Abby Bergen has recently been hired as the manager of Stella’s Coffee, a national chain of franchised coffee shops. During her first month as store manager, Abby encountered the following internal control situations:
a. Since only one employee uses the cash register, that employee is responsible for counting the cash at the end of the shift and verifying that the cash in the drawer matches the amount of cash sales recorded by the cash register. Abby expects each cashier to balance the drawer to the penny every time—no exceptions.
b. Abby caught an employee putting a case of single-serving tea bags in her car. Not wanting to create a scene, Abby smiled and said, “I don’t think you’re putting those tea bags on the right shelf. Don’t they belong inside the coffee shop?” The employee returned the tea bags to the stockroom.
c. Stella’s Coffee has one cash register. Prior to Abby’s joining the coffee shop, each employee working on a shift would take a customer order, accept payment, and then prepare the order. Abby made one employee on each shift responsible for taking orders and accepting the customer’s payment. Other employees prepare the orders.