Question

Marge Page, Dot Night, and Colleen Walker work for a dentist, Dr. Linda Thomen, who is in a private practice. Dr. Thomen is fairly knowledgeable about sound office management practices and has segre- gated the cash receipt duties as follows. Marge opens the mail and prepares a triplicate list of money re- ceived. She sends one copy of the list to Dot, the cashier, who deposits the receipts daily in the bank. Colleen, the recordkeeper, also receives a copy of the list and posts payments to patients’ accounts. About once a month the office clerks decide to have an expensive lunch compliments of Dr. Thomen. Dot endorses a patient’s cheque in Dr. Thomen’s name and cashes it at the bank. Marge destroys the re- mittance advice accompanying the cheque. Colleen posts the payment to the customer’s account as a miscellaneous credit. The clerks justify their actions given their relatively low pay and knowing that Dr. Thomen will likely never miss the payment.

Question 1: Who would be the best person in Dr. Thomen’s office to reconcile the bank statement?

Question 2: Would a bank reconciliation detect the office fraud scheme?

Question 3: What are some ways of uncovering this type of scheme?

Question 4: Suggest additional internal controls that Dr. Thomen might want to implement.

Answer 1

1)

Dr. Thomen is the best person in the office to reconcile the bank statement and he is fairly knowledgeable about sound office management practices, it would be good if owner of the business involved with overseeing procedures this would enhance the internal control environment.

2)

A bank reconciliation would detect the office fraud scheme by reconciling the cash deposits per the books to the cash deposits per the bank but under this situation due to collusion of the employees the bank reconciliation will not detect the fraud.