Greenfumb Is a Company Which Operates a Chain of Garden

Essay

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.
(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.