TOPIC 4187

Description

Some restaurants use customer checks with pre-numbered sequence codes. Each food server uses these

checks to write up customer orders. Food servers are told not to destroy any customer checks; if a

mistake is made, they are to void that check and write a new one. All voided checks are to be turned in

to the manager daily. How does this policy help the restaurant control cash receipts? What are the

ethical and professional issues associated with this procedure. How could you improve this procedure

and apply it to AIS?

ANSWER.

                                                                         Accounting Information System

          Pre-numbering documents enable ease of accounting in the sense that unrecorded transactions

can be easily detected. With such kind of a mechanism, missing checks will be identified which indicate

that a customer did not pay for a certainly served meal. It’s then easy to identify which server was

involved considering that all servers have their own set of checks. This policy is important since it will

help in detecting any suspicious activities like theft and other irregularities like serving food to friends

without asking for payment. The system at the end of the day will reveal all missing checks.

             A few ethical and professional issues arise and among them being; There is an impossibility in

eliminating the loss of morale or resentment among the staff or employees a factor that can be

eliminated or minimized if the administering of controls is done in a fair and courteous manner. Much as

there is a cost-benefit win in internal controls implementation, these controls may cause resentment

and employees to lose morale in cases where the controls are too many. Controls that only have the

marginal economic benefit are likely to be rejected based on this fact. Obtrusiveness of controls is yet
another factor.  When the user does not see the purpose or need for the control then it implies that the

system is in place to check and control them. Not understanding the purpose of these controls will

obviously bring about resentment.

               A number of improvements can be done in an attempt to strengthen or make the procedure

better.

There should be a consideration in the design of documents to have a pre-numbering that is sequential

which aims at facilitating a subsequent review.

Employees should sign documents where necessary as a way of acknowledging the responsibility of

involved transactions and inventories.

The use of a computer can be used in a way that it can carry out some automated control-related

functions to replace manual control by humans. Examples would include;

 Checking all numbers for customers to ensure their validity.

 Generating purchase orders automatically and assigning designated buyers or someone in the

management to authorize the orders.

References

Hall, J. A. (2013). Accounting information systems. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Turner, L., & Weickgenannt, A. (2009). Accounting information systems: The processes and controls.

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.