The following is the documentation of the payroll cycle at McQuarrie Enterprises, a ladies clothing wholesaler. There are approximately 50 staff members at McQuarrie Enterprises. Every employee has a payroll file that includes their offer letter, completed and signed tax deduction forms, a void cheque for direct deposit, and any other relevant employee information regarding pay rates and job performance. The majority of the staff members are paid hourly. Employees are required to sign in at the beginning of each shift using a punch clock. Supervisors review and approve the time cards at the end of each day to ensure the accuracy of the hours worked. At the end of each week, the time cards are forwarded to the payroll department. The payroll clerk then reviews the time cards for evidence that the hours worked were approved. Once verified, the hours worked are entered into a spreadsheet by employee number. As hours worked are entered, the payroll clerk initials the time cards to ensure that duplicate entries do not occur. 

The total hours worked per employee is then entered in the payroll module referenced to the employee number. Access to the payroll module is limited to the payroll manager and the payroll clerk. Once the information is entered, the software system then calculates the gross and net pay as well as the employer and employee portions of Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance contributions, and federal and provincial income taxes. The payroll module also prepares the direct deposit information. Before the direct debit is prepared, a pre-list is examined to ensure no large or unusual amounts are paid without an internal explanation. Once verified, the information is transferred to the bank when the payroll manager provides the required password. A record of the transmission is printed and attached to the front of the payroll run. The payroll module then uses this information to generate the payroll journal entry. 

The system is fully integrated, so the journal entry is automatically posted to the general ledger. Cheques and remittance advices are given to the supervisor. 

Required 

Determine the control strengths of the payroll process at McQuarrie. For each control strength identifi ed, determine which WCGW it prevents.