Ecoplanet Pte Ltd is in the business of manufacturing and supplying carton boxes for packaging, storage and transportation purposes to many industries. The products are made from recycled and sustainable fibre which are biodegradable. During the audit, your team made the following observations: Observation 1 – Pre-signed blank cheques Two weeks before the year end, the CEO will pre-sign 3 blank cheques to pay for urgent bills before he goes off for his annual leave. Every cheque requires 2 authorised signatories. The Finance Manager keeps these 3 blank cheques in her locked drawer. She will only complete the date, payee information and dollar amount on the cheque, and signs off as the second authorised signatory when the cheque is utilised. Observation 2 – Year-end inventory count During the year-end inventory count conducted on 31 December 2020, your audit team observed that several workers were loading up some goods into a truck. Upon query, the warehouse manager explained that these relate to urgent last-minute purchase by a major customer that must be shipped out immediately. Your team also noted a particular section of inventory located at the west wing of the warehouse were mouldy and discoloured. Question 1 Analyse the information on Observation 1 and answer the following questions: (a) Discuss the appropriate type of audit tests that resulted in the auditor’s observation on the practice of pre-signed blank cheque. (b) Relate one (1) material risk, one (1) potential weakness in internal control and one (1) financial statement assertion at the highest risk of misstatement. (c) Appraise if bank reconciliation as at 31 December 2020 would have been an effective control to justify the client continuing this practice. (d) Discuss one (1) alternative control if bank reconciliation is not effective.
CASE
Ecoplanet Pte Ltd is in the business of manufacturing and supplying carton boxes for packaging, storage and transportation purposes to many industries. The products are made from recycled and sustainable fibre which are biodegradable.
During the audit, your team made the following observations:
Observation 1 – Pre-signed blank cheques
Two weeks before the year end, the CEO will pre-sign 3 blank cheques to pay for urgent bills before he goes off for his annual leave. Every cheque requires 2 authorised signatories. The Finance Manager keeps these 3 blank cheques in her locked drawer. She will only complete the date, payee information and dollar amount on the cheque, and signs off as the second authorised signatory when the cheque is utilised.
Observation 2 – Year-end inventory count
During the year-end inventory count conducted on 31 December 2020, your audit team observed that several workers were loading up some goods into a truck. Upon query, the warehouse manager explained that these relate to urgent last-minute purchase by a major customer that must be shipped out immediately. Your team also noted a particular section of inventory located at the west wing of the warehouse were mouldy and discoloured.
Question 1
Analyse the information on Observation 1 and answer the following questions:
(a) Discuss the appropriate type of audit tests that resulted in the auditor’s observation on the practice of pre-signed blank cheque.
(b) Relate one (1) material risk, one (1) potential weakness in internal control and one (1) financial statement assertion at the highest risk of misstatement.
(c) Appraise if bank reconciliation as at 31 December 2020 would have been an effective control to justify the client continuing this practice.
(d) Discuss one (1) alternative control if bank reconciliation is not effective.
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
