This case is based on a situation experienced by one of the authors. Alpha Construction Company, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, built a Roadway Inn Motel in Cleveland, 35 kilometres east of Chattanooga. The construction foreman, whose name was Slim, moved into Cleveland in March to hire the 40 workers needed to complete the project. Slim hired the construction workers, had them fill out the necessary tax forms, and sent the employment documents to the home office, which opened a payroll file for each employee.
Work on the motel began on April 1 and ended September 1. Each Thursday evening, Slim filled out a time card that listed the hours worked by each employee during the five-day workweek that ended at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Slim faxed the time sheets to the home office, which prepared the payroll cheques on Friday morning. Slim drove to the home office after lunch on Friday, picked up the payroll cheques, and returned to the construction site. At 5 p.m. on Friday, Slim distributed the payroll cheques to the workers.
a. Describe in detail the internal control weakness in this situation. Specify what negative result(s) could occur because of the internal control weakness.
b. Describe what you would do to correct the internal control weakness.