Reference no: EM133791832

Problem

You are the newly appointed internal auditor of CarolClifford (Pty) Ltd, a company that manufactures and sells unique customised home décor pieces. The company's products are sold in high-end stores and is also available online. Jenna Boyes, the owner of CarolClifford (Pty) Ltd, has recently noted an unusual increase in inventory losses. After further investigation, you gathered the following information: (A) The company has four entry/exit points to its factory, (which doubles as its warehouse.) These entry/exit points are controlled by security guards. Each day, a representative from the sales department of CarolClifford (Pty) Ltd enters the factory to hand stock requests to the factory foreman, Mr. Kunene. At the end of each day, Mr. Kunene files the day's actual production schedules with the budgeted production schedules. He also keeps a schedule of theoretical inventory, which he compares to physical inventory once a year. This is usually a challenge as the shelves in the factory is very full and a lot of the stock is stored in boxes on the floor, making it hard to navigate through the shelves. If he finds any differences, he requests the accountant to pass a journal entry for the stock to be written off. The accountant, Mrs Kunene (Mr. Kunene's wife), then passes the journal and signs it off. (B) Costing schedules are prepared for all products to be manufactured. For job orders, the details on the costing schedule are transferred to a 'job card'. The controls over the production process are weak.

You are required to:

I. Regarding (A) in the scenario: Identify the weaknesses in the controls over inventory based on the description in the scenario and make recommendations with regard to controls to be implemented. Do not concern yourself with detailed controls over inventory counts.

Structure your answer using the following format: Weakness Recommendation Identify and explain the weakness/(es) in the controls present in the scenario. Detail the controls you recommend be implemented in response to the risks created by the identified control weakness/(es).

II. Regarding (B) in the scenario: List the business risks to which CarolClifford (Pty) Ltd is exposed with regard to its production function.