A-21 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases CASE A.4: THE WOODEN NICKEL 1

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1 A-21 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases CASE A.4: THE WOODEN NICKEL 1 Background The Wooden Nickel is a small retail clothing store located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, across the street from Oklahoma State University. The store was opened in 1976 by K. Cohlmia and is run as a sole proprietorship. The store specializes in casual clothing and caters to the upscale university student market. Stillwater has approximately 35,000 residents, so the 18,000 students at the university have a tremendous impact on all retail stores in town. The Wooden Nickel divides its inventory into a men s department and a women s department. K. strives to provide the type of clothing that is not found in discount outlets. In fact, the store is the only authorized supplier of Polo products in the city and surrounding area. At the current time, all accounting is done manually. The store s business can be divided into two cycles: (1) spring and summer and (2) fall and winter. Because of the cyclical nature of the business, it is often necessary to borrow to cover the outlay for purchases. This is then repaid as quickly as the revenue from the sales cycle permits. K. negotiates with local banks to cover this need on a yearly basis.there are currently nine employees (job descriptions are presented in Fig. 1). The store has a display area which covers the entire front of a renovated older building. One centrally located electronic cash register is used for all sales. The back of the building is divided into a large office and a merchandise storage area. K. uses the office for all of his ownership duties. The bookkeeper also uses this office and the managers use it whenever the need arises. In addition, the safe is located in the office. There is a rear entrance near the storage area where goods can be unloaded. Revenue Cycle Regular Sales. The Wooden Nickel has yearly sales of between $700,000 and $800,000. The store generates from 50 to 70 sales tickets each day, with an average of 2 items per ticket. The daily sales process is discussed in detail below. While the majority of the customers pay by cash, check, or credit card, they Owner (K.) Budgeting and purchasing Advertising Writing and controlling checks Payroll Bank statement reconciliation Credit card process Manager, Women s Department (Melanie) Supervises salesclerks Prepares work schedules Merchandising Assists with buying for women s department Sales as needed Handles alterations Manager, Men s Department (Jay) Supervises salesclerks Prepares work schedules Merchandising Assists with buying for men s department Sales as needed Handles all vendor returns Deposits to bank Bookkeeper (Kim) Prepares daily deposits Posts accounts receivables Prepares statements for customer accounts monthly Receiving Makes inventory tags Filing Sales as needed Salesclerks (5 6) All sales functions (are not specifically assigned to a department) Assist with merchandising and inventory tagging General housekeeping duties Figure 1 Job Descriptions 1 This case was prepared by Patrick Dorr, School of Accounting, Oklahoma State University, and by Martha M. Eining, University of Utah, as a basis for classroom discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an accounting system. Reprinted with permission.

2 Case A.4: The Wooden Nickel A-22 do have approximately 500 charge customers. Historically, K. has allowed only customers he knows personally to open charge accounts. The store has no established policy for charge customers. When a customer wishes to make a sale, the customer can give the merchandise to any available salesclerk or take it to the cash register station. The salesclerk completes two copies of a prenumbered sales ticket. If a bank card is being used, a three-part bank card receipt is also completed. The transaction is then entered into the cash register by transaction type: Cash key. The sales ticket is validated on the back with the date and amount. Credit key/charge account. The sales ticket is validated as above. Check key. The sales ticket and the check are validated. Bank card key. Bank card receipt is validated. The first copy of the sales ticket (and bank card receipt if applicable) is given to the customer. The second copy is placed in the cash register. The third copy of the bank card receipt is filed by date in the back office. The top copy of the sales ticket is presented in Fig. 2, and the bank card receipt is presented in Fig S. KNOBLOCK STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA Customer Sold by Cash Charge On Acct. Paid Out Qty. Description Price Amount Layaway Sales. When a customer chooses to put an item on layaway, a special layaway form is completed (see Fig. 4). A minimum down payment of 25% is required to hold the merchandise. The balance is due in three equal payments over the next three months. The sale is entered using the layaway key on the register, and the form is validated with the date and amount. The cash deposit is included in the daily sales and handled as described in the sales cycle. Sales Returns. The store s policy is never to give a cash refund when the item was paid for by cash or check. Instead, it issues a credit for the merchandise that has been returned. A three-part sales ticket is prepared and marked as a return. If the original sale was made on account, only two copies are prepared. If the merchandise was purchased on a credit card, then the refund is made through the credit card. In this case, a bank card credit receipt must also be prepared. The sales return transaction is entered using the sales return key on the register.after the ticket is validated, the original is given to the customer, the duplicate is placed in the cash register, and the third copy is placed in a credit file which is kept near the cash Figure 2 NO CASH REFUNDS SALES TAX TOTAL Example Sales Ticket register. The bookkeeper uses the second copy of credit account returns to post the transaction to the accounts receivable subsidiary cards. Even though the amount of the sales return is actually a credit, it is kept in the accounts receivable card to avoid the necessity of setting up an accounts payable file.

3 A-23 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases Figure 3 Example Bank Card Receipt When the customer returns to use the credit to purchase an item, the credit is verified with the copy which has been placed in the credit file. This copy is then validated and put in the cash register. It is used by the bookkeeper to offset the balance in the accounts receivable subsidiary card. Cash Receipts. The owner or one of the store managers opens the mail daily and separates the checks or receipts. The manager prepares a sales ticket for each receipt and then enters the checks into the register using the accounts receivable key. The sales ticket is validated with the date and amount. The checks are placed in the drawer and included in the daily deposit. The bookkeeper posts the collections from the information on the sales ticket to the individual accounts receivable cards. The same procedure is used for layaway payments. End-of-Day Activity. At the end of the day, one of the store managers rings out the register and reconciles the money and bank card receipts in the cash drawer with the total on the register tape. The cash register tape indicates totals by transaction type. Figure 5 presents an example of the cash register tape. The information from the cash register tape is entered into the daily receipts reconciliation (see Fig. 6). One hundred dollars is kept in the cash register drawer and becomes the next day s beginning balance. The manager then places all other money, copies of sales tickets and bank card receipts, the register tape, and the reconciliation in the safe overnight. The following morning, the bookkeeper retrieves all the items from the safe. The bookkeeper reconciles the register tape with the checks, cash, and bank card receipts from the previous day.a daily deposit is then prepared by the bookkeeper. The manager delivers the deposit to the bank. Finally, the bookkeeper uses the sales tickets to post credit sales to the accounts receivable subsidiary cards. Daily sales amounts from the daily receipts reconciliation are entered into the sales journal at this time. Figure 7 provides an overview of the daily sales register. All paper documentation is then stored in a file cabinet. Expenditure Cycle Purchasing. The owner plans the budget, breaking the total amount down into retail dollars available for each department based on projected sales. He takes 8 to 10 buying trips per year.while on each trip he comes in contact with at least 40 vendors who provide him with their own purchase orders. He uses these purchase orders to make notations on what items he would like to order, constantly trying to maintain a running total so he doesn t exceed the department s budgeted amount. The actual ordering is not done until the owner returns to the store and reviews the purchase orders. He then places the order by sending a copy of the completed purchase order to the vendor.a duplicate copy of the purchase order is filed by vendor. Receiving. All shipments are sent via UPS. Shipments will typically arrive and be unloaded

4 Case A.4: The Wooden Nickel A-24 Figure 4 Example Layaway Form LAYAWAY MERCHANDISE IDENTIFICATION TICKET Date No Name Address City Telephone Clerk No. Qty. Description Price LAYAWAY Agreement Payments of $ MO. To Be Made Every WK. Failure to make payment for 30 days will cause merchandise to be replaced in stock and the customer forfeiting all previous payments. Date Customer s Signature Sub Total Tax Layaway Fee Total Deposit Balance Date Old Balance Amount Paid New Balance LAYAWAY Location No. of Packages No Exchanges or Cash Refunds Customer s Identification Stub through the back entrance. However, sometimes they will be delivered through the front. The bookkeeper or owner unpacks the goods and compares the units received with the packing list accompanying the shipment. If any discrepancies exist (i.e., errors in amounts shipped), they are noted on the packing list

5 A-25 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases NET SL 0031 W/TAX ITEMS 0065 NO SLE 0012 TRAIN 0000 CASH CHECK DAILY RECEIPTS RECONCILIATION Cash Checks Deposit total Private charges DATE CHARG CARD LAYAWY GC RED 0000 LAY RA PO 0000 RA MARK 0000 VOID 0000 RETURN 0000 CREDIT 0000 TAX Figure 5 Example Cash Register Tape Totals Rec. on acct. 3 Layaways Layaways rec. on acct W.N. charge cards Visa/Mastercard Discover Card Am. Express Card Paid outs Figure 6 Example Daily Receipts Reconciliation and then discussed by phone with the vendor. The same procedure is used if any of the merchandise is damaged. The vendor then issues a return authorization. This must be received before the merchandise is returned. The packing list is kept in an open file until the invoice is received. Any information about discrepancies and/or damaged goods is transferred to the invoice when it is received and the invoice is adjusted accordingly. The packing list is then used by the bookkeeper to make inventory tags. The salesclerks attach the tags to the merchandise in their spare time. Cash Disbursements. When the vendor s invoice is received, the packing list is pulled and checked for discrepancies. Any problems are handled by phone; the two documents are stapled together and filed by due date. Most invoices carry a 2/10, net 30 discount. About 10% of the men s clothing vendors and 90% of the women s vendors offer cash discounts of 2% 8%. This cycle is summarized in the flowchart in Fig. 8.

6 Case A.4: The Wooden Nickel A-26 Figure 7 Daily Sales Register Sales Layaway Cash Date Sales * 1 Tax Charges* Rec/Acct Layaway* Rec/Acct Refund Freight Deposit Bank Card* * All figures include sales taxes. This is because the information from the cash register tape includes sales taxes. 1. Sales = cash (and check) receipts receipts on account layaway receipts + charge sales + layaway sales + bank card sales. All checks are prenumbered and controlled by the owner. On the tenth of each month he pulls all the invoices, issues the checks, and mails them. All other bills are paid by the owner on the fifteenth of each month. He also keeps track of the payroll, which is paid on the first and sixteenth of the month. He enters all amounts to the check register (see Fig. 9). Periodic Procedures The bookkeeper prepares customer statements by making a copy of the accounts receivable subsidiary cards illustrated in Fig. 10 on page A 29. The statements are mailed to customers at the end of each month. At this point there is no real effort to track accounts receivable balances, and no interest is charged on accounts. The owner reconciles the bank statement and takes care of all bank card activity. A periodic inventory is completed on January 1 and July 1. All available employees assist with the inventory. An outside accountant is retained to assist with taxes and preparation of any financial reports which may be needed. The store currently maintains a daily sales register, a check register, and a file of accounts receivable subsidiary cards. No other books are being maintained. The requirements for this case are divided to coincide with the major sections of the book. In addition, the appropriate chapters are also identified. Part One: Conceptual Foundations of Accounting Information Systems 1. (Chapter 1) Identify the deficiencies in the current information system for the Wooden Nickel. Discuss the information that you think would be most important for internal decision making and for external needs. 2. (Chapter 2) Develop and describe coding schemes for tracking inventory in the Wooden Nickel. 3. (Chapter 3) Develop a data flow diagram for the sales cycle of the Wooden Nickel. 4. (Chapter 3) Prepare document flowcharts to illustrate the current cycles presented for the Wooden Nickel. Use the example presented for the cash disbursements cycle as a guide. 5. (Chapter 5) Discuss how the use of a data base system could improve the information available to the owner and managers of the Wooden Nickel.What problems would be encountered with the implementation of a data base system? 6. (Chapter 6) Draw an E R diagram to represent a data base for the revenue and expenditure cycles, built according to the REA data model. Part Two: The Technology of Information Systems 7. (Chapter 7 or 8) To what extent should the Wooden Nickel computerize? What items should be considered in the decision to computerize? Include a

7 A-27 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases Figure 8 Flowchart of Cash Disbursement Cycle discussion of the type of computer hardware and the type of end-user software that you would suggest to the owner. Make sure that you justify your suggestions. 8. (Chapter 8) Develop a proposal for K. to use microcomputers to support his decision-making process. What should be provided? What would you suggest differently for the two store managers? 9. (Chapter 9) Describe and discuss different possibilities for using data communications at the Wooden Nickel. For example, should it have network? If so, what kind? Should it use a point-of-sale system? In your discussion, include both the positive and negative aspects of each choice.

8 Case A.4: The Wooden Nickel A-28 Chk Selling Misc Date Number Description Purchases Freight Advertising Expense Repairs Rent Wages Dr Cr Polimer Supply B. Distributer DK Advertising Figure 9 Check Register Part Three: The Systems Development Process 10. (Chapter 10) Prepare a feasibility analysis for the computerization of the Wooden Nickel. Be sure to consider the number of transactions and the needs of the store. You should also include both the quantifiable and the nonquantifiable items. 11. (Chapter 10) Develop a plan to determine, in detail, the information needs for the Wooden Nickel. On the basis of the information in the case, indicate the most important information needs for the Wooden Nickel. 12. (Chapter 10) How could the Wooden Nickel take advantage of reengineering? Consider the sales cycle. How could this cycle be reengineered? 13. (Chapter 11) From the information needs discussed in Requirement 1, design one of the reports that would be needed for the Wooden Nickel. 14. (Chapter 11) Design the input forms and screens needed to capture the information for the report designed in Requirement (Chapter 12) Develop a plan for K. to follow to purchase hardware and software. Include all items that he should consider in choosing vendors. Part Four: Control and Audit of Accounting Information Systems 16. (Chapter 13) Identify the internal control weaknesses in the current operation of the Wooden Nickel. For each weakness, offer possible solutions. This will be easier if you provide the information by the cycles discussed in the case. 17. (Chapter 13) How can the Wooden Nickel achieve adequate segregation of duties considering the size of the company? 18. (Chapter 14) Assuming that the Wooden Nickel computerizes, set up a system of internal controls over the computer function. Part Five: Accounting Information Systems Applications 19. (Chapter 17) If you did not complete the document flowcharts for all cycles in Part 1, then you should develop a document flowchart of the sales (revenue) cycle for the current operation of the Wooden Nickel. 20. (Chapter 17) Specifically identify the information needed for the revenue cycle. Develop documentation to show how this output would be provided. 21. (Chapter 17) Identify the internal control objectives that should be established for the Wooden Nickel s revenue cycle. Assuming that the Wooden Nickel will computerize its revenue cycle, describe several internal control policies and procedures that should be established to achieve each of these objectives. 22. (Chapter 18) If you did not complete the document flowcharts for all cycles in Part 1, then you should develop a document flowchart of the expenditure cycle for the current operation of the Wooden Nickel. 23. (Chapter 18) Specifically identify the information needed for the expenditure cycle. Develop

9 A-29 Appendix: Comprehensive Cases Figure 10 Example Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Card B.B. Customer Nearby Street Stillwater, OK SOUTH KNOBLOCK STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA / Acct. # 1076 Date Description Debit Credit Balance 10-1 Purchase Received on Account documentation to show how this output would be provided. 24. (Chapter 18) Identify the internal control objectives that should be established for the Wooden Nickel s expenditure cycle. Assuming that the Wooden Nickel will computerize its expenditure cycle, describe several internal control policies and procedures that should be established to achieve each of these objectives.