MarketNet Co. is a computer software company marketing products in the United States and Canada. While MarketNet Co. has over 90 sales offices, all accounting is handled at the company's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.
MarketNet Co. keeps all its fixed asset records on a computerized system. The computer maintains a subsidiary ledger of all fixed assets owned by the company and calculates depreciation automatically. Whenever a manager at one of the 90 sales offices wants to purchase a fixed asset, a purchase request is submitted to headquarters for approval. Upon approval, the fixed asset is purchased and the invoice is sent back to headquarters so that the asset can be entered into the fixed asset system.
A manager who wants to dispose of a fixed asset simply sells or disposes of the asset and notifies headquarters to remove the asset from the system. Company cars and personal computers are frequently purchased by employees when they are disposed of. Most pieces of office equipment are traded in when new assets are acquired.
What internal control weakness exists in the procedures used to acquire and dispose of fixed assets at MarketNet Co.?