Levon Helm was a kind of one-man mortgage broker. He would drive around Tennessee looking for homes that had second mortgages, and if the criteria were favorable, he would offer to buy the second mortgage for “cash on the barrelhead.” Helm bought low and sold high, making sizable profits. Being a small operation, he employed one person, Cindy Patterson, who did all his bookkeeping. Patterson was an old family friend, and he trusted her so implicitly that he never checked up on the ledgers or the bank reconciliations. At some point, Patterson started “borrowing” from the business and concealing her transactions by booking phony expenses. She intended to pay it back someday, but she got used to the extra cash and couldn’t stop. By the time the scam was discovered, she had drained the company of funds that it owed to many of its creditors. The company went bankrupt, Patterson did some jail time, and Helm lost everything.
Requirements
1. What was the key control weakness in this case?
2. Many small businesses cannot afford to hire enough people for adequate separation of duties. What can they do to compensate for this?
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 7 Solutions
Horngren's Financial & Managerial Accounting, The Financial Chapters (Book & Access Card)
- The Kangs moved into their new home five years ago. Not wanting to wait to furnish the house, they financed their furniture purchases with credit cards and personal loans. They thought they could handle the payments but miscalculated how much the interest charges would be over time. Just when they were wondering what options were available to them, they received a phone call from the bank that holds their mortgage. The pleasant voice on the other end described a home equity line of credit with no closing cosed and a much lower interest rate they are paying on their credit cards. How did the banker know they were looking fora new plan?arrow_forwardYou are a loan officer at the West Elm Savings and Loan. Mr. and Mrs. Brady are in your office to apply for a mortgage loan on a house they want to buy. The house has a market value of $170,000. Your bank requires - of the market value as a down payment. (a) What is the amount (in $) of the down payment? $ (b) What is the amount (in $) of the mortgage for which the Bradys are applying? $ 170,0 (c) Your bank offers the Bradys a 30 year mortgage with a rate of 5%. At that rate, the monthly payments for principal and interest on the loan will be $5.37 for every $1,000 financed. What is the amount (in $) of the principal and interest portion of the Bradys' monthly payment? $ 95 (d) What is the total amount (in $) of interest that will be paid over the life of the loan? $ 2,850 (e) Your bank also requires that the monthly mortgage payments include property tax and homeowners insurance payments. If the property tax is $1,710 per year and the property insurance is $1,458 per year, what is the…arrow_forwardAfter visiting several automobile dealerships, Richard selects the car he wants. He likes its $10,500 price, but financing through the dealer is no bargain. He has $2,100 cash for a down payment, so he needs an $8,400 loan. In shopping at several banks for an installment loan, he learns that interest on most automobile loans is quoted at add-on rates. That is, during the life of the loan, interest is paid on the full amount borrowed even though a portion of the principal has been paid back. Richard borrows $8,400 for a period of two years at an add-on interest rate of 10 percent. a) What is the total interest on Richard’s loan? b) What is the total cost of the car? c) What is the monthly payment? d) What is the annual percentage rate (APR)?arrow_forward
- You have a friend, Icahn Betitall, who just started a small business. He ispaying a hefty premium for insurance. Icahn’s insurance agent told himthat he is insuring against the risk of loss on fire, theft, liability, and businessinterruption. Icahn also has policies for life, health, and automobiles. Icahnis planning a trip to Las Vegas. He plans to contact his agent and obtain apolicy on the risk of losing his money at the blackjack table.a. What should you tell Icahn about being able to purchase such a policy?b. What are several methods that Icahn can choose to manage his risk exposurein Las Vegas?arrow_forwardAfter visiting several automobile dealerships, Richard selects the used car he wants. He likes its $10,000 price, but financing through the dealer is no bargain. He has $1,500 cash for a down payment, so he needs an $8,500 loan. In shopping at several banks for an installment loan, he learns that interest on most automobile loans is quoted at add-on rates. That is, during the life of the loan, interest is paid on the full amount borrowed even though a portion of the principal has been paid back. Richard borrows $8,500 for a period of four years at an add-on interest rate of 10 percent. (a) What is the total interest on Richard's loan? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest whole number.) Total interest (b) What is the total cost of the car? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest whole number.) Total cost (c) What is the monthly payment? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest whole…arrow_forwardYour client’s mother had always told her to avoid slacker guys. But she hooked up with one anyway because he was such a charmer. In fact, pretty soon he had charmed her into loaning him $200,000 for a “business venture” that he was con-vinced would make them both rich… When your client finally figured out that Mr. Charmer was not as advertised, she broke up with him. Naturally, he paid her back for the breakup by never paying her back. Can your client deduct the $200,000 that she’ll never see again? If so, as an ordinary loss or a capital loss, and why?arrow_forward
- Would Qualifying an Indorsement Be Ethical? Suppose you have taken a promissory note for $3,500 payable in 12 months with interest at 10 percent as payment for some carpentry work you did for a friend. You have some reason to believe the maker of the note is in financial difficulty and may not be able to pay the note when it is due. You discuss with an elderly neighbor the possibility of her buying the note from you as an investment, and she agrees to buy it from you for $3,000. Would it be ethical for you to indorse the note with a qualified indorsement ("without recourse")?arrow_forwardOne of Natalie’s friends, Curtis Lesperance, runs a coffee shop where he sells specialty coffees and prepares and sells muffins and cookies. He is eager to buy one of Natalie’s fine European mixers, which would enable him to make larger batches of muffins and cookies. However, Curtis cannot afford to pay for the mixer for at least 30 days. He asks Natalie if she would be willing to sell him the mixer on credit. Natalie comes to you for advice. She asks you to address the questions below. Curtis has given me a set of his most recent financial statements. What calculations should I do with the data from these statements, and what questions should I ask him after I have analyzed the statements? How will this information help me decide if I should extend credit to Curtis? Is there an alternative other than extending credit to Curtis for 30 days? I am thinking seriously about being able to have my customers use credit cards. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of letting my…arrow_forwardPatrick works for McGill’s Computer Repair, owned and operated by Frank McGill. As a computer technician, Patrick has grown accustomed to friends and family members asking for assistance with their personal computers. In an effort to increase his income, Patrick started a personal computer repair business that he operates out of his home on a part-time basis, working evenings and weekends. Because Patrick is doing this “on the side” for friends and family, he does not want to charge as much as McGill’s charges its customers. When Frank McGill assigned Patrick the task of developing the budget for his department, Patrick increased the amount budgeted for computer parts. When the budget was approved, Patrick purchased as many parts as the budget allowed, even when they were not needed. He then took the extra parts home to use in his personal business in an effort to keep his costs down and profits up. So far, no one at McGill’s has asked about the parts expense because Patrick has not…arrow_forward
- Lon Timur is an accounting major at a midwestern state university located approximately 60 miles from a major city. Many of the students attending the university are from the metropolitan area and visit their homes regularly on the weekends. Lon, an entrepreneur at heart, realizes that few good commuting alternatives are available for students doing weekend travel. He believes that a weekend commuting service could be organized and run profitably from several suburban and downtown shopping mall locations. Lon has gathered the following investment information. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Five used vans would cost a total of $75,000 to purchase and would have a 3-year useful life with negligible salvage value. Lon plans to use straight-line depreciation. Ten drivers would have to be employed at a total payroll expense of $48,000. Other annual out-of-pocket expenses associated with running the commuter service would include Gasoline $16,000, Maintenance $3,300, Repairs $4,000, Insurance $4,200, and…arrow_forwardLon Timur is an accounting major at a midwestern state university located approximately 60 miles from a major city. Many of the students attending the university are from the metropolitan area and visit their homes regularly on the weekends. Lon, an entrepreneur at heart, realizes that few good commuting alternatives are available for students doing weekend travel. He believes that a weekend commuting service could be organized and run profitably from several suburban and downtown shopping mall locations. Lon has gathered the following investment information. 1. Five used vans would cost a total of $75,551 to purchase and would have a 3-year useful life with negligible salvage value. Lon plans to use straight-line depreciation. 2. Ten drivers would have to be employed at a total payroll expense of $48,300. 3. Other annual out-of-pocket expenses associated with running the commuter service would include Gasoline $16,200, Maintenance $3,300, Repairs $3,800, Insurance…arrow_forwardSuppose that you decide to start a landscape business. You use an old pickup truck that you've fully paid for. You store the truck and other equipment in your parents' barn, and you store trees and shrubs on their land. Your parents will not charge you for the use of these facilities for the first two years, but beginning in the third year they will charge a reasonable rent. Your mother helps you by answering phone calls and providing customers with information. She doesn't charge you for this service, but she plans on doing it for only your first two years in business. Instructions Answer ONE of the following sets of questions: 1. In pricing your services, should you include charges for the truck, the barn, the land, and your mother's services when calculating your product cost? Provide your reasoning. 2. In recording costs in the books, should you include charges for the truck, the barn, the land, and/or your mother's services? Describe the accounting rules that support your answer.arrow_forward
- AccountingAccountingISBN:9781337272094Author:WARREN, Carl S., Reeve, James M., Duchac, Jonathan E.Publisher:Cengage Learning,Accounting Information SystemsAccountingISBN:9781337619202Author:Hall, James A.Publisher:Cengage Learning,
- Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis...AccountingISBN:9780134475585Author:Srikant M. Datar, Madhav V. RajanPublisher:PEARSONIntermediate AccountingAccountingISBN:9781259722660Author:J. David Spiceland, Mark W. Nelson, Wayne M ThomasPublisher:McGraw-Hill EducationFinancial and Managerial AccountingAccountingISBN:9781259726705Author:John J Wild, Ken W. Shaw, Barbara Chiappetta Fundamental Accounting PrinciplesPublisher:McGraw-Hill Education