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CHAPTER 13 The Expenditure Cycle: Purchasing to Cash Disbursements 403

3. Which of the following is true?

a. It is easier to verify the accuracy of invoices for purchases of services than invoices
for purchases of raw materials.
b. Setting up petty cash as an imprest fund violates segregation of duties.
c. The EOQ formula is used to identify when to reorder inventory.
d. A voucher package usually includes a debit memo.
4. Which document is used to establish a contract for the purchase of goods or services from
a supplier?
a. vendor invoice c. purchase order
b. purchase requisition d. disbursement voucher
5. Which method would provide the greatest efficiency improvements for the purchase of
noninventory items such as miscellaneous office supplies?
a. bar-coding c. procurement cards
b. EDI d. EFT
6. Which of the following expenditure cycle activities can be eliminated through the use of
IT or reengineering?
a. ordering goods c. receiving goods
b. approving vendor invoices d. cash disbursements
7. What is the best control procedure to prevent paying the same invoice twice?
a. Segregate check-preparation and check-signing functions.
b. Prepare checks only for invoices that have been matched to receiving reports and pur-
chase orders.
c. Require two signatures on all checks above a certain limit.
d. Cancel all supporting documents when the check is signed.
8. For good internal control, who should sign checks?
a. cashier c. purchasing agent
b. accounts payable d. controller
9. Which of the following procedures is designed to prevent the purchasing agent from re-
ceiving kickbacks?
a. maintaining a list of approved suppliers and requiring all purchases to be made from
suppliers on that list
b. requiring purchasing agents to disclose any financial investments in potential suppliers
c. requiring approval of all purchase orders
d. prenumbering and periodically accounting for all purchase orders
10. Which document is used to record adjustments to accounts payable based on the return of
unacceptable inventory to the supplier?
a. receiving report c. debit memo
b. credit memo d. purchase order

Discussion Questions

13.1. In this chapter and in Chapter 12, the controller of AOE played a major role in evaluat-
ing and recommending ways to use IT to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Should
the company’s chief information officer make these decisions instead? Should the con-
troller be involved in making these types of decisions? Why or why not?
13.2. Companies such as Walmart have moved beyond JIT to vendor-managed inventory
(VMI) systems. Discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of this arrange-
ment. What special controls, if any, should be developed to monitor VMI systems?
13.3. Procurement cards are designed to improve the efficiency of small noninventory pur-
chases. What controls should be placed on their use? Why?
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404 Part III  Accounting Information Systems Applications

13.4. In what ways can you apply the control procedures discussed in this chapter to paying
personal debts (e.g., credit card bills)?
13.5. Should every company switch from the traditional three-way matching process (purchase
orders, receiving reports, and supplier invoices) to the two-way match (purchase orders
and receiving reports) used in evaluated receipt settlement (ERS)? Why or why not?
13.6. Should companies allow purchasing agents to start their own businesses that produce
goods the company frequently purchases? Why? Would you change your answer if the
purchasing agent’s company were rated by an independent service, such as Consumer
Reports, as providing the best value for price? Why?

Problems

13.1. Which internal control procedure would be most cost-effective in dealing with the
­following expenditure cycle threats?
a. A purchasing agent orders materials from a supplier that he partially owns.
b. Receiving-dock personnel steal inventory and then claim the inventory was sent to
the warehouse.
c. An unordered supply of laser printer paper delivered to the office is accepted and
paid for because the “price is right.” After all of the laser printers are jammed, how-
ever, it becomes obvious that the “bargain” paper is of inferior quality.
d. The company fails to take advantage of a 1% discount for promptly paying a vendor
invoice.
e. A company is late in paying a particular invoice. Consequently, a second invoice
is sent, which crosses the first invoice’s payment in the mail. The second invoice is
submitted for processing and also paid.
f. Inventory records show that an adequate supply of copy paper should be in stock,
but none is available on the supply shelf.
g. The inventory records are incorrectly updated when a receiving-dock employee en-
ters the wrong product number at the terminal.
h. A clerical employee obtains a blank check and writes a large amount payable to a
fictitious company. The employee then cashes the check.
i. A fictitious invoice is received and a check is issued to pay for goods that were never
ordered or delivered.
j. The petty cash custodian confesses to having “borrowed” $12,000 over the last five
years.
k. A purchasing agent adds a new record to the supplier master file. The company does
not exist. Subsequently, the purchasing agent submits invoices from the fake com-
pany for various cleaning services. The invoices are paid.
l. A clerk affixes a price tag intended for a low-end flat-panel TV to a top-of-the-line
model. The clerk’s friend then purchases that item, which the clerk scans at the
checkout counter.
13.2. Match the terms in the left column with their appropriate definition in the right column.
Terms Definitions
1. Economic order quantity a. A document that creates a legal ob-
(EOQ) ligation to buy and pay for goods or
services
2. Materials requirements b. The method used to maintain the cash
planning (MRP) balance in petty cash account
3. Just-in-time (JIT) inventory c. The time to reorder inventory triggered
system when the quantity on hand falls to a
predetermined level
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CHAPTER 13 The Expenditure Cycle: Purchasing to Cash Disbursements 405

4. Purchase requisition d. A document used to authorize a reduc-

tion in accounts payable because mer-
chandise has been returned to a supplier
5. Imprest fund e. An inventory control system that trig-
gers production based upon actual sales
f. An inventory control system that trig-
6. Purchase order gers production based on forecasted
sales
7. Kickbacks g. A document used only internally to ini-
tiate the purchase of materials, supplies,
or services
8. Procurement card h. A process for approving supplier in-
voices based on a two-way match of the
receiving report and purchase order
9. Blanket purchase order i. A process for approving supplier in-
voices based on a three-way match of
the purchase order, receiving report,
and supplier invoice
10. Evaluated receipts j. A method of maintaining accounts pay-
­settlement (ERS) able in which each supplier invoice is
tracked and paid for separately
11. Disbursement voucher k. A method of maintaining accounts pay-
able that generates one check to pay for
a set of invoices from the same supplier
12. Receiving report l. Combination of a purchase order, re-
ceiving report, and supplier invoice that
all relate to the same transaction
13. Debit memo m. A document used to list each invoice
being paid by a check
14. Vendor-managed inventory n. An inventory control system that seeks
to minimize the sum of ordering, carry-
ing, and stockout costs
15. Voucher package o. A system whereby suppliers are granted
access to point-of-sale (POS) and in-
ventory data in order to automatically
replenish inventory levels
16. Nonvoucher system p. An agreement to purchase set quantities
at specified intervals from a specific
supplier
17. Voucher system q. A document used to record the quanti-
ties and condition of items delivered by
a supplier
r. A special-purpose credit card used to
purchase supplies
s. A fraud in which a supplier pays a
buyer or purchasing agent in order to
sell its products or services
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406 Part III  Accounting Information Systems Applications

13.3. Excel Project: Using Benford’s Law to Detect Potential Disbursements Fraud.*

Required
a. Read the article “Using Spreadsheets and Benford’s Law to Test Accounting Data,”
by Mark G. Simkin in the ISACA Journal, Vol. 1, 2010, available at www.isaca.org.
b. Follow the steps in the article to analyze the following set of supplier invoices:

Invoice Number Amount

2345 $7,845
2346 $2,977
2347 $1,395
2348 $3,455
2349 $7,733
2350 $1,455
2351 $6,239
2352 $2,573
2353 $1,862
2354 $1,933
2355 $7,531
2356 $4,400
2357 $5,822
2358 $7,925
2359 $2,100
2360 $8,256
2361 $1,863
2362 $3,375
2363 $6,221
2364 $1,799
2365 $1,450
2366 $7,925
2367 $2,839
2368 $1,588
2369 $2,267
2370 $7,890
2371 $7,945
2372 $1,724
2373 $9,311
2374 $4,719

Hint: You may need to use the VALUE function to transform the results of using the
LEFT function to parse the lead digit in each invoice amount.
13.4. Match the threats in the left column to appropriate control procedures in the right col-
umn. More than one control may be applicable.
Threat Control Procedure
1. Failing to take available a. Accept only deliveries for which an
purchase discounts for ­approved purchase order exists.
prompt payment
2. Recording and posting b. Document all transfers of inventory.
­errors in accounts payable
3. Paying for items not c. Restrict physical access to inventory.
received
4. Kickbacks d. File invoices by due date.
5. Theft of inventory e. Maintain a cash budget.
6. Paying the same invoice f. Conduct an automated comparison of
twice total change in cash to total changes in
accounts payable.
*Life-long learning opportunity: see p. xxii in preface.
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CHAPTER 13 The Expenditure Cycle: Purchasing to Cash Disbursements 407

7. Stockouts g. Adopt a perpetual inventory system.

8. P
 urchasing items at ­inflated
prices
9. Misappropriation of cash
10. P urchasing goods of
­inferior quality
11. Wasted time and cost
of returning unordered
­merchandise to suppliers
12. A ccidental loss of
­purchasing data
13. D
 isclosure of sensitive
supplier information (e.g.,
banking data)
h. Require purchasing agents to dis-
close financial or personal interests in
suppliers.
i. Require purchases to be made only
from approved suppliers.
j. Restrict access to the supplier master
data.
k. Restrict access to blank checks.
l. Issue checks only for complete voucher
packages (receiving report, supplier in-
voice, and purchase order).
m. Cancel or mark “Paid” supporting doc-
uments in voucher package when check
is issued.
n. Carry out a regular backup of expendi-
ture cycle database.
o. Train employees in how to properly
respond to gifts or incentives offered by
suppliers.
p. Hold purchasing managers responsible
for costs of scrap and rework.
q. Ensure that someone other than the
­cashier reconciles bank accounts.

13.5. Use Table 13-2 to create a questionnaire checklist that can be used to evaluate controls
for each of the basic activities in the expenditure cycle (ordering goods, receiving,
­approving supplier invoices, and cash disbursements).

Required
a. For each control issue, write a Yes/No question such that a “No” answer represents a
control weakness. For example, one question might be “Are supporting documents,
such as purchase orders and receiving reports, marked ‘paid’ when a check is issued
to the vendor?”
b. For each Yes/No question, write a brief explanation of why a “No” answer repre-
sents a control weakness.
13.6. Excel Project
a. Expand the cash flow budget you created in Problem 12.4 to include a row for
­expected cash outflows equal to 77% of the current month’s sales.
b. Also add a row to calculate the amount of cash that needs to be borrowed in order to
maintain a minimum cash balance of $50,000 at the end of each month.
c. Add another row to show the cash inflow from borrowing.
d. Add another row to show the cumulative amount borrowed.
e. Add another row to show the amount of the loan that can be repaid, being sure to
maintain a minimum ending balance of $50,000 each month.
f. Add appropriate data validation controls to ensure spreadsheet accuracy.
13.7. The following table presents the results of using a CAAT tool to interrogate the XYZ
Company’s ERP system for expenditure cycle activities. It shows the number of times
each employee performed a specific task.