AZZA Cinema Case Study

Characters:

Joe, Manager of Theatre Franchise

Willy, Assistant Manager of Theatre

Deanna, Staff Accountant of Franchise

Josie, Ticket Seller and Cashier

Bobbie, Doorman

Here is your case scenario:

Deanna is a college graduate with accounting as her major and is planning to take the CPA exam. She recently accepted the Staff Accountants position with the AZZA Cinema Franchise. There are 20 theatres that are owned by the Franchise in a widely spread geographic area. Joe is manager of all the locations of the theatre franchise and Willy, distantly related to him, is the Assistant Manager working solely at this location. Josie sells tickets from a glass cage and collects the cash from patrons.

At the end of the last show, Joe adds up the cash receipts, reconciles his sales and hands over unsold tickets and cash to Willy.

Bobbie, the doorman, collects the tickets from incoming patrons, tears the tickets into two, hands over one to the patron and drops the second half into a little locked box which Willy picks up at the end of the day.

Willy prepares the bank deposit slip, deposits the cash in the bank, and keeps the bank receipts and the unsold tickets in the office safe to which he has the only key. Willy also prepares the bank reconciliation statements and submits weekly sales reports to Deanna.

Of late, Willy has volunteered quite frequently to speed up ticket sales on crowded days by working Josies station at the sales counter. Joe has not objected to this practice. During the past month, Willy has been seen driving a fancy new Lexus to work and has also been seen dining with an attractive blonde at several of the towns most expensive restaurants.

Deanna finds from Willys reports that sales have shown no change from previous weeks, even though there appears to be an obvious and significant increase in movie theatre attendance during the summer season. This puzzles Deanna, who suspects this apparent discrepancy is being pocketed by Willy.

More puzzling, why hasnt Joe also noticed this problem? Deanna wonders if she should report her suspicions to someone in authority. After all, she has no proof. More importantly, should she go to Joe, the Manager? What if Joe is involved in this possible scam? What should she do?

Answer the following questions:

1. From what we have studied in this course, what would you consider to be the two MAIN issues described in this case scenario? Be specific.
2. What are the relevant facts? List at least five facts.
3. What are the ethical issues? List at least five.
4. Who are the primary stakeholders? List four.
5. What are the possible alternatives available to Dee? List at least five.
6. What practical considerations or constraints does Dee face? List at least five.
7. What should Deanna do?