Chapter 5

The Expenditure Cycle Part 1:

Purchases and Cash
Disbursements Procedures

Accounting Information Systems, 7e

James A. Hall

1
Hall, Accounting Information Systems, 7e
2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Objectives for Chapter 5
Fundamental tasks performed during purchases and
cash disbursement processes
Functional areas involved in purchases and cash
disbursements and the flow of these transactions
through the organization
Documents, journals, and accounts that provide audit
trails, promote the maintenance of records, and support
decision making and financial reporting
Risks associated with purchase and cash disbursements
activities and the controls that reduce these risks
Operational features and the control implications of
technology used in purchases and cash disbursement
systems
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 Organization of Chapter 5

The conceptual expenditure cycle

The physical expenditure cycle
Basic technology system
Advanced technology system
Reengineering using EDI
Address functionality, efficiency issues, work flow
characteristics and Internal control issues in each system at
different points on the technology/human continuum

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 Conceptual Expenditure Cycle

Purchase processing
Vouchers payable system
Cash disbursement system

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 Purchase Processing

Monitor inventory records

Prepare purchase order
Receive goods
Update inventory records
Set up accounts payable

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 DFD for Purchase System

Figure 5-1
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 Vouchers Payable System

An alternate to AP procedures
Uses cash disbursement vouchers
Each voucher recorded in the voucher register
Post to general ledger
inventory and voucher control accounts

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 Cash Disbursements

Identify liabilities due

Prepare cash disbursement
Update AP records
Post to general ledger

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 DFD for Cash Disbursements System

Figure 5-10

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 Physical Expenditure Cycle

Physical accounting information systems

combine technology and human activity.
As a general rule, smaller businesses tend to rely
less on technology and more on manual
procedures, whereas larger companies tend to
employ advanced technologies.
The nature of the technology/human mix
employed in a particular system has a direct
bearing on the nature of internal controls
needed to control the system.
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 Basic Technology Expenditure
Cycle
Computers tend to be independent PCs.
Information between departments is
communicated via hard-copy documents.
Maintaining physical files of source documents
is critical to the audit trail.
In the following flowcharts notice that in many
departments, after an individual completes his
or her assigned task, documents are filed as
evidence that the task was performed.

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 Basic Technology Purchases System

Figure 5-13
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 Basic Purchases System

Begins when inventory clerk prints purchase requisitions

by accessing the purchase requisition file
This file was created when inventories dropped to
predetermined reorder point.
The purchasing department receives the requisition
Adds a record to the open purchase order file
PO copies are sent to
Vendor
Inventory control
AP
Blind copy to receiving

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 Basic Purchases System

Receiving clerk receives the goods and reconciles with

packing slip and blind copy of PO
Sends receiving report to
Inventory storeroom
Purchasing department
Files hard copy
AP department reconciles invoice, purchase order and
receiving report
Records transaction in the purchases journal
Gender ledger department receives journal voucher from
AP dept and account summary from inventory control.

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 Basic Technology Cash Disb. System

Figure 5-13
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 Basic Cash Disbursement System

AP clerk reviews AP packets each day, identifies items

due, sends supporting documents to cash
disbursements department.
Cash disbursements department reviews documents for
completeness and accuracy and prepares the payment
for signature.
AP department removes the liability and sends AP
summary to GL department.
GL department posts to the general ledger control
accounts and files the documents.

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 Basic Technology: Physical Controls

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 Authorization Controls

Purchases of inventory should be authorized by

the Inventory Control department, not by
purchasing agents

Accounts Payable authorizes the payments of

bills, not the cash disbursements clerk, who
writes the checks

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 Segregation of Duties

Segregation of inventory control from the

warehouse
Segregation of the general ledger and
accounts payable from cash disbursements

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 Supervision

Within the expenditure cycle, supervision is of

highest importance in the Receiving department,
where the inventory arrives and is logged in by a
receiving clerk. Need to minimize:
failures to properly inspect the assets
theft of the assets

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 Accounting Records
Accounting records rest on the reliability and
security of stored digitalized data.
Accountants should be skeptical about the accuracy
of hard-copy printouts.
Backups - the system needs to ensure that backups
of all files are continuously kept
Most automated systems still have a lot of paper
documents.
This is good for audit trail purposes but is often
inefficient.
As the system becomes increasing paperless,
maintaining an audit trail becomes more difficult.

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 Access Controls

Access to:
inventories (direct)
cash (direct)
accounting records (indirect)

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 Independent Verification
A/Payable dept. verifies much of the work done
within the expenditure cycle.
PR, PO, receiving reports, and suppliers invoices must
be checked and verified by A/P.
G/Ledger dept. verifies:
the total obligations recorded equal the total inventories
received
the total reductions in accounts payable equal the total
disbursements of cash

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 IT Application Controls

Input Controls
Edit controls to check for missing and invalid data
Process
Error messages
Passwords
File backup
Output
Primarily journal vouchers and account summaries
Secure mail boxes/physical control

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 Advanced Technology
Expenditure Cycle

Integration of accounting and other business

functions.
Improved operational performance and
reduce costs by eliminating non-value-added
tasks.
Advanced technologies significantly alter and
simply the expensiture cycle.

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 Integrated Purchases System

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 Integrated Purchase Processing

Computer operations
Many tasks performed automatically (e.g. identify
items to be ordered, send orders to vendors)
Receiving department
Clerk automatically prompted to enter quantities
received; system automatically creates receiving
report, updates inventory, sends info to G/L
AP department
System links vendor invoice, PO, receiving report;
creates virtual AP packet, automatically approves
payment
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 Integrated Cash Disb. System

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 Integrated Cash Disbursements

Due items are automatically paid

Payments recorded
Payments sent
Invoices closed
AP control and cash accounts updated
Reports sent to AP and cash disbursement departments

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 Advanced Technology Physical
Controls

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 Advanced Tech. Expenditure
Cycle Controls

Automated purchase approval

Computer logic, not a human, decides
Automated three-way match and payment
approval
Multilevel security
Automated posting to subsidiary and GL
accounts

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 Advanced Technology IT Controls

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 Reengineering using EDI

Expedites routine transaction processing

between business partners
Requires trading partner agreement
Reengineering receiving function and the AP
tasks produce considerable cost savings

EDI poses unique control risks that must be

recognized and controlled only valid
transactions must be processed
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