The ABC Company has two divisions, the sales and manufacturing divisions. The president (Randy Savage) manages the sales division. Savage delegated responsibility for management of the manufacturing division to Jane Thomas. The company has a competent accounting staff and an internal audit department. Unlike Savage’s procedures, however, Thomas and her assistant:
Supervise construction,
Maintain the physical inventory,
Receive manufacturing job bids,
Approve all bid updates,
Purchase materials,
Contract shipping needs,
Bill the customer, and
Collect payments.
With Savage’s approval, Thomas has asked the internal auditor not to interfere with her busy schedule.
In the current way of doing things, what are potential frauds that may happen? Suggest several improvements to reduce the risk of fraud and improve internal controls? How would you implement these improvements?