22. Greenfumb is a company which operates a chain of garden centres specialising in the retailing
of high quality garden products and the provision of landscaping services. Following information
from one of the employees, it was discovered that the financial controller had used company
cheques and bank transfers to pay for goods and services for his own use. Although the amounts
involved were immaterial in the context of the financial statements, it transpired that this had been
going on for several years.
The managing director is considering whether the company’s auditors were negligent. He has
requested that your firm undertakes a detailed independent review of Greenfumb’s purchase and
payments system in order to establish any shortcomings in its policies and procedures, so that
they can be rectified.
Required:
(a) Distinguish between the responsibilities of the management and the statutory auditor of a
limited company for the prevention and the detection of fraud and outline how these
responsibilities are discharged.
Answer
Responsibilities
(b) Prepare a list of questions in respect of internal control procedures, answers to which would
establish whether there are any shortcomings in Greenfumb’s purchase and payments
system.