ABCWorld Ltd. is a mid-sized, closely held Canadian corporation that designs and manufactures paper-based business forms using
Question:
ABCWorld Ltd. is a mid-sized, closely held Canadian corporation that designs and manufactures paper-based business forms using material inputs gathered in throughout the world. The owner, Mrs. Smith, has been running this business for almost 15 years now. The company’s head office and its largest plant are located in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. ABCWorld offers a wide range of products, from a simple invoice to deluxe business form packages. The products are sold in bookstores, department stores, and discount stores. All retailers are served by a network of licensed distributors. The company’s vice-president of sales supervises all distribution, pricing, and advertising activities. Apex has always been very profitable, but in recent years the growing popularity of electronic business form software has had a negative impact on Apex’s sales. Mrs. Smith has decided to launch an advertising campaign that points out the advantages of paper-based business forms, and to concentrate her efforts on the firm’s high-profit deluxe business form packages. You have been a CPA for 8 years, and you work in the management audit department of Apex. Your superior, the chief audit executive (CAE), asks you to conduct an audit of the marketing function. To begin the process, she asks you to prepare a memo to the vice-president of sales in which you explain the risks specific to the marketing function and the benefits of conducting an audit of this department. He would also like you to provide some information on the examination phase of the audit since the marketing department will be busy and staff need to ensure their availability for you. Benefits of an audit of the marketing function include: A company can independently and objectively review different opportunities with respect to marketing strategy, and ensure consistency between opportunity and effort.
• The firm’s marketing strategy can be re-evaluated.
• Priorities can be set for marketing programs
True
False
