Case 14

Peter Jones, a senior accountant, and Mary Miller, a junior accountant, were the only accountants for XYZ Company, a medium-size business. Peter had  been with the company for over four years and was respon- sible for the Purchasing Department. Mary had been working at the company for a little over five years, and she had neither applied for a vacation nor taken any days off in the last three years. She was responsible for cash receipts and disbursements. She also collected the cash from the cash register, counted it and matched it with cash register receipts, made a record of daily receipts, and then put the money in the safe. Once a week, she would take the paperwork to her supervisor, Susan Lowe, one of the managers, who would check it. Mary later resigned from the company. At the time of her resignation, Peter was asked to handle Mary’s re- sponsibilities while the company looked for a person to replace her. Peter soon realized that there had been some manipulation of accounting records and embez- zlement of funds. Investigations revealed that approxi- mately $30,000 had been stolen.

1.   What do you think might have allowed this fraud?

2.   How could this fraud have been avoided?