Introduction
Tallahassee Bean Counters has never been audited therefore giving employees the freedom to commit frauds without fear of being caught. Internal controls have also been identified to be weak creating loopholes for fraudulent employees to perpetuate and execute frauds. The recent letter that Franklin Kennedy received from an unknown person indicating that there might be some fraudulent activities that are going on, coupled with the lack of whistle-blowing channels prompts an audit to be carried out to ascertain whether the rumors are true. The fact that the owner of the club has left the entire management to his associate is reason enough to believe that the associate can be tempted to carry out fraudulent activities.
It is therefore important to carry out an audit of the activities of the club to highlight areas where fraudulent activities can take place, people who are most likely to be fraudulent, and also get to know where the control systems are weak.
Areas Where Frauds Could Have Occurred
There are several areas where one can raise a red flag as concerns the operations that are carried out in a manner that increase the probability of frauds occurring. In the ticket booth, the women who work there have been working together for 20years and their husbands attend each game, but it is not clear whether they pay for the tickets. There is a possibility that the women have devised a way that their husbands, and probably some of their friends, enter without paying for the tickets. Of importance also to note is that attendance is just but guesswork that is done solely depending on the number of tickets sold at the gate where nobody ensures that each person is issued with a ticket. It is possible that some clients are not issued with tickets.
At the parking lot, it is discovered that workers are expected to receive money from the clients and place the tickets under the windshield wiper, but there is nobody to ensure that the right tickets are placed there if they are placed there at all. The people issuing the tickets can easily receive money for a larger vehicle and issue a receipt for smaller vehicles or go without placing the receipt at all. One hour into the game, the parking people leave and there is no system in place to account for vehicles that arrive after that time.
The programs issue is also another area where fraud can easily be perpetrated due to a lack of proper controls. To begin with, the specific number of programs purchased is not taken into account at the beginning of the season. Besides, actual inventory at the end of every game is not taken therefore making the number of programs sold hard to determine with certainty. Since Ben and Candice divide the number of tickets issued by the selling price to get the number of programs sold, therefore using the information from the salespeople, salespeople may fail to issue receipts for some programs and keep the money received.
In conjunction with that, it can easily be noted that Phil Ackers conducts all the promotions almost alone and simply brings the revenue to Michele, hence posing a great probability that all the money collected might not be accounted for. On top of that, Phil just brings the receipts of expenses for payment, and their authenticity is not confirmed yet can easily collude with the supplier given that he uses the same suppliers each time. Similarly, since Julie took over manning the concessions store it was noted that the inventory started going low though nothing was missed. This leaves us with questions of why the inventories are low compared to previous times.
Furthermore, the collection of the timesheets from various departments, the calculation of the time worked, and the amount due to each employee per month is done by Candace Larson, and the only thing done by ADC is just disbursement of the money. The use of hiring ADC is questionable since what they are doing can easily be done by internal staff without necessarily involving help from outside. On the other hand, apart from the supervisors who sign on the worksheets no other person confirms the details of the worksheet, and the workers can easily collude with the supervisors to increase their earnings. The bidding process also raises eyebrows since the bids were kept in Phil’s office, and he was to be the overseer of the project he could have had a vested interest in the bidding process.
People Who Could Have Committed Frauds
After conducting an initial overview of how operations are carried out at Tallahassee bean counters, some people come out as suspects who need further investigation as they are in a position of committing fraud due to their lifestyles or their duties at work. Ben Hill raises suspicion on the way he conducts his private life where it is revealed that he is a partying man who likes fancy dressing.
On top of that, Ben oversees a collection of revenue from almost all revenue-earning activities of the team and keeps the same in his office before depositing is done. His fancy lifestyle requires high spending, and he has access to the company money therefore he may be tempted to play foul. Besides, it is Ben who chooses which vendor will supply equipment after receiving orders from either Sam or Tucker Johnson and he can easily collude with the vendors to hike prices.
On the same note, Tucker Johnson hire Sam McCarty to help him with the paperwork which Johnson has a phobia of. McCarty maintains inventory for equipment, orders for equipment, and receives the equipment when they arrive without anybody supervising him. Given that his salary is not that good and the possibility of ordering more than required or manipulating the inventories without being discovered, chances are that he will want to make extra income by forging the documents.
Phil Ackers comes out also like the other person who is likely to have fraudulent activities given that the management of the team is entirely left in his care. He organizes fundraising activities, and nobody oversees how he carries out his work. The recent hiring of his niece as the assistant also raises more questions than answers coupled with the fact that Julie his niece, has taken over more duties than she is supposed to do. Julie has also taken over the accounts receivables which have been increasing while the concessions inventory is done periodically presenting her as another suspect.
Control Weaknesses
When counter-checking cash at hand with the amount in the register, another person other than the ones who collected the money should be present, but when Holy Hope and other workers are doing this the body is present to oversee them.
They can collude and eliminate any evidence that may be available. In conjunction with that, the selling of game tickets is left to various people at the same time instead of harmonizing them which creates a lot of leeways for fraud perpetration. It is also noted that Phil, Ben, and Michele are the only ones responsible for the collection and deposits of money always which is risky for they can collude having worked together for a long time. Employees should be alternated to various workstations to increase productivity and decrease chances of collusion, but Myrna Myers and the three women have been working together for the last 20 years. There is overlapping of roles as equipment of orders is done by either Tucker or McCarty and nobody recognizes or questions this.
Additional Materials Required
Financial statements for the previous year are required for comparison together with the balance sheet since they can give an insight into the trends of revenue and expenses. Expenditure invoices and bills will also be of great help in ascertaining the expenses in the journals.
Conclusion
Tallahassee Bean Counters has got many openings for fraudulent activities to take place; therefore, a regular audit is required to minimize the frauds that may be taking place. Furthermore, ADC has a negligible role in the team, yet it is paid for duties that can be done internally therefore it is important if the ownership of ADC is checked to know if there are any links with any of the managers. Financial matters in any firm require care and accountability which should be the case in TBC.