Question

At the Doha Zoo, access to the public is organized as follows:

There are five employees at the entrance who sell entry passes to everyone who is not subscribed and be allowed to enter,

As for subscribers, they only display the membership card on entry. At the end of the day, one of the employees delivers cash to the cashier, the treasurer counts the cash received and places the cash in the designated treasury.

At the end of the week, the cashier deposits the cash in the bank according to the deposit slip. The deposit slip is used in the journal Cash Receipts,

Also, the treasurer is the one who certifies the payment of garden expenses and is the one who pays the expenses.

The park administration discovered the need to improve the internal control system of the cash receipts system

Required:

What are the weaknesses? What are the appropriate procedures to overcome the system's weaknesses?

Answer 1

Weaknesses in the system can be identified as-

1) Weak Access System: Membership card at the entry shown by subscribers may be easily duplicated. They may be used by non-subscribers easily.

2) Certification and Payment by the same person-Treasurer: Additional Supervisor shall verify/certify payments in all categories to avoid employee frauds and for transparency.

3) Lack of Procedures: All cash deposits/withdrawals should be recorded, accounted for and documented.

Appropriate procedures to overcome the system's weaknesses can be identified as-

1) Introduction of Biometric Access: A morepersonalized biometric access-eye/finger scan may help avoid non-subscribers posing as subscribers with a membership card

2) Addition of Supervisor: A supervisor to verify/certify payments to be added for the transparent transaction, deposits and a smooth process. Delineation of duties clearly will avoid overloading single person with responsibility.

3) SOP's/Procedures: More procedures for account-related functions like recording, transaction, deposits, cash handling, receipting should be introduced. Reconciliation of cash-Ledger and Reports on daily/monthly/yearly basis is advisable.

4) Employee Training: Training employees on procedures will enable them to avoid errors and follow procedures. Motivating, Rewards and Recognition will boost morale and performance.