4-56 (Analytical Review and Planning the Audit, LO 7) the following table contains calculations of several key ratios for Indianola Pharmaceutical Company, a maker of proprietary and prescription drugs. The company is publicly held and is considered a small-to medium-size pharmaceutical company. Approximately 80% of its sales have been in prescription drugs; the remaining 20% are in medical supplies normally found in a drugstore. The primary purpose of the auditor’s calculations is to identify potential risk areas for the upcoming audit. The auditor recognizes that some of the data may signal the need to gather other industry- or company-specific data.
A number of the company’s drugs are patented. Its number-one selling drug, Anecillin, which will come off of patent in two years, has accounted for approximately 20% of the company's sales ‘during the past five years.
INDIANOLA PHARMACEUTICAL RATIO ANALYSIS
Ratio Current One Years Two Years Three Years Current Year Previous Previous Previous Industry
Current ratio ----------------------------- 1.85 1.89 2.28 2.51 2.13
Quick ratio ------------------------------- 0.85 0.93 1.32 1.76 1.40
Interest coverage:
Times Interest earned------------------- 1.30 1.45 5.89 6.3 4.50
Days’ sales in receivables-------------- 109 96 100 72 69
Inventory turnover---------------------- 2.40 2.21 3.96 5.31 4.33
Days’ sales in inventory---------------- 152 165 92 69 84
Research & development as a
Percent of sales -------------------------- 1.3 1.4 1.94 2.03 4.26
Cost of goods sold as percent
Of sales------------------------------------ 38.5 40.2 41.2 43.8 44.5
Debt/equity ratio------------------------- 4.85 4.88 1.25 1.13 1.25
Earnings per share----------------------- $1.12 $2.50 $4.32 $4.26 n/a
Sales/tangible assets--------------------- 0.68 0.64 0.89 0.87 0.99
Sales/total assets------------------------- 0.33 0.35 0.89 0.87 0.78
Sales growth over past year---- 3% 15% 2% 4% 6%
Required
a. What major conclusions regarding financial reporting risk can be drawn from the information show in the table? Be specific in identifying specific account balances that have a high risk of misstatement. State how that risk analysis will be used in planning the audit. Be very specific in your answer. You should identify a minimum of four financial reporting risks that should be addressed during the audit and how they should be addressed.
b. What other critical background information might you want to obtain as part of the planning of the audit or would you gather during the conduct of the audit? Briefly indicate the probable sources of the information.
c. Based on the information, what major actions did the company take during the immediately preceding year? Explain.
4-62 (Lincoln Federal Savings and Loan, LO 1, 4, 6) The following is a description of various factors that affected the operations of Lincoln Federal Savings and Loan, a California savings and loan (S&L)( that was a subsidiary of American Continental Company, a real estate development company run by Charles Keating.
Required:
a. After reading the discussion of Lincoln Federal Savings and Loan, identify the risk areas that should be identified in planning for the audit.
b. Briefly discuss the risks identified and the implication of those risks for the conduct of the audit.
c. The auditor did review a few independent appraisals indicating the market value of the real estate in folders for loans. How convincing are such appraisals? In other words, what attributes are necessary in order for the appraisals to constitute persuasive evidence?
Lincoln Federal Savings & Loan
Savings and Loan industry background-the S&L industry was developed in the early part of the century in response to a perceived need to provide low-cost financing to encourage home ownership. As such, legislation by Congress made the S&L industry the primary financial group allowed low-cost home ownership loans (mortgages).
For many years, the industry operated by accepting relatively long-term deposits from customers and making 25- to – 30-year loans at fixed rates on home mortgages. The industry was generally considered to be safe. Most of the S&Ls (also known as thrifts) were small, federally chartered institutions with deposits insured by the FSLIC. “Get your deposits in, make loans, sit back, and earn your returns. Get to work by 9 A.M. and out to the golf course by noon” Seemed to be the motto of many S&L managers.,
Changing economic environment-During the 1970s, two major economic events hit the S&L industry. First, the rate of inflation had reached an all-time high. Prime interest rates had gone as high as 19.5%. Second, deposits were being drawn away from the S&Ls by new competitors that offered short-term variable rates substantially higher than current passbook savings rates. The S&Ls responded by increasing the rates on certificates of deposit to extraordinary levels (15 or 16%) while servicing mortgages with 20-to 30-year maturities made at old rates of 7 to 8%. The S&Ls attempted to mitigate the problem by offering variable-rate mortgages or by selling off some of their mortgages (at substantial losses) to other firms.
However, following regulatory accounting principles, the S&Ls were not required to recognize market values of loans that were not sold. Thus, even if loan values were substantially less than the book value, they would continue to be carried at book value as long as the mortgage holder was not in default.
Changing regulatory environment-Congress moved to deregulate the S&L industry. During the first half of 1982, the S&L industry lost a record $3.3 billion (even without marking loans down to real value). In August 1982, President Reagan signed the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982, hailing it as “the most important legislation for financial institutions in 50 years.” The bill had several key elements:
• S&Ls would be allowed to offer money market funds free from withdrawal penalties or interest rate regulation.
• S&Ls could invest up to 40% of their assets in nonresidential real estate lending. Commercial lending was much riskier than home lending, but the potential returns were greater. In addition, the regulators helped the deregulatory fever by removing a regulation that had required a saving and loan institution to have 400 stockholders with no one owning more than 25% to allowing a single shareholder to own a savings and loan institution.
• The bill allowed thrifts to stop requiring traditional down payments and to provide 100% financing, with the borrower not required to invest a dime of personal money in the deal.
• The bill permitted thrifts to make real estate loans anywhere. They had previously been required to make loans on property located only in their own geographic area.
5-42 (Monitoring Activities, LO 2) Companies can gain efficiencies by implementing effective monitoring of their internal control processes.
Required:
a. Explain the importance of monitoring and provide examples of monitoring.
b. Identify the important monitoring procedures that a company might use in assessing its controls over revenue recognition and costs that might be utilized in each of the following situations:
• A convenience store such as a 7-Eleven
• A chain restaurant such as Olive Garden
• A manufacturing division making rubberized containers for the consumer market
c. Can the auditor focus the assessment of internal control on testing the effectiveness of the company’s monitoring? Discuss and support your conclusion. Discuss, for example, the level of comfort the auditor can get about the effectiveness of other controls by testing the effectiveness of monitoring controls.
5-53 (Segregation of Duties, LO 4) For each of the following situations, evaluate the segregation of duties implemented by the company and indicate the following:
a. Any deficiency in the segregation of duties described. (Indicate none if no deficiency is present.)
b. The potential errors or irregularities that might occur because of the inadequate segregation of duties.
c. Compensation, or other, controls that might be added to mitigate potential misstatements.
d. A specific audit test that ought to be performed to determine whether a misstatement had occurred.
Situations:
1. The company’s payroll is computerized and is handled by one person in charge of payroll who enters all weekly time reports into the system. The payroll system is password protected so that only the payroll person can change pay rates or add/delete company personnel to the payroll file. Payroll checks are prepared weekly, and the payroll person batches the checks by supervisor or department head for subsequent distribution to employees.
2. XYZ is a relatively small organization but has segregated the duties of cash receipts and cash disbursements. However, the employee responsible for handling cash receipts also reconciles the monthly bank account.
3. Nick’s is a small family-owned restaurant in a northern resort area whose employees are trusted. When the restaurant is very busy, any of the wait staff has the ability to operate the cash register and collect the amounts due from the customer. All orders are tabulated on “tickets.” Although there is a place to indicate the waiter or waitress on each ticket, most d not bothers to do so, nor does management reconcile the ticket numbers and amounts with total cash receipts for the day.
4. A purchasing agent for JC Penney has the responsibility for ordering specific products, e.g., women’s clothes, and setting the prices for those products. The purchasing agent is eligible for a bonus based on the profitability of his or her line of business. The receipt, demonstration, and sale of the goods are handled by individuals who are separate from the purchasing agent.
5. Bass Pro Shops takes customer orders via a toll-free phone number. The order taker sits at a terminal and has complete access to the customer’s previous credit history and a list of inventory available for sale. The order clerk has the ability to input all the customer’s requests and generate a sales invoice and shipment with no additional supervisory review or approval.
6. The purchasing department of Big Dutch is organized around three purchasing agents. the first is responsible for ordering electrical gear and motors, the second orders fabrication material, and the third orders nuts and bolts and other smaller supplies that go into the assembly process. to improve the accountability to vendors, all receiving slips and vendor invoices are sent directly to the purchasing agent placing the order. This allows the purchasing agent to better monitor the performance of vendors. When approved by the purchasing agent for payment, the purchasing agent must forward (a) a copy of the purchase order, (b) a copy of the receiving slip, and (c) a copy of the vendor invoice to accounts payable for payment. Accounts payable will not pay an invoice unless all three items are present and match as to quantities, prices, and so forth. The receiving department reports to the purchasing department.
7. The employees of Americana TV and Appliance-a major electronics retailer-are paid based on their performance in generating profitable sales for the company. Each salesperson has the ability to modify a tagged sales price (within specified but very broad parameters). Once a sales price has been negotiated with the customer, an invoice is prepared. At the close of the day, the salesperson looks up the cost of the merchandise on a master price list. The salesperson then enters the cost of the merchandise on a master price list. The salesperson then enters the cost of the merchandise on the copy of the invoice and submits it to accounting for data entry and processing. The salesperson’s commission is determined by the gross margin realized on sales.
5-54 (Testing internal Controls, LO 4, 5, 8) If a company’s control risk is assessed as low, the auditor needs to gather evidence on the operating effectiveness of the controls.
Required
a. For each of the following control activities, indicate the audit procedure the auditor would use to determine its operating effectiveness.
b. Briefly describe how substantive tests of account balances should be modified if the auditor finds that the control procedure is not working as planned. In doing so, indicate (a) what could happen because of the control deficiency, and (b) how the auditor’s tests should be expanded to test for the potential misstatement.
Controls
1. Credit approval by the credit department is required before salespersons accept orders of more than $15,000 and for all customers who have a past-due balance higher than $22,000.
2. All merchandise receipts are recorded on prenumbered receiving slips. The controller’s department periodically accounts for the numerical sequence of the receiving slips.
3. Payments for goods received are made only by the accounts payable department on receipt of a vendor invoice, which is then matched for prices and quantities with approved purchase orders and receiving slips.
4. The accounts receivable bookkeeper is not allowed to issue credit memos or to approve the write-off of accounts.
5. Cash receipts are opened by a mail clerk, who prepares remittances to send to accounts receivable for recording. The clerk prepares a daily deposit slip, which is sent to the controller. Deposits are made daily by the controller.
6. Employees are added to the payroll master file by the payroll department only after receiving a written authorization from the personnel department.
7. The only individuals who have access to the payroll master file are the payroll department head and the payroll clerk responsible for maintaining the payroll file. Access to the file is controlled by computer passwords.
8. Edit tests built into the computerized payroll program prohibit the processing of weekly payroll hours in excess of 53 and the payment to an employee for more than three different job classifications during a one-week period.
9. Credit memos are issued to customers only on the receipt of merchandise or the approval of the sales department for adjustments.
10. A salesperson cannot approve a sales return or price adjustment that exceeds 6% of the cumulative sales for the year for any one customer. The divisional sales manager must approve any subsequent approvals of adjustments for such a customer.
ClickHereForANSWER KEY
No comments:
Post a Comment