Use Microsoft Excel to perform the following tasks:
When workers arrive for their shift, they pull their time cards from a holder near the door and keep the time card with them during the day to complete the start and end times of their work day. On Friday, the time cards are removed from the holder and taken to payroll by any employee who is not busy that morning. If there were any pay rate changes for the payroll period due to raises or promotions, the manager calls the payroll department to inform payroll of these rate changes.
Using the rate changes and the time cards, the payroll department prepares the checks from the regular bank account of the Flozner Company. The manager of the payroll department signs the checks, and the checks are then forwarded to each department manager for distribution to employees.
Required:
Describe any improvements you would suggest to strengthen the payroll internal controls at Flozner.
When a new employee is hired, the human resources department completes a personnel action form and forwards it to the payroll department. The form contains information such as pay rate, number of exemptions for tax purposes, and the type and amount of payroll deductions. When an employee is terminated or voluntarily separates from Alomna, the human resources department completes a personnel action form to indicate separation and forwards it to the payroll department.
Each employee in the production department maintains his own time card weekly. Employees fill out their time cards in ink each day, and at the end of the week, the time cards are forwarded to the payroll department. Employees in the payroll department use the time cards and employee records to prepare a weekly paycheck for each employee who has turned in a time card. A copy of the payroll checks is forwarded to the accounts payable department, and the original payroll checks are forwarded to the cash disbursements department to be signed. The payroll department updates the payroll subsidiary ledger. After the paychecks are signed, they are given to department supervisors to distribute. Any unclaimed checks are returned to the payroll department.
Required:
When a user department determines that it may be necessary to purchase a new fixed asset, the departmental manager prepares an asset request form. When completing the form, the manager must describe the fixed asset, the advantages or efficiencies offered by the asset, and estimates of costs and benefits. The asset request form is forwarded to the director of finance. Personnel in the finance department review estimates of costs and benefits and revise these if necessary. A discounted cash flow analysis is prepared and forwarded to the vice president of operations, who reviews the asset request forms and the discounted cash flow analysis, and then interviews user department managers if she feels it is warranted. After this review, she selects assets to purchase until she has exhausted the funds in the capital budget.
When an asset purchase has been approved by the VP of operations, a buyer looks up prices and completes a purchase order. The purchase order is mailed to the vendor, and a copy is forwarded to accounts payable. The fixed asset is delivered directly to the user department so that it can be installed and used as quickly as possible. The user department completes a receiving report and forwards a copy to accounts payable. If the invoice, purchase order, and receiving report match, payment is approved and cash disbursements prepares and mails a check.
The accounts payable department updates the accounts payable subsidiary ledger and the fixed asset spreadsheet file.
Required:
The purchasing agent assigned to purchase the fixed assets begins phoning vendors until she finds a vendor selling the requested asset. The purchase order is prepared and mailed to the vendor. Vendors are instructed to deliver the fixed asset to the requesting department.
A copy of the invoice is forwarded to the fixed asset department to record the asset details. Personnel determine the estimated life and salvage value by looking up the last similar asset purchase and using the previous estimated life and salvage value.
Required:
Describe any improvements you would suggest to strengthen the fixed asset internal controls at Grundoll.
When a departmental supervisor needs a new item of machinery or equipment, he or she must initiate a purchase request. The acquisition proposal must be presented to the plant manager. If the plant manager agrees with the need, he must review the corporate budget allocation for his plant to determine the availability of funds to cover the acquisition. If the allocation is sufficient, the departmental supervisor is notified of the approval and a purchase requisition is prepared and forwarded to the purchasing department.
Upon receipt of a purchase requisition for machinery and equipment, the purchasing department researches the company records in order to locate an appropriate vendor. A purchase order is then completed and mailed to the vendor.
As soon as new machinery or equipment is received from the vendor, it is immediately sent to the department for installation. Bellott's policy is to place new assets into service as soon as possible so that the company may immediately begin to realize the economic benefits from the acquisition.
The property accounting department is responsible for maintaining property, plant, and equipment ledger control accounts. The ledger is supported by lapsing schedules that are used to compute depreciation. These lapsing schedules are organized by year of acquisition so that depreciation computations can be prepared in units that combine all assets of the same type that were acquired the same year. Standard depreciation methods, rates, and salvage values were determined ten years ago and have been used consistently since that time.
When machinery or equipment is retired or replaced, the plant manager notifies the property accounting department so that the proper adjustments can be made to the ledger and lapsing schedules. No regular reconciliation between the physical assets on hand and the accounting records has been performed.
Required:
Identify any internal control weaknesses and suggest improvements to strengthen the internal controls over machinery and equipment at Rophna.
Reread the continuing case on Robatelli's Pizzeria at the end of Chapter 1. Consider the following issues that relate to Robatelli's payroll and fixed assets systems, then answer the questions pertaining to these expenditure processes:
As mentioned in the opening part of the Robatelli's Pizzeria case, there are now 53 locations throughout the greater Pittsburgh area. Each one of those restaurant locations employs a full-time store manager and varying numbers of kitchen staff, servers, and delivery staff. The kitchen staff, servers, and delivery staff vary between full-time and part-time status. There tend to be high rates of turnover, especially among the part-time staff.
Robatelli's pays its employees on a weekly basis each Friday for the week ending on the previous Saturday. Employee paychecks include withholdings for federal taxes as well as state and local taxes applicable for the employee's residence. Employees may live in one of three states and over 25 municipalities that are included in the greater Pittsburgh regional area. All payroll accounting is handled by Robatelli's at its home office.
Each restaurant must also maintain various fixed assets in order to operate. Following is a general list of fixed assets for each store:
Note that the number of each of these fixed assets maintained at each location varies, depending upon the size of the store. Also note that each member of the delivery staff uses his or her personal automobile (rather than a company-owned car) for customer deliveries.
In addition, the home office maintains the following types of fixed assets:
Finally, fixed assets maintained at the commissary include the following:
All fixed asset accounting is handled by Robatelli's at its home office.
Required:
1“Don't Let ‘Peopleware’ Tank a New Automated Payroll System,” Human Resources Department Management Report, vol. 4 issue 1, Jan 2004, pp. 6–7.