Chapter 12: The Revenue Cycle: Sales to Cash Collections

Chapter 12The Revenue Cycle: Sales to Cash CollectionsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-1Learning ObjectivesDescribe the basic business activities and related information processing operations performed in the revenue cycle.Discuss the key decisions that need to be made in the revenue cycle, and identify the information needed to make those decisions.Identify major threats in the revenue cycle, and evaluate the adequacy of various control procedures for dealing with those threats.Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-2The Revenue CycleCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-3The Revenue CycleProvides goods and services to customersCollects cash in payment for those salesPrimary Objective:Provide the right productIn the right placeAt the right time for the right priceCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-4Revenue Cycle ActivitiesSales order entryShippingBillingCash collectionsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-5General Revenue Cycle ThreatsInaccurate or invalid master dataUnauthorized disclosure of sensitive informationLoss or destruction of master dataPoor performanceCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-6General Revenue Cycle ControlsData processing integrity controlsRestriction of access to master dataReview of all changes to master dataAccess controlsEncryptionBackup and disaster recovery proceduresManagerial reportsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-7Sales Order EntryTake orderCheck and approve creditCheck inventory availabilityCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-8Sales Order ThreatsIncomplete/inaccurate ordersInvalid ordersUncollectible accountsStockouts or excess inventoryLoss of customersCopyright 2012 © Pearson Education12-9Sales Order Entry ControlsData entry edit controls (see Chapter 10)Restriction of access to master dataDigital signatures or written signaturesCredit limitsSpecific authorization to approve sales to new customers or sales that exceed a customer’s credit limitAging of accounts receivablePerpetual inventory control systemUse of bar-codes or RFIDTrainingPeriodic physical counts of inventorySales forecasts and activity reportsCRM systems, self-help Web sites, and proper evaluation of customer service ratingsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-10ShippingPicking and packing the orderShipping the orderCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-11Shipping ThreatsPicking the wrong items or the wrong quantityTheft of inventoryShipping errors (delay or failure to ship, wrong quantities, wrong items, wrong addresses, duplication)Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-12Shipping ControlsBar-code and RFID technologyReconciliation of picking lists to sales order detailsRestriction of physical access to inventoryDocumentation of all inventory transfersRFID and bar-code technologyPeriodic physical counts of inventory and reconciliation to recorded quantitiesReconciliation of shipping documents with sales orders, picking lists, and packing slipsUse RFID systems to identify delaysData entry via bar-code scanners and RFIDData entry edit controls (if shipping data entered on terminals)Configuration of ERP system to prevent duplicate shipmentsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-13BillingInvoicingUpdating accounts receivableCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-14Billing ThreatsFailure to billBilling errorsPosting errors in accounts receivableInaccurate or invalid credit memosCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-15Billing ControlsSeparation of billing and shipping functionsPeriodic reconciliation of invoices with sales orders, picking tickets, and shipping documentsConfiguration of system to automatically enter pricing dataRestriction of access to pricing master dataData entry edit controlsReconciliation of shipping documents (picking tickets, bills of lading, and packing list) to sales ordersData entry controlsReconciliation of batch totalsMailing of monthly statements to customersReconciliation of subsidiary accounts to general ledgerSegregation of duties of credit memo authorization from both sales order entry and customer account maintenanceConfiguration of system to block credit memos unless there is either corresponding documentation of return of damaged goods or specific authorization by managementCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-16Cash Collections ThreatsTheft of cashCash flow problemsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-17Cash Collection ControlsSeparation of cash handling function from accounts receivable and credit functionsRegular reconciliation of bank account with recorded amounts by someone independent of cash collections proceduresUse of EFT, FEDI, and lockboxes to minimize handling of customer payments by employeesPrompt, restrictive endorsement of all customer checksHaving two people open all mail likely to contain customer paymentsUse of cash registersDaily deposit of all cash receiptsLockbox arrangements, EFT, or credit cardsDiscounts for prompt payment by customersCash flow budgetsCopyright © 2012 Pearson Education12-18