Robinson Company Billing and Receipts System

The customer billing and collections functions of the Robinson Company, a small paint manufacturer, are attended to by a receptionist, an accounts receivable clerk, and a cashier who also serves as a secretary. The Companys paint products are sold to wholesalers and retail stores.

The following describes all the procedures performed by the employees of the Robinson Company pertaining to customer billings and collections:

1.The mail is opened by the receptionist who gives the customers purchase orders to the accounts receivable clerk. Fifteen to twenty orders are received each day. Under instructions to expedite the shipment of orders, the accounts receivable clerk at once prepares a five copy sales invoice form which is distributed as follows:

1. Copy #1 is the customer billing copy and is held by the accounts receivable clerk until notice of shipment is received.

2. Copy #2 is the accounts receivable department copy and is held for ultimate posting of the accounts receivable records.

3. Copy #3 and #4 are sent to the shipping department.

4. Copy #5 is sent to the storeroom as authority for release of the goods to the shipping department.

2.After the paint ordered has been removed from the storeroom to the shipping department, the shipping department prepares the bills of lading and labels the cartons. Sales invoice copy #4 is inserted in a carton as a packing slip. After the trucker has picked up the shipment, the customers copy of the bill of lading and copy #3 , on which are noted any under shipments, are returned to the accounts receivable clerk. The Company does not back order in the event of under shipments: customers are expected to reorder the merchandise. The Robinson Companys copy of the bill of lading is filed by the shipping department.

3. When Copy #3 and the customers copy of the bill of lading are received by the accounts receivable clerk, copies #1 and #2 are completed by numbering them and inserting quantities shipped, unit prices, extensions, discounts, and totals. The accounts receivable clerk then mails copy #1 and the copy of the bill of lading to the customer. Copies #2 and #3 are stapled together.

4. The individual accounts receivable ledger cards are posted by the accounts receivable clerk by a bookkeeping machine procedure whereby the sales register is prepared as a carbon copy of the postings. Postings are made from Copy #2, which is then filed, along with the staple-attached Copy #3, in numerical order. Monthly the general ledger clerk summarizes the sales register for posting to the general ledger accounts.

5.Since the Robinson Company is short of cash, the deposit of receipts is also expedited. The receptionist turns over all mail receipts and related correspondence to the accounts receivable clerk, who examines the checks and determines that the

accompanying vouchers or correspondence contains enough detail to permit posting of the accounts. The accounts receivable clerk then endorses the checks and gives them to the cashier, who prepares the daily deposit. No currency is received in the mail and no paint is sold over the counter at the factory.

6.The accounts receivable clerk uses the vouchers or correspondence that accompanies the checks to post the accounts receivable ledger cards.

The bookkeeping machine prepares a cash receipts register as a carbon copy of the postings. Monthly the general ledger clerk summarizes the cash receipts register for posting to the general ledger accounts. The accounts receivable clerk also corresponds with customers about unauthorized deductions for discounts, freight or advertising allowances, returns, etc. and prepares the appropriate credit memos. Disputed items of large amount are turned over to the sales manager for settlement. Each month the accounts receivable clerk prepares a trial balance of the open accounts receivable and compares the resultant total with the general ledger control account for accounts receivable.

Facts

A description of the customer billing and receipts functions of the Robinson Company is attached hereto.

Required:

1.Identify the internal control weaknesses in the Robinson Companys procedures related to customer billings and remittances and accounting for these transaction

2.For each identified internal control weakness explain what could occur if the weakness was not corrected by management.

3.For each internal control weakness recommend an improvement to eliminate the weakness or reduce the risk of the weakness to an acceptably low risk of error. Format

Weakness in Internal Control	Potential Result of Weakness in Internal Control	Recommendation to Improve Internal Control
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Etc.