191|POWERBI – Cougar’s Collectible Process Audit Adventure

Challenges
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BYU Student Author: @Jimmy_Han
Reviewers: @Jacob_Dutton, @Dallin_Gardner
Estimated Time to Solve: 20 Minutes

We provide the solution to this challenge using:

  • PowerBI (You may need to update to the latest version of power bi to complete this challenge)

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Overview
As a newly appointed process analyst at an internal audit consulting firm, your initial assignment involves scrutinizing the internal controls of Cougar’s Collectible Chronicles. The client requested you to perform an evaluation of their Accounts Payable cycle to identify potential weaknesses and receive recommendations for improvement. Your task is to assess whether there are any inappropriate processes in the Accounts Payable department, determine if there are any deficiencies in the segregation of duties, and quantify the financial impact of any identified weaknesses. Your goal is to deliver insights and advice that will help Cougar’s Collectible Chronicles strengthen its internal controls and mitigate any associated risks.

Instructions

  1. All the visualizations for this challenge have already been prepared in the PowerBI file (You’re welcome!). Feel free to download the Challenge191_Data.pbix file to solve this challenge.
  2. Please answer the following questions:
    a. How many cases proceeded with the purchase order even though it was initially denied? If you’re not sure, check out Hint #1.
    b1. Since only Purchasing Managers have the authority to review and approve purchase orders, were there any instances where employees other than Purchasing Managers did so? If yes, how many such violations occurred?
    b2. What was the total dollar amount associated with the violations mentioned above?
    c. Approval of payments is exclusively reserved for Treasury Managers. Were there any instances where employees other than Treasury Managers approved payments? If yes, how many such violations occurred?
    c2. What was the total dollar amount associated with the violations mentioned above?
    d. The procedure for preparing and signing checks requires two different employees. How many instances were there where a single treasury clerk prepared and signed checks twice? Refer to Hint #2 if needed.

Data Files

Suggestions and Hints
  • In Variant Explorer, identify a process variant where a purchase order was processed despite being denied.
  • On the Segregation of Duties page, you’ll first need to filter the activity to “Prepare Sign Check” and verify if the same two employees signed the check. To make this easier and save you time, I’ve created a slicer that handles both tasks. Simply click on “Match” option in the slicer.

Solution

a. 9 cases (Variant #7)
b1. 14 cases
b2. 61.35M
c1. 30 cases
c2. 75.96M
d. 119 cases

Solution Video: Challenge 191|POWERBI – Cougar’s Collectible Process Audit Adventure

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Time to Complete: 20 Minutes
Rating: Beginner/ Intermediate
This really showed how visualizations can help filter data and explore controls.

A. 9
B1. 14
B2. 61.35 million
C. 30
C2. 75.96 million
D. 199