Avant Garde Imports is an importer of silver, brass, and furniture items from Mexico. Kay Jones is the general manager of Avant Garde Imports. Jones employs 2 other people in the business. Marco Gonzalez serves as the buyer for Avant Garde. In his work Gonzalez travels throughout Mexico to find interesting new products. When Gonzalez finds a new product, he arranges for

Avant Garde to purchase and pay for the item. He helps the Mexican artisans prepare their invoices and then faxes the invoices to Jones in the company office. Jones operates out of an office in Tucson, Arizona. The office is managed by Rita Bowden, who handles the mail, keeps the accounting records, makes bank deposits, and prepares the monthly bank reconciliation. Virtually all of Avant Garde’s cash receipts arrive by mail—from sales, made to Target, Pier 1 Imports, and Wal-Mart. Bowden also prepares checks for payment based on invoices that come in from the suppliers who have been contacted by Gonzalez. To maintain control over cash payments, Jones examines the paperwork and signs all checks.

Required

Identify all the major internal control weaknesses in Avant Garde’s system and how the resulting action could hurt Avant Garde. Also state how to correct each weakness.