Each of the following situations has an internal control weakness.

a. Architects use paraprofessional employees to perform routine tasks. For example, a draftsman might prepare drawings to assist an architect. In the architecture firm of Lee \(\&\) Dunham, Joseph Lee, the senior partner, turns over some of his high-level design work to lessqualified draftsmen. 

b. Jim Alexander owns Central Forwarding, a storage company. His staff consists of 12 employees, and he manages the office. Often, Alexander's work requires him to travel. When he returns from business trips, the work in the office has not progressed much. In his absence, senior employees take over office management and neglect their regular duties. One employee could manage the office.

c. Aimee Atkins has worked for Michael Riggs, M.D., for many years. Atkins performs all accounting duties, including opening the mail, making the bank deposits, writing checks, and preparing the bank reconciliation. Riggs trusts Atkins completely. 

d. Computer programmers for Internet Solutions work under intense pressure. Facing tight deadlines, they sometimes bypass company policies and write programs without securing customer accounts receivable data.

e. In evaluating internal control over cash payments, an auditor learns that the purchasing agent is responsible for purchasing diamonds for use in the company's manufacturing process. The purchasing agent also approves the invoices for payment and signs the checks. 

Requirements 

1. Identify the missing internal control characteristic in each situation.

2. Identify the possible problem caused by each control weakness.

3. Propose a solution to each internal control problem.