Cameron Jones, CPA, is verifying that all sales made by Hicks Company to customers on account are properly approved by credit personnel. Hicks has established the following control related to this objective: On receipt of a purchase order, evaluate the customer’s creditworthiness. If the customer’s name is included on an approved customer list, issue a credit authorization and begin processing the sale.

Required:
a. Define the word deviation. Provide an example of a deviation from this control.
b. In what stages of an attributes sampling plan does the audit team consider deviations? How do deviations influence the attributes sampling process?
c. What test of control could Jones perform to detect deviations from this control?
d. In addition to their effect on Jones’s ability to rely on this control, would the following matters raise additional concerns?
1. The deviations were inadvertent mistakes and omissions made over a period of time by a number of different employees.
2. The deviations were all related to the activities of a recently hired employee that occurred during the person’s first month with Hicks Company and appeared to be inadvertent mistakes and omissions. Additional tests of controls revealed that no deviations were noted following this period.
3. The deviations were the result of intentional activity on the part of Hicks Company’s employees to increase reported sales to meet targeted earnings levels.