Each of the following situations reveals an internal control weakness:

a. Jake Bates has been an employee of the city of Elmhurst for many years. Because the city is small, Bates performs all of its accounting duties, in addition to opening the mail and preparing bank deposits and bank reconciliations.

b. A purchasing agent for Mark Manufacturing is responsible for buying diamonds for use in the company’s manufacturing process, approving the invoices for payment, and signing the checks. No supervisor reviews the purchasing agent’s work.

c. Bailey Price owns an architectural firm. Price’s staff consists of 16 professional architects, and Price manages the office. Often her work requires her to travel to meet with clients. During the past six months, Price has observed that when she returns from a business trip, the architecture jobs in the office have not progressed satisfactorily. She learns that when she is away, two of her senior architects take over office management and neglect their normal duties. One employee could manage the office.

Requirements

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

2. Identify each organization’s possible problem.

3. Propose a solution to the problem.