You are a consultant for several businesses. The following are independent situations you have discovered, each of which may or may not have one or more internal control weaknesses. The names of the businesses have been changed to protect the innocent.

i In Business A, one employee is responsible for counting and recording all the receipts (remittances) received in the post from customers paying their accounts. Customers usually pay by cheque, but occasionally mail cash. Every day after the mail is delivered, this employee opens the envelopes containing payments by customers. She carefully counts all remittances and places the cheques and cash in a bag. She then lists the amount of each cheque or cash received and the customer's name on a sheet of paper. After totalling the cash and cheques received, she records the receipts in the business' accounts, endorses the cheques in the business' name, and deposits the cheques and cash in the bank.

ii Business B has purchased several calculators for use by the office and sales employees. So that these calculators will be available to any employee who needs one, they are kept in an unlocked storage cabinet in the office. Anyone who takes and uses a calculator 'signs out' the calculator by writing his or her name on a sheet of paper posted near the cabinet. When the calculator is returned, the employee crosses out his or her name on the sheet.

iii Business \(\mathrm{C}\) owns a van for deliveries of sales to customers. No mileage is kept of the deliveries, although all petrol and oil receipts are carefully checked before being paid. To advertise the shop, Business \(\mathrm{C}\) has two signs with the shop's name hung on either side of the van. These signs are easily removable so that the van can be periodically cleaned without damaging the signs. The business allows employees to borrow the van at night or on the weekends if they need the van for personal use. No record is kept of personal use, but the employee who borrowed the van must fill the petrol tank before returning it.

iv Employee \(\mathrm{Y}\) is in charge of employee records for Business D. Whenever a new employee starts, the new employee's name, address, salary and other relevant information are properly recorded. On payday all employees are paid by cheque. At this time Employee Y makes out each employee's cheque, signs it and gives it to each employee. After distributing the pay cheques, Employee Y makes an entry in the business' accounts, increasing Salaries Expense and decreasing Cash for the total amount of the salary cheques.
v To reduce paperwork, Business E places orders for purchases of inventory from suppliers by phone. No purchase order is prepared. When the goods arrive at the business, they are immediately brought to the sales floor. An employee then authorises payment based on the supplier's invoice, writes and signs a payment authorisation, and makes payment to the supplier. Another employee uses the paid invoice to record the purchase and payment in the business' accounts.
vi All sales made by Business F, whether they are for cash or on account, are 'rung up' on a single cash register. Employee \(\mathrm{X}\) is responsible for collecting the cash receipts from sales and the customer charge slips at the end of each day. The employee carefully counts the cash, preparing a 'cash receipts' slip for the total. Employee X sums the amount on the cash receipts slip and the customer charge slips, and compares this total with the total sales on the cash register tape to verify the total sales for the day. The cash register tape is then discarded, and the cash is deposited in the bank. The cash receipts slip and the customer charge slips are turned over to a different employee, who records the cash and credit sales in the business' accounts.
Required:
a List the internal control weakness or weaknesses you find in each of the above independent situations. If no weakness can be found, explain why the internal control is good.
b In each situation in which there is an internal control weakness, describe how you would remedy the situation to improve the internal control.