Question

Shiny Happy Windows Co. (SHW) is a window cleaning company. Customers’ windows are cleaned monthly, and the window cleaner then posts a stamped addressed envelope for payment through the customer’s front door.

SHW has a large number of receivable balances and these customers pay by cheque or cash, which is received in the stamped addressed envelopes by mail. The following procedures are applied to the cash received cycle:

1. A junior clerk from the accounting department opens the mail, and if any cheques or cash have been sent, she records the receipts in the cash received log and then places all the monies into the locked cash box.
2. The contents of the cash box are counted each day, and every few days these sums are deposited at the bank by whichever member of the accounting team is available.
3. The cashier records the details of the cash received into the cash receipts journal and also updates the sales ledger.
4. Usually on a monthly basis, the cashier performs a bank reconciliation, which he then files. If he misses a month, he then catches this up in the following month’s reconciliation.

Which of the following are deficiencies with this process?

A junior clerk from the accounting department opens the mail.

When the mail is opened, any cheques or cash that have been sent are recorded in a cash log.

Cash receipts are kept in a locked cash box.

The contents of the cash box are counted each day.

Every few days cash receipts are deposited at the bank.

The cashier records the details of the cash received into the cash receipts journal and also updates the sales ledger.

Usually on a monthly basis, the cashier performs a bank reconciliation, which he then files.

Answer 1

The following are the deficiencies:

1. A junior clerk from the accounting department opens the mail. [ She opens the mail unsupervised which can result in cash being misappropriated]

2. Cash receipts are kept in a locked cash box [ A small locked box is not enough to secure considerable cash receipts and can easily be stolen]

3. Every few days cash receipts are deposited at the bank.[ Must be banked everyday else can be stolen or misappropriated]

4. The cashier records the details of the cash received into the cash receipts journal and also updates the sales ledger.[ The is result of weak segregation of duties as one individual is performing two conflicting duties and any incorrect entry will impact both the books]

5. Usually on a monthly basis, the cashier performs a bank reconciliation, which he then files. [ Bank reconciliations must be performed by a senior finance department employee. Also it must be performed frequently to identify any errors]