ACC 201 Discussion Board 04 Assests over Internal Controls PDF

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Discussion board # 2 of 3. This is the second discussion board of the course. ...

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As a small business owner of an accounting firm I would start protecting my assets from the very beginning. During the hiring process potential employees would start with a background check, mandatory drug testing and a skills risk assessment test. Satisfactory applicant would then be subject to 2 additional interviews in order to determine the right fit for the job. After successful completion of the hiring process an offer of employment would be extended. Upon hiring, the new employee would start training for their new role. Their first week of training would involve a few aspects of the control environment starting with a series of computer-based training courses covering the company’s history, job expectations, code of ethics, and policies and procedures. “The control environment is the overall attitude of management and teaches employees about the importance of controls.” (Warren, Reeve, Duchac, 2018, ch. 7-2c). This helps to create an effective working environment. Management should always be analyzing and assessing the risks involved with managing a business. With a few of my 25 employees, I would form a risk management team to assist the management staff with handling potential internal and external risks as well as threats to the company. They will also oversee monitoring the internal and external security systems located throughout the property. Since most of the job entails computer-based work with highly sensitive data, security and confidentiality would be the utmost priority. Employees would be assigned their own clients to personally work with. This would help with making sure client files are kept confidential and security breaches could be easily monitored due to limited access to client files. Cell phones would not be permitted when on duty to help eliminate fraud, keep confidential information from being stolen and/or tampered with. Locked shredding bins would also be utilized by employees when needing to dispose of secured data verses tossing in the trash bin. Monitoring of employees while off duty through social media and office gossip are a few ways to prevent fraud or misuse of company resources. To keep

accounting records for the business current, the accounts payable and accounts receivable team will require all employee credit card receipts to be turned in within 48 hours of purchase unless on a business trip, in which case they would be required to submit a photo copy via email of the receipt until they return. When processing financial statements, a three-team party will be utilized to check each other’s work to make sure no errors are present. When these policies and procedures are followed they will help the company to protect itself from potential risks. They will also help protect the companies’ assets as well as ensure financial statements are accurate.

Reference Warren, C.S., Reeve, J. M., & Duchac, J. (2017). Corporate financial accounting (14 th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning....