Question

Sales Order Processing System

The customer sales order is received via phone or through the mail. Gus Grinwich, the sales clerk, receives the sales order and checks the customer’s credit record. Once Grinwich checks the customer’s credit record, he prepares the sales order. From this sales order, Grinwich prepares a customer copy, stock release, shipping notice, two copies of the invoice, ledger copy, packing slip, and the file copy. One of the invoice copies, the ledger copy, and the file copy go to the billing department. The other copy of the invoice and the shipping notice are sent to the shipping department. The stock release and the file copy are sent to the warehouse department.

In the warehouse department, Steve Rossini, the warehouse clerk, receives the stock release and Phil Denuto, the stocker, checks the shelves to pick the gloves for the sales order. Once the goods are taken off the shelf in the warehouse, the stock release is sent to the billing department. Sparky Littleton, the billing clerk, reconciles the invoice, ledger copy, and stock release to make sure that the amount of inventory taken from the shelves is the same as the amount listed in the invoice. Littleton bills the customer for the goods released from the warehouse department. Littleton prepares the sales journal and makes the journal voucher. The journal voucher is sent to the general ledger department. The stock release is sent to the inventory control. The invoice is then filed in the billing department’s file and the ledger copy is sent to the general ledger department.

The shipping department receives the invoice and the shipping notice. They send the goods to the carrier along with the invoice, the packing slip, and the two copies of the bill of lading. The invoice states the amount and quantity of goods that the customer requested in the sales order form. The shipping department files the shipping notice from the customer’s order.

Inventory control receives the stock release form from the billing department. With the stock release form, Bobby Higgins, the inventory clerk, updates the inventory subsidiary ledger relating to the goods that have been released from the warehouse. The ledger copy arrives at the general ledger department from the billing department. Dave Fielder, the general ledger clerk, uses the ledger copy to update the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger. Periodically, Fielder prepares the accounts receivable summary and reconciles it with the journal voucher from the inventory subsidiary ledger and the journal voucher produced by the sales journal in the billing department in order to update the general ledger. These three forms are then filed by Fielder.

The Cash Receipts System

The cash receipts system starts when the wholesalers send back the remittance advice with their payment. This allows Craig Nelson, the mail room clerk, to collect the payment from the customer and process the cash receipt. Nelson then records the cash receipts in the cash receipts journal. Nelson prepares the deposit slips for the funds to be

deposited into the bank along with the checks. The remittance advice is sent to the general ledger department to update the accounts receivable records and is then filed in the billing department. Finally, Nelson prepares the cash receipt journal, out of which comes a journal voucher that is sent to the general ledger department.

Luis Gonzalez, the general ledger clerk, prepares the account summary and journal voucher, which is used to update the general ledger. The account summary and journal voucher is put into the files for record. Gonzalez uses the remittance advice copy sent from the mail room, the deposit slip copy from the bank, and the journal voucher from the account summary to reconcile the deposit slips. He then reconciles the deposit slips from the bank with the totals from the accounts receivable and mail room.

1. Analyze the current system and identify specific internal control problems.

Answer 1

Internal Controls Problems -

1. When stock is provided to Shipping dept from Warehouse no process is there to record the flow of goods and confirmation of receipts of goods. The goods lost or changed in the interim cannot not be identified. To overcome, the Warehouse dept should be given Stock Release along with packing slip. (here it is not mentioned in the question, where is packing slip, i assumed it is with shipping dept.) then Warehouse dept, should send Stock release to Billing and Goods along with Packing slip to shipping dept to confirm details of goods and submit confirmation of receipts of goods

2. Shipping dept, is not infroming the billing dept/General Ledger dept about the dispatch hence the copy of lading bill, should be submitted to the same. It will help to confirm that desired goods are sent to concerned person on predetermined time

3. Craig has authority to receive cash, make deposit and share details with GL to update receivable's data. He may misrepresent data and might keep cash and never deposit in bank and later keep on rotating money till caught. To avoid, hire 1 person, to handle deposits. and cash receipts to be made in two, one copy to GL team and another in deposit team who later based on predefined policy on cash deposit all the money except one that require as per the policy. Once cash is deposited, the same deposit slip along with GL to be given to GL dept.