Assessment interviews are critical in establishing the motive for committing fraud as in the case “Who Stole My Money” because they focus directly on personality. The complexity of the case is defined by the involvement of a number of employees, who can all be treated as suspects due to their roles in the chain of handling valuables. Focusing on individual’s personality, motivations, and interests lay the foundation for easily establishing the correlation between behavior and fraud. According to McGimsey and Wheelan (2015), assessment interviews are cost saving because it consumes less time in seeking incriminating information. It is more efficient than starting by sifting through financials and other records. However, such interviews are conceptualized on the basis that the auditor has knowledge of the problem and is seeking for clarity and to quantify impact (Hall, 2005). By application the case “Who Stole My Money,” this paper presents a mock assessment interview results on Kitty Jones, the office manager.
What is your daily schedule in the office?
“I begin my day in the office at 6.30 am because I must set the ground running by reviewing financial reconciliation reports and confirmation of contents of the lock box. On the days when a client makes self-pay, Jane Smith of I where need be, prepare deposit slip for the daily bank deposit in the morning (10-11 am) and afternoon (2-3 pm). Otherwise, I am charged with oversight of the office and constantly receive accounting documents for safe keeping in the lock box.”
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Can you describe the accounting process used to account for payments made in your office?
“The accounting process for accounting for payment made is done through issuance of a receipt to the client, and in cases where payment is made in cash, a duplicate or photocopy of the same is wrapped around the cash ( Southern New Hampshire University , n. d.). It is an organizational protocol for ensuring cash in the lock box is accounted for and not mixed up as the case if it is not marked.”
How is the cash received from payments handled before banking?
“Sometimes, a client paying in cash would have large bills, and Jane Smith or I can check in the lock box for smaller bills for change. Besides this, the cash usually stays in the box until the time for a bank deposit to be made.”
How are you compensated?
“I would rather prefer not to answer that question if you do not mind.”
What are your plans for the next three years?
“I have been working at DOC IN A BOX for two and a half years now, and I can say that I have gained a lot within that time. However, I think I would be here for at most one more year because I intend to further my professional qualification through an MSc. I am hopeful of getting a job that would give me flexibility on both frontiers.”
Did you have other items for safe keeping during the time frame? Do items and cash ever get mixed up?
“Yes, We had other items for safe keeping that day including stamps, Petty Cash Journal, $26.00 in petty cash, deposit book, receipts from stamps, receipts from petty cash expenditures, two checks/money orders. And no, cash and other items rarely get mixed up in the box, and we have not had any such incident previously.”
What times of day and days of the week did you work?
“I worked under my normal schedule from Friday 4 th to Monday 14 th . We do not work on the weekends. However, I was not present in the office on the afternoon of Friday 4 th when the cash was to be banked. I had private engagement, and earlier commitment prevented me from overseeing the banking process in the morning as our accountant Jane Smith was out at the time. However, I left her a note requesting that she prepares a deposit slip and bank the cash.”
Could your office have been accessed during the weekend?
“I have no knowledge of such an occurrence.”
How can you describe your relationship with other employees?
“For the two and half years I have worked at DOC IN A BOX, I have had constructive and beneficial relationships with other employees. I can confidently say that I have no knowledge of any ill feelings harbored towards me by other employees, and the same applies to me. Our working relationship has been mutually beneficial.”
In the course of performing your duties, can you describe direct interaction you have with other employees? How about nonbusiness-related interaction?
“In my duties as the office manager, I directly interact with Jane Smith and Jude Brown as our duties are interdependent, and occasionally with the top management on matters affecting our operations. Outside work environment, we interact less apart from social calls once in a while and social events organized by the organization.”
References
Hall, J. (2005). Answer Please: Fraud-based interviewing. Journal of Accountancy.
McGimsey, C. L., & Whelan, D. (2015, Aug). How to get the most out of fraud investigation interviews? The Journal of the Global Accounting Alliance.
Southern New Hampshire University. (n.d.). Who Stole the Money?
