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Law
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Topic:

Fraud Scenerio on The Butte Silver-Bow Golf Course

Essay Instructions:

The Butte Silver-Bow Golf Course
You are the owner of a privately-owned, small golf course in the city of Butte, Montana. Your father gave you the land for the golf course over 25 years ago, when the farm he had been operating went out of business.
The golf course has done well since it was first built and includes a small shop that sells golf equipment, golf accessories, and golf clothing from the major golf manufacturers. In addition, there is a very small restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch to golfers. Revenues and profits from the golf course have grown significantly, especially in recent years with the growth of the golf as a sport in Montana. Your bookkeeping is done by a local accounting firm; they also prepare the annual tax returns for the business.
The accountant assigned to your account prepares the books and monthly financial statements. She estimates that the business loses up to 10 percent of its profit each year to internal fraud. Her estimates are based upon profits and operating margins at other golf courses, which are also her clients. Fortunately, your business can afford this loss, but perhaps the day will come when the business cannot afford to continue losing money to internal fraud. All payroll-related functions are outsourced to ADP; you approve all weekly payroll online before checks are written to employees.
The golf course has 4 employees. One manages the golf shop; one manages the restaurant, and the other two perform the daily maintenance required to operate a golf course during the season. You have tried to put adequate internal controls in place. For example, you implemented internal controls for placing orders for supplies required for the golf shop, for the restaurant, and for golf course maintenance. Since you travel often, during your absence you allow the employees to do what is required to keep the business running as smoothly as possible. Thus, you have given permission for employees to sign checks to pay vendors for purchases.
In the past, you have caught employees participating in fraudulent activities. Since Butte is such a small town, you have never pursued prosecution of these fraudsters because you are afraid of the negative publicity it would cause your business and possibly their former employers.
In responding to the questions related to this case, be sure to provide references for all sources you used. Your answers to this case study should be 5 pages in total, including cover and reference pages. The body of the paper, which must be at least 3 pages in length, should be double-spaced. Make a copy of each question below and place the questions into the body of your paper in bold-type, so that we can both see that you have addressed each one of the questions in your submission.
Questions/Requirements
1. Given the scenario above, as the owner of this golf course, what/which aspects of the golf course operations can you change immediately to reduce the amount of fraud that is currently occurring? Be specific. Address, for example, the following areas (to get you started):
- purchase orders to supplier
- payments to suppliers
- the monthly operating bank statement and the monthly bank reconciliation for the golf course (which right now is performed by the accountant)
- for the golf shop, maintaining perpetual inventory records
- the use of various types of basic technology within the golf course operations to help control for the risk of fraud. Be specific.
- check signing authority
- any other areas you can think of, based upon the information provided in this case study
2. Describe some factors in detail related to creating a culture of honesty within the golf course operation, starting at the beginning. What are some basic factors or steps you should take with regards to ensuring there is a culture of honesty and integrity within the golf course operation? Be specific. You should have 4-5 items explained in detail that you would recommend the owner implement immediately to stop losses the golf course has suffered due to internal fraud. Do not repeat any of the items you described in your answer to the first requirement above.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Internal Fraud Resolution: Case Study
Your Name
Department of ABC, University – Whitewater
ABC 101: Course Name
Professor (or Dr.) Firstname Lastname
Date
Internal Fraud Resolution: Case Study
Introduction
The current case involves a small privately-owned gold course in Butte, Montana. Having been in operation for 25 years, the golf course runs a small shop (golf equipment, clothing, & accessories) and a restaurant (breakfast and lunch), each under the care of one employee. The other two employees are tasked with running the maintenance and operations of the golf course. Despite the business's success, accounting outcomes indicate an annual loss of 10% of revenue through internal fraud. The current paper aims to establish solutions to this problem while keeping the issue in-house since Butte is a small town where rumors can ruin a business.
Given the scenario above, as the owner of this golf course, what/which aspects of operations can you change immediately to reduce the amount of fraud that is currently occurring:
While it is difficult to establish the exact channels through which fraud may occur, the case study reveals several vulnerabilities easily exploited by employees who have ulterior motives. For instance, employees are left with permission to sign checks so that vendors and suppliers are paid on time whenever the owner travels. The organization already has internal controls for placing orders for suppliers, but it seems these measures have been breached already. Another vulnerability is the online approval of weekly payroll, where employees could be entering an unrealistic number of hours in a manner not outrightly apparent. Therefore, key priorities include:
The priority is to stop current and future fraud cases within the scope of purchase orders to suppliers. This means introducing an approval part, whose presence is compensated for by the reduced losses to fraud annually. The approval party will be in charge when the owner is traveling or occupied by other issues. By applying the procurement fraud triangle, the second priority is to determine why fraud is happening in the first place. Key focus areas include perceived financial need, opportunity, and rationalization (Rustiarini, Sutrisno, Nurkholis, & Andayani, 2019). The most likely scenario is that employees are colluding with suppliers & vendors to buy supplies at a higher price, where the employees receive the extra cost as a kickback. However, the critical question is if all the four employees are in on it.
The newly appointed approval party will also fill the role of writing cheques to suppliers and vendors when the owner is traveling. There is an extra regulatory check in the procurement process where procurement information is verified before orders and payments are made. The essence is to ensure that the current four employees can only make procurement proposals but are disconnected from the supplier/ vendor negotiations and agreements which the owner and the new appointee will handle. The appointee will also have check signing authority to minim...
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