should strongly consider checking the background information. Internal control has various control principles, establishing responsibility on distributing to different tasks to a concerned person, for instance each sales person should have an individual sales register. Various controls on physical, mechanical and electronic should be worked as this will reduce the unapproved use of different resources, this is essential for conserve assets and increasing the accuracy. The company needs to show their importance on following principles so as to have proper growth in the organization by separation of duties, quality of employees, bonded employees, Periods of absence. With increasing frauds of financial statement, internal control works as an effective tool for safeguarding and protecting the investor.

References:
Alan Trenerry, (1999), Principles of Internal Control
HengHsieu Lin and Frederick H. Wu, (2006) Limitation of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/306/essentials/p48.htm
Internalcontrol, http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_CN/cn/services/corporategovernance/internalcontrol/index.htm

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Governance & Management

...Governance and management Quality can be enhanced by better management practices, transparency in the use of resources, and accountability mechanisms to communities and other stakeholders.  Mechanisms for promoting ownership and accountability through participatory planning deserve increased attention. Issues of governance go beyond ensuring better management of the public sector. They include a concern for increasing ownership by different stakeholders at different levels.  One strand of the research focuses on centralization/decentralization to answer questions about what responsibilities within education systems (such as recruitment of teachers, control of budgets, design of curricula) are most appropriately located at national, provincial, district and/or school levels in countries of different sizes and cultures. The research also takes into consideration the distribution of responsibilities within particular levels, e.g. at the national level between national ministries of basic education, higher education, finance, planning, etc. A second strand focuses on management of skills development and training. Expansion of opportunities for young people who have completed basic education does not imply exclusive attention to traditional models of formal education. Attention is given to alternative models and to non-formal modes which can serve out-of-school youths. Learners in modes of post-basic education pay attention to the demands of the labour market. This requires...

Words: 6320 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Managerial Accounting

...wiL1084x_fm_i-xxiv_1.indd Page i 1/10/11 7:53:00 PM user-f499 /Users/user-f499/Desktop/Temp Work/Don't Delete Job/MHBR231:Wild:203 Managerial Accounting John J. Wild University of Wisconsin at Madison Ken W. Shaw University of Missouri at Columbia 3 rd edition wiL1084x_fm_i-xxiv_1.indd Page ii 1/10/11 9:14:31 PM user-f499 /Users/user-f499/Desktop/Temp Work/Don't Delete Job/MHBR231:Wild:203 To my students and family, especially Kimberly, Jonathan, Stephanie, and Trevor. To my wife Linda and children, Erin, Emily, and Jacob. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING Published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020. Copyright 2012, 2010, 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOW/DOW 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-0-07-811084-9 MHID 0-07-811084-X Vice president and editor-in-chief: Brent Gordon Editorial director: Stewart Mattson Publisher: Tim...

Words: 10500 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

A Comparisson of Financial Information Between a&F and H&M

...As businesses expand and operate internationally, differences in standards of accounting practices between countries have made it difficult to compare financial statements. (Chakrabarty, 2011; Gill, 2007; University of Pennsylvania, 2002) This is prohibitive in getting a clear picture regarding the financial status of an organization. (Chakrabarty, 2011; Gill, 2007) In the US, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) “are the accounting rules used to prepare and standardize the reporting of financial statements, such as balance sheets, income statements and cashflow statements, for publicly traded companies and many private companies” (Paul, 2008). Many countries, like the US, have their own set of GAAP. Globalization of business is increasing the need for a more unified system of financial reporting among countries. (Chakrabarty, 2011; Gill, 2007; University of Pennsylvania, 2002) Several financial organizations are working toward International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which will serve as a global guideline, allowing for comparison of financial reports produced by corporations regardless of where their headquarters are located. (Chakrabarty, 2011) This paper will discuss some of the differences between the accounting practices of two internationally operating retail companies; Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F), with corporate headquarters in the United States, and H&M, with corporate headquarters in Sweden, analyze some aspects of their financial statements...

Words: 2298 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

System Integrity and Validation

...A. Davis, Jr. ACC/542 October 21, 2013 Irene Branum Preface In the last few weeks the accounting firm, Team D has looked into characteristics of Kudler Fine Foods and provided recommendations to update and replace existing components of the IT system. These recommendations made can yield in the company’s increased productivity, profitability, and remove potential threats. Team D determined that industry specific software is useful in comparison to customized software. Four main modules such as payroll, account payable, accounts receivable, and inventory were developed as well as enhancement of each flowchart based on the appropriate system. Team D examined the database completeness at Kudler’s intranet and developed a pivot table; therefore, making the decision-making process easy. External and internal risks were analyzed and internal control points were developed by incorporating both risks and controls into a flowchart. Team D also showed why findings and recommendations are more useful to the company in comparison to SAS70 and SAS94 audits. The team identified events that will lessen the dependence on auditing through computer and showed a brief description how the audit should be conducted. System Integrity and Validation Kudler Finer Foods has looked for recommendations regarding the company, to include computer information system, automated process of an accounting information system, data table analysis, internal control and risk evaluation, and auditing procedures...

Words: 1182 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Royal Mint

...I. Introduction The Royal Mint has a unique manufacturing operation in the United Kingdom and also designated as an executive agency responsible to the treasury to the “Her Majesty's” Government. Its objective is to provide the government with coinage at a competitive price and its manufacturing requirement ranges from high volumes of standard coinage to individual service medals or commemorative coins. In the case of the Royal Mint, they follow a unique cost ceiling that their cost base must always be less than the face value of the coins being produced. In order to follow that unique cost ceiling, the researchers follow the concept of simultaneous design by being involved in initiatives to improve materials being used in both coins and dies. Then due to high inflation rate, the face value of the coin is exceeding the cost base of the raw material and with the help of using the concept of simultaneous design, the Royal Mint quickly mitigated the risk by changing the composition of the 2 Pound and 1 Pound coins to a steal core with an electroplated copper outer layer and has significantly reduced the unit cost and it added expected lifetime by using a less expensive metal base. II. Background The Royal Mint has a cost ceiling that the cost base of the material must be less than the face value of the coin being produced. In order to follow that unique cost ceiling, the Royal Mint implemented the Concept of Simultaneous Design to research on how to further improve...

Words: 931 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Johnson

...CHAPTER 17 PROCESS COSTING 17-1 Industries using process costing in their manufacturing area include chemical processing, oil refining, pharmaceuticals, plastics, brick and tile manufacturing, semiconductor chips, beverages, and breakfast cereals. 17-2 Process costing systems separate costs into cost categories according to the timing of when costs are introduced into the process. Often, only two cost classifications, direct materials and conversion costs, are necessary. Direct materials are frequently added at one point in time, often the start or the end of the process. All conversion costs are added at about the same time, but in a pattern different from direct materials costs. Conversion costs are often added throughout the process, which can of any length of time, lasting from seconds to several months. 17-3 Equivalent units is a derived amount of output units that takes the quantity of each input (factor of production) in units completed or in incomplete units in work in process, and converts the quantity of input into the amount of completed output units that could be made with that quantity of input. Each equivalent unit is comprised of the physical quantities of direct materials or conversion costs inputs necessary to produce output of one fully completed unit. Equivalent unit measures are necessary since all physical units are not completed to the same extent at the same time. 17-4 The accuracy of the estimates of completion depends on the care and skill of the estimator...

Words: 13645 - Pages: 55

Free Essay

Memo of Law

...Memo of law Question/Issue Presented What evidence can be found during a legal discovery and how does this affect the record-keeping policy of a business organization? Applicable Law and Ethical Standards Newby v. Enron Corp. , 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28397 (S.D. Tex. May 1, 2002) Newby v. Enron Corp. (In re Enron Cor... , 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1668, Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) P92404 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 28, 2003) United States v. Arthur Andersen LLP , 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26870 (S.D. Tex. May 24, 2002) 18 USCS § 1512 Discussion/Analysis (of Law and Facts) During a legal discovery which includes the procedures of Deposition, Interrogatories and Production of Documents there can be different evidence found depending on the area of work the business organization is involved in. An example could be that a company tried to create false documents with the intent to seem like a good investment or to avoid paying taxes. During a deposition evidence can be found that people questioned tell conflicting stories. It is crucial to be able to deliver the right documents requested during a discovery. Therefore, it is important to have an organized record-keeping policy for any organization. Furthermore, a business should keep its records as correct as possible and not be tempted to give in to fraud, changing documents or destroying important documents. A company should follow the law to keep the required documents. It would be a crime to hide, destroy and/or withhold subpoenaed...

Words: 345 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Toolbox

...TOOLBOX: 1) Inventory Management - Inventory Turnover Ratio = Costs of Goods Sold/ Inventory If inventory turns over 6 times, how many days does it stay on the shelves or in the warehouse? These are annual figures: 365/7 = 60 days on the shelves. Need a better specific Mission Statement. 2) Costs that do no change with volume of output are called -Fixed Costs Costs that change when volume changes are called -Variable Costs 3) Fishbone Analysis 4) Low Urg/Low Impt – Low Urg/High Imp High Urg/Low Impt – High Urg/High Imp 5) Present Value and Future Value PV x C^n = FV When comparing investments....pick the one that has a larger present value. 6) PORTER 5 Porter 5 does not cover the opportunities part of the SWOT ad Market Growth Potential. 7) HILO METHOD: Finds Slope (FC, VC) [(Total Cost From Later Year - Total Cost from Year Before Later)] / [(Units from Later Year /-Units from Year Before Later)] = VC FC = Total Cost – (VC)(UNITS) 2012 Units: 800 Total costs: 7000 2011 Units: 500 Total costs : 6100 [7000/6100] / [800/500] = $3/unit ( VC 3(800) 2400 ... 7000-2400 FC= 4600 8) BREAKEVEN POINT BE = [FC/[P-VC] BE ( Given a total profit ) = [FC+TP]/[P-VC] QUESTION: How many units must you sell to earn $100 000 in profit 4600+ 100 000/ [5-3] = 104600/2 = 52 300 9) FINANCIAL STATEMENT BALANCE SHEET - ASSETS = LIABILITIES + EQUITY INCOME STATEMENT- NET INCOME = REVENUE MINUS EXPENSES CASH FLOW STATEMENT ...

Words: 329 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Andre's Hair Styling

...ACCT310 - 1304B – 07 Andre’s Hair Styling American Intercontinental University Online December 1, 2013 ABSTRACT The following information is going to contain information from Andre’s hair styling. The information is going to detail the contribution margin, the annual break-even point, as well as the operating income. Fixed costs consist of the barbers so to figure that out we must take their nine dollars and ninety cents an hour that they are paid and multiply that by the barbers forty hour work week and then multiply that by the fifty weeks that they work a year and then again multiply by the five different barbers that are working at Andre’s Hair Styling; we then get ninety-nine thousand dollars as the outcome. ($9.90*40 hours a week*50 weeks a year* 5 barbers) = $99,000 which added together is one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Other expenses for Andre’s Hair Styling consists of the remaining fixed costs per month which is one thousand seven hundred and fifty and then multiply that by twelve months and we get twenty-one thousand dollars a year for other fixed expenses. ($1,750 fixed expenses * 12 months in a year) = $ 21,000 Now that we have done all of that calculations to begin answering the questions at hand we will go from 1-4. 1. The first task is to find the contribution margin per hair cut at the same time assuming that the barber’s compensation is a fixed cost. So we take the following in mind. Andre’s hair styling is charging twelve dollars...

Words: 894 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Acc Cost, Volume, and Profit Formulas

...Assignment: Cost, Volume, and Profit Formulas ACC220 February 19, 2012 Assignment: Cost, Volume, and Profit Formulas In a business, it is profit that ultimately determines whether a business succeeds or fails a financial year. To aid in forming decisions, managers depend on information presented in Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis. In a CVP analysis, information is built on the interrelation of five general components. By understanding these components and how they relate to one-another, managers and accountants can also determine the contribution margin ratio. With these factors in hand, managers can predict the contribution ratios necessary to balance expenses and maximize profits. For managers to make successful decisions in business, they need to understand the components, the factors, and how they relate to one-another. Creating a CVP analysis requires knowledge of five general components: The volume of a business’ activities, the selling prices of individual units, the variable and fixed costs of producing each unit, and the net total of multiple types of units sold. The volume of business’ activities generally refers to the total units of any specific merchandise sold, which is multiplied with selling prices. Following the income of sales, the variable costs (costs to produce each unit) is subtracted to determine the contribution margin. Finally, the fixed costs (supporting budget) are subtracted from the contributions margin to determine the net income in a CVP...

Words: 961 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Publix

...Running Head: PUBLIX CMT Contemporary Management Technique for Publix Target Costing Rationale Publix Super Markets, Inc. is a primarily Florida established grocery store chain which employees over 120,000. Currently, Publix serves over one million customers each day and is also one of the largest employee-owned businesses in the world. Moreover, the company is one of Florida’s leading supermarkets and has tailored to most cultural trends in the grocery industry-organic foods; health foods, natural foods, prepared meals, ethnic ingredients, etc. Publix grocery has benefited from great success in the industry and has expanded out of primary market, Florida. However, with the arrival of globalization impacting margins in almost every industry, the food retailing/supermarket industry has now joined the trend. International and domestic food retailers around the globe have started to internationalize at a brisk rate and open operations around the globe (Mujtaba & Franklin, 2007). The right product pricing is one of the most important matters concerning the growth of companies’ financial performance. Prices should be low enough to draw in customers; however, simultaneously high enough to cover all costs and anticipated profits. Research in the supermarket industry indicates that nine percent of customers leave and shop elsewhere because they think prices are too high. The supermarket business is becoming more and more concentrated as large regional chains such as...

Words: 3649 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Kudler Accounting System

...Kudler Accounting System Derek Gleaves UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX BSA/310 Frank Skowron December 18, 2011 Kudler Accounting System Kudler wants to incorporate an SQL database that contains the fields found in the company's Chart of Accounts. Add a balance field and create a query that will display all of the fields of the database and run a report totaling the balance field using test data added to the database. Kudler's Chart of Accounts is currently a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and they want the Chart of Accounts upgraded to the SQL database. The new database will be used to facilitate decision making at the store and department levels. The processes of Kudler Fine Foods include inventory, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable. Using a new accounting information systems, will improve these processes from the old system. Key features Intergrading the new accounting system at Kudler Fine Foods has made the company gain new key features along with adding the old key features, such as; It allows the company to keep track of customer purchases. Each time a customer creates a purchase it will register to the new accounting system main computer, and shows what items were purchased along with the price paid. This new system shows the accounts receivables, this show the money being received, and the money going out. The current system at Kudler could be improved through the automation. The objective of accounts payable processing is to pay vendors at the...

Words: 800 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Worldcom Financial Fraud

...Final Paper: Case Study of WorldCom Financial Statement Fraud Introduction This paper will discuss the financial statement fraud committed by WorldCom by examining what led up to the fraud, who committed it and why, and the impact it caused on various stakeholders and the economy. WorldCom applied aggressive and undisclosed accounting tactics to provide financial statements that reflected a $10 billion profit for the years 2000 and 2001, rather than the actual combined loss of $73.7 billion that occurred (Romar, 2006). Opportunity, pressure, and rationalization were all present in this severe example of financial statement fraud which had a devastating impact on stakeholders globally. Basis for Understanding Financial Statement Fraud Prior to taking a deep dive into this specific example, it is important to first understand what constitutes financial statement fraud. Financial statement fraud can be defined as “deliberate misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures of financial statements to deceive financial statement users, particularly investors and creditors” (Wells, 2011, p. 299). Financial statement frauds can be broken down into five distinct categories: fictitious revenues, improper asset valuations, concealed liabilities and expenses, timing differences, and improper disclosures” (Wells, 2011, p. 292). The History of WorldCom “WorldCom began in Mississippi as a small provider of long distance telephone services” (Lyke, 2002). However, due to deregulation...

Words: 3888 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Human Assets and Balance Sheet

...the business success due to their knowledge, skills and creativity. They represent a valuable resource and should be placed on the left side of the balance sheet. The benefit of treating employee as valuable assets is that companies which invest in their employees create a positive environment so that they can work and perform better financially. One example of an organization that has done this is Infosys (The Commerce Pedia, 2012), the giant Info Technology services firm in India. The entire workforce within the firm was assigned a value using an accounting model that calculates all of its employees’ collective worth. By doing this, Infosys has a significant commitment to investing in employees across all functions and levels of experience and the firm can take managerial decisions based on the availability and the necessity of human resources. After considering the influence of the human capital investment, the accounting equation should be revised as “assets = liabilities + owners' equity”, where the assets include human assets and material assets. With the recognition of the importance of human resource, it will be incorporated into the company's external financial reports to provide more reliable information. Reference: The Commerce Pedia, 2012,...

Words: 344 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

1. Why Would Any Customer, Let Alone Large Advertising Agencies and Departmental Stores, Go to Colorscope Rather Than Go to the Large Printers Listed in Exhibit 3?

...Seyhun Shikhaliyev CASE STUDY COLORSCOPE 1. Why would any customer, let alone large advertising agencies and departmental stores, go to Colorscope rather than go to the large printers listed in Exhibit 3? The main line from the colorscope inc background are the corporate was found in march 1976, the first target customers is local customers (small agencies), and after that colorscope growth significantly that thing can be proved in 1988 sales colorscope over than USD 5 Milion and they served Big Customer, since growth they invest capital expenditure in order to improve services. In 1990 when the overall technology growth rapidly and there are more competitor than before, this situation make the condition under pressure, the first impact from this condition is price war, so the market pressure forced him to reduce his own price. After all finally in 1994 , colorscope loss signifant & long term client ( where the client omset is 80 % of his business). If colorscope want to survive in this business they must reevaluate the industry from the operation to his pricing policy. Direct Competitor 1. Larger, more technically savvy printing companies with professional salespeople pushing bundled pricing, integrating pre-press services with printing in a single package, such as R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. and Quad Graphics. 2. Companies that competed in several different submarkets beyond catalogs, e.g. insert, comic syndications, and coupons, such as American Color and...

Words: 1649 - Pages: 7