The purpose of informational interviews is to gain insight of an individual’s perceptions towards a particular subject. The actions of an individual are explained better through discussions of their surrounding environment and factors that may have contributed to their actions (Van Akkeren & Buckby, 2015) . The objective of this paper is to seek to identify the capable individual in an office theft case. In accomplishment of the objective, the interviewer conducted informational interviews on three of the staff members who handled the cash between the time it was paid and the time it was stolen. The three interviewees are; Jane Smith, the accountant; Judy Brown, the front office receptionist; and Kitty Jones, the office manager. The interviewees were communicated to concerning consent for the interview and the purpose of the interview. Following on their consent, the date of the interviews were scheduled. The paper details the results of the interview in the succeeding sections. It is hoped that, by the end of the discussion, the culpable party in the transaction shall be identified. The interviewee for the first session was the accountant. She was known by the name Jane Smith.
Informational Interview with Jane Smith, Accountant
How long have you been an accountant?
“I started working immediately after I completed my Certified Public Accounting examinations in 2004. Therefore, that would be approximately thirteen years. However, even before I my CPA certification, I had interned for an accounting firm for two years; which gives a total of fifteen years in accounting Experience.”
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How long have you been employed at DOC IN A BOX?
“I have been employed [here] for almost four years. I started as an accounting junior when I first arrived and worked my way up the ranks. For this particular position of Accountant, I have been employed for one and a half years now.”
What is your daily routine in the office?
“I arrive at the office at 6am. I begin the day by maintaining the reconciliation accounts for the bank, creditors, debtors, and petty cash. After the reconciliation, any cash with has been received for the customers are handed to the Office Manager at 9:30am (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) . Thereafter, I spent the rest of the day recording the daily transactions. If there are any other cash receipts, reconciliations of these are done and the deposit prepared and handed to the office manager at 1:30pm. At the close of the day, I reconcile the petty cash and receipts book and prepare a budget for the following day based on the requisitions received.”
What do you think about the Control Systems of the Organization?
“The controls are well designed to ensure there are no errors in the transactions, and reduce the risks of fraud. Cash received is recorded in the receipts book and a copy of the receipt is kept with the cash in the lock box awaiting deposit preparation (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) . However, the controls regarding the depositing of cash need to be addressed. The system does not restrict the presence of cash balances within the organization on overnight stay. This results in the possibility of having large sums of cash in the office overnight. Additionally, the location of the keys to the cash box is accessible to any individual and there are no limitations to access of the keys.”
With your experience, do you feel well compensated in terms of remuneration?
“The organization has invested well in the human resource management system. They have set up procedures in place that align the remuneration of the staff members with the industry averages. Therefore, while the general working conditions could be improved, the remuneration structure is effective.
Informational Interview with Judy Brown, Front Desk Receptionist
How do you feel about your work experience in DOC IN A BOX?
“The work environment is challenging. There are a number of challenges given the number of the tasks handled by individual employees. There may be a slight issue of understaffing which is compensated for by additional tasks given to individuals. However, there is general coordination which makes the activities easier.”
Do you feel well remunerated for the additional tasks?
“Yes.”
What tasks do you handle for which you are not qualified?
“The accounting and cash handling tasks of the job are above my qualifications. My skills as a front office receptionist are based on secretarial and office administration tasks. However, by virtue of the fact that I am the first point of contact with the patients and clients of the organization, I am also required to receive cash and issue receipts to the patients (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) . While the process is rather straight forward, there is often likelihood of error in counting of the cash and the details in the receipting.”
Are you aware of the missing amounts?
“Yes.”
Is it possible that you mistakenly recorded the cash receipt?
“No. The amount was very specific and was received very early in the morning. Additionally, no other large sums of cash were received on that day. (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) . It is unlikely that there were any errors made that day.”
What is your ambition outside this organization?
“I wish to return to college and complete my studies in office administration. Thereafter, I would opt to take the educational aspect of office administration because I am more inclined to dealing with children than with patients. It would be more accommodating for me in that scenario.”
Do you remember the serial number of the missing receipt?
“No. The accountant had mentioned it earlier during the reconciliation, but I cannot recall the exact number.”
Informational Interview with Kitty Jones, Office Manager
What is an ordinary day like in the office?
“My typical day starts as early as 6am. I then go over the schedules of the day with the team. During the meeting, outstanding issues from the previous day are discussed. After the meeting, I proceed with office administrative duties such as handling of client complains, and employee complains. At 10 am, I go to the bank to deposit any cash receipts; this is done again at 3pm.” (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.)
When did you realize that money was missing from the lock box?
“I realized it was missing on the morning of Monday 7 th when Judy came to take the cash and the receipts to prepare the deposit for me to take to the bank.” (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) .
Following the realization, what were your actions?
“I sought to notify the management. However, because of the volume of work on seventh, I hoped to mention it at the meeting that was to happen the following day. On the eighth, I opted to search for the cash first in order to prevent arriving at conclusions before proper search was conducted. After failing to locate the amount, I tried to contact the management office severally but I could not reach them until the fourteenth when I was finally able to register the incidence with the human resources manager.” (Who Stole the Money?, n.d.) .
What is the standard procedure concerning such incidences?
“The first step is to notify the management upon realization. Thereafter, an investigation is conducted by an independent party.”
Why was the incidence not mentioned at the meeting with the management?
“I believed at the time there was not enough evidence to conclude that the moneys had been stolen, but rather that they have been misplaced.”
Summary and Conclusion
Based on the informational interview which was conducted, it was noted that the structure of the organization’s controls were not effective. There was increased risk of access to the cash receipts of the organization. The controls of an organization may be exposed to risk of fraud where such controls do not provide for a limitation of the access to resources (Merchant & White, 2017) . Additionally, it was also noted that of the three individuals who were exposed to the cash, the office manager had the closest proximity to the amounts. Moreover, the information collected noted that while the working environment of the interviewees was conducive, they were exposed to unnecessary risks. Following on the findings, the person who may be culpable is the office manager.
References
Merchant, K. A., & White, L. F. (2017). Linking the Ethics and Management Control Literatures. Advances in Management Accounting (pp. 1-29). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Souther New Hampshire University. (n.d.). Who Stole the Money?
Van Akkeren, J., & Buckby, S. (2015). Perceptions on the causes of individual and fraudulent co-offending: Views of forensic accountants. Journal of Business Ethics , 1-22.
