receiving department personnel count and inspect the items and prepare one copy of a receiving report which is sent to the purchasing department. The purchasing department manager attaches the receiving report and the retained copy of the purchase order to the invoice. If all is in order, the invoice is stamped "approved for payment" and signed by the purchasing department manager. The invoice and its supporting documents are then sent to the accounting department to be recorded and filed until due. On its due date, the invoice and its supporting documents are sent to the office of the company treasurer where a check is prepared and mailed. The number of the paying check is entered on the invoice and the invoice is sent to the accounting department for an entry to record its payment.

Do the procedures of Sporting Goods Company make it fairly easy for someone in the company to institute the payment of fictitious invoices by the company? If so, who is most likely to commit the fraud and what would that person have to do to receive payment of a fictitious invoice? What changes should be made in the company's purchasing procedures, and why should each change be made?The Sporting Goods Company has enjoyed rapid growth since its beginning several years ago. Last year its sales were in excess of \(\$ 15\) million. However, its purchasing procedures may not have kept pace with its growth. When a plant supervisor or department head needs raw materials, plant assets, or supplies, he or she telephones a request to the purchasing department manager. The purchasing department manager prepares a purchase order in duplicate, sends one copy to the company selling the goods, and keeps the other copy in the files. When the seller's invoice is received, it is sent directly to the purchasing department. When the goods arrive,