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Internal Control Case Study

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Internal Control Case Study #2

Acct 504 Accounting and Finance Managerial Use

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1. New Internal Control requirements if company goes public (pg. 2) 2. Suggest what company is doing correct and why ink machine should not be purchased. Pg. 3 3. Internal control principle used 4. What are the wrong internal control methods being used and Principle that is being violated and recommendations on how to improve

Good afternoon Mr. president.

I have been given some information about your interest for your company to go public. My colleague has provided some information about some various questions you have had. I will go over some your recent request as ordering a new ink machine, taking the company public and what new internal control methods we can keep and some we can enhance.

The first topic we will discuss is the request about going public. When going public there are some internal control methods that have to be followed for a publicly traded company. The company will have to follow a series of Internal control methods to adhere with SOX (Sarbanes and Oxley Act)

1. • A control environment. It is the responsibility of top management to make it clear that the organization values integrity and that unethical activity will not be tolerated. This component is often referred to as the “tone at the top.”

• Risk assessment. Companies must identify and analyze the various factors that create risk for the business and must determine how to manage these risks.

• Control activities. To reduce the occurrence of fraud, management must design policies and procedures to address the specific risks faced by the company.

• Information and communication. The internal control system must capture and communicate all pertinent information both down and up the organization, as well as communicate information to appropriate external parties.

• Monitoring. Internal control systems must be monitored periodically for their adequacy. Significant deficiencies need to be reported to top management and/or the board of directors.

These regulations would need to be followed if you are to take your company public to increase investor confidence in the company. (2)

Now I want to advise that you are currently doing some of these already. What are already implemented in the company are pre-numbered documents. It’s good to have this as it will account for purchases and avoid purchases not being recorded at all. Also the documented receipts should be reported to the accounting department to ensure timely accurate reporting. With this being said, I believe the ink machine is not needed as you already have a working system in place. This principle is called Documentation procedures. (3)

While I was able to determine what was working already, where we can improve is the area of the accountant. The fact that the accountant has two essential job duties can lead to loss and risks, as he is the controller and the treasurer. He is in control of all purchases of the supplies and also pays for them. With this much freedom, there is room for him to embezzle as he may feel that because he’s doing two jobs he’s entitled to getting paid more money or more than the officers of the company however this can be improved easily.

First, I suggest hiring another individual to help split these duties. Due to the fact that the responsibility for record keeping for an asset should be separate from the physical holding of that asset. Also different individuals should be responsible for different activities. This principle is applicably names the segregation of duties. (4)

In closing, I am confident that if these slight changes were made, you will see a significant increase in investment your company.

Works Cited

1. Kimmel, Paul D. Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making, 7th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 02/2013. Vital Book file. Pg. 337

2. Kimmel, P. (2013). Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making, 7th Edition (1st ed). John Wiley & Sons. Pg. 338

3. Kimmel, P. (2013). Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making, 7th Edition (1st ed). John Wiley & Sons. Pg. 342

4. Kimmel, P. (2013). Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making, 7th Edition (1st ed). John Wiley & Sons. Pg. 340

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