In a case like this, it would be very important to make sure you investigate the recurring
pattern of mistakes being made and have a discussion with the coworker making the same
mistake. It would be unethical to accept dinner as an offer from the coworker to fix the
mistake because it would be inviting the coworker to continue making the mistake and this
person would feel like they can count you to continue fixing further mistakes being made. In
a case like this, I would report this coworker to management in a friendly way so they can
coach this coworker on the mistakes being made. Anytime I make an entry, I would validate
that I have accurate information, and also that I have all of the required information to
perform my job correctly. If the employee made the same mistake multiple times, I would
ask clarifying and probing questions to get tot he root because. It is a training issue, is it an
incompetence issue, or is it in fact suspicious in nature? Either way, it should be reported to
management so that they are aware of the requests to make updates, and that the employee is
experiencing a problem with accurate reporting. The impacts to the cash accounts is that it is
being updated incorrectly and will not reflect accurate amounts, there will be an imbalance
on the account. I would not accept dinner, as it is my job to make sure that there is accurate
accounting. Whether the employee is sincere in there offer due to their mistake, or it is a
bribe, it is not ethically appropriate to accept favors for doing your job. This particular
situation is concerning for multiple reasons. The fact that it is the same mistake three times
is abnormal. We all know mistakes are part of life, and nobody is perfect. The same mistake
needing correction three times could be a sign of someone taking advantage of the situation.
I would first research to see someone made them aware of the mistake the first and the
second time. If made aware of the mistake and correctly record the receipt and continues to
make the same mistake, that may be suspicious. I would also investigate the amounts and
see if it is possible to gain from these mistakes. The receipt is issuing a credit to the cash
account, which suggests that the funds are going safely back into the company's assets. It is
always best to gather as many details as possible and review them before making the
correction. As for the dinner offer, I would respectfully decline the invitation. It may be a
genuinely kind offer, but I wouldn't want to send a message that I may be open to gifts or
bribes. I typically try to keep business separate from my personal life. I would ask a lot of
questions as to why my co worker has made the same mistake three times in one month.
This is extremely concerning. As a bookkeeper it is my job to make sure all of the accounts
are correct. Fixing an issue is do able, but a lot has to go into it. So much more than if it
would have just been done correctly the first time. I would definitely involve management in
this situation because of the repetition of the same mistake in such short time. I could get
into a lot of trouble myself if I do not. The manager should then ask questions as well and
maybe think about re training some one. Three times in one month is awfully suspicious.
Accepting dinner as a thank you is a huge red flag. I would let my manager know of that as
well. This could mean that they are trying to bribe me, which usually means something bad
is going on. No dinner is worth losing my career over, and if this was a friend of mine I
would still do the same because a true friend would not put you in this situation. I would for
sure ask a lot of probing questions, on how and why is it he keeps messing up. I will also do
my investigation to make sure the correction that I am doing is really legit. I know I don't
want to be apart of nothing illegal so I will really have to make sure it is nothing outrages is
going on. I will also have to inform someone about this as well because from the sounds of
it I really believe something is going on to be messing up three times within this month. By
him also trying to take me out to dinner for fixing the mistake is kind of concerning as well.
It is my job to do, so for him to go out his way to offer me dinner does make it seem a
sketchy as well. I will try my best to investigate and make the right decisions on the actions
that I take. I will have to past on the dinner though. As the full-time bookkeeper your first
and primary responsibility its accurate recording of all transactions. And keeping thorough
and detailed records. If the co-worker has made the same mistake multiple times, I would
potentially find this suspicious. The first time I would likely make the change and not ask
too many questions. But when the mistake happened again, I would investigate the
transaction a little more closely to determine if it is a suspicious charge. I would also likely
involve my manager. At the third time I would definitely pull in my manager for a
discussion. The team could treat is as a training issue to allow for information gathering
rather than putting the co-worker in defense mode. The mistakes with the cash account are
causing it to be credited incorrectly. These adjustments require additional work and
explanation. In my opinion I would not accept dinner for fixing the mistake the for the third
time. I feel like dinner isn’t unreasonable for helping a co-worker resolve a problem but
given that is the third time it feels suspicious to me. I would begin an investigation to ensure
that the funds being utilized from this account are for legitimate purposes after the second
incidence of this occurring. This is clearly a problem if it is a reoccurring issue, and if the
coworker is seemingly bribing you for your assistance in the issue. It would be critical, not
only for the safety and protection of the company, but your job security and potentially legal
security, to ensure that you are not complicit in any fraudulent activity in regards to your
book keeping.After the first occasion of this issue, I would have taken the time to ask
questions such as "where was this money going and what is it used for?". I would explain to
them the importance of keeping accurate and transparent books, and why these transactions
are raising red flags. Perhaps they are doing these things out of ignorance, or, once again, if
the intent behind these transactions is malicious, it could cause them to think twice about it
knowing that you are not going to help them cover their tracks. I would not accept dinner
from said coworker in exchange for these corrections, as it could make me an accomplice to
their crime, if and when they were caught doing something illegal.
First I would investigate if these are just careless mistakes, lack of training, or something
fraudulent. a One of the red flags is that this is happening more than once. a I know that after
the first request to make the correction, I would have explained the correct accounting
procedure to my co-worker. I would have also told them that I have to include the reason for
the correction so I need know why the cash receipt was entered twice. The second time, I
would reiterate what I told them the last time they asked me to make the correction. The
third time, I would have to report it to my supervisor because I wouldn’t want it to appear
that I was participating in any type of fraud, if that is what is happening. By entering the
cash receipt twice, the co-worker may be taking the cash from the company.
I would not accept a dinner offer from my co-worker for fixing the mistake because I think
it would be considered a bribe. If it was later determined that the co-worker was stealing
from the company, I wouldn’t want it to appear that I was part of the fraud.
I would recommend that an investigation is conducted to rule out any inappropriate
activities. A couple of factors to consider is, how long has this employee been with the
company? What is their level of education and training? Do they have a hardship going on
that is affecting their work performance? What documents are present to support the entries,
and have the documents been altered.I would not accept a dinner offer or any other offer of
value as a payment for my assistance in this scenario or any other scenario when it comes to
helping an employee with correcting mistakes at work, because it crosses the line of
unethical behaviors. This situation is one that should not happen by the same person three
times in one month. I find that I would investigate the actual amount of cash that should be
recorded. Every time a change happens it come back to me as the bookkeeper. It is my
responsibility to make sure that the entries are correct. When a correction is made my name
would be next to it. I could see someone coming behind me asking questions. In order to be
able to answer said questions I would need to know from my co-worker why are these
mistakes happening so often. Honestly at this point I bring this to the attention of our
managers.
At this point the reason I would take this to a manager is because of the offer of dinner for
fixing the mistake. If it is my job to as bookkeeper to make sure all account are correct why
would I need dinner or lunch as a thank you? I find that this is just a bribe to keep me quite.
I would never accept a bribe cause that dinner will not take care of me and my family. This
situation could happen anywhere and to anyone like a new hire or someone not properly
trained or worst case scenario someone who is trying to steal money from the company. If
this was a one off instance I would do basic research and probably let it go, but multiple
times a month is concerning. I would definitely advise a manager about the situations and do
research to figure out what these transactions are. In my job if you misquote a customer and
you’re new it’s not a big deal, managers correct the mistakes and make it right but if you are
either new or tenured and this is happening consistently where customers come in with bills
with misquotes or were lied to for the sake of the sale there will be write ups involved if it
continues long enough. In this scenario I would treat it like that, one mistake is bound to
happen but once it increases and continues then something needs to be addressed. For
something like this I think I would go over all the variables before thinking the worst. So for
the co-worker for a mistake to happen like this three times in the same month, I would think
they are a new employee or they are new to the position. If neither of these were the case
then I would have to start looking at the three transactions in depth. I would make sure that
it was just a mistake and not a way to pocket some cash. But I would start with there
manager and let them know what is happening and if I did find so kind of fraud I would
bring it up to my manager and or HR. On the accounts you are taking from the cash account
to balance out the sales account. If you did not fix it you would come out short on the cash
account because of the double entry. I would not accept the dinner offer because if it is fraud
and a way to take money from the company then you could be an accomplice cause if looks
like you are covering up for that co-worker. As the full-time bookkeeper, it's my job to make
corrections to the general ledger accounts, not to pass judgement towards the co-workers in
the company. Please don't mistake this on any part as to where I don't see what is going on
with the records that I keep and what a co-worker is trying to ask me to do. Will I make the
corrections that is asked of me? Yes I will, but I will first, decline the dinner offer and let the
co-worker know that I am also annotating the whole scenario to cover myself. Think about
it, this is the 3rd time this month already so apparently the first two didn't raise any flags. I
will absolutely cover my end and state that this is a part of what a bookkeeper does and that
that the co-worker is the one that has the issue with doing their job properly. The Cash
account is recorded as a credit and a debit to the Sales account, respectfully. This is common
in the workplace, but if it happens to continue from the same person then the CFO will have
to reach out to that co-worker. I am not certain of the course of action to take here, but this
definitely sounds shady. Id investigate the transaction, and entry in question. I would also
investigate the source of the transaction. Should i find something out of place I would report
it. Should I not find anything, I would report the request to in house management, this goes
for the correction as well. I would also make a entry that I was correcting a mistake, and that
goes for if it turns out to be legit. You can not be too safe when it comes to a business and
money. Not only is it the life blood of the business but the country as a whole in the basis of
our economy. Nothing gets overlooked, especially by the government. You must be tactful,
and play it safe when it comes to record keeping and the money! That is my humble opinion
at least. Now is there more appropriate actions? Might be, but I have not got to that point in
my studies yet. Still, I always push for being thorough, and safe. n the very beginning, the
first question to ask yourself as a bookkeeper is why is the co-worker requesting to bribe you
using lunch, and yet it is your job to make the correction as soon as they occur. Another
thing is why does the action appears suspicious due to the bribe? I think the best thing to do
in such a situation is to inform your supervisor to protect your job. Do not make any
adjustments to the accounts without also confirming the receipt of the money and also from
the customer. You might not be in a position to know the intentions of your co-worker. In
this case, the cash receipt account would be credited and the sales account debited to correct
the error.
However, it is your responsibility as a bookkeeper to make such corrections of error as they
appear to the accounts and that is what you have been employed to do. A co-worker coming
to you with a request to offer a lunch and make correction makes the adjustment suspicious
since you should not receive bribe for carrying out your job. Before making a decision about
the correcting entry I would make sure that I am correcting the right entry and not a entry
that is not an error. You don't want to remove an entry that is actually accounted for and is
correct. With the Cash account you are crediting it to reverse the funds due to the mistake
that the coworker made. I believe that money is being taken from the Cash account in error
so that's why when the error is being corrected you are crediting the Cash account and
debiting the Sales account. For me, I would not accept a dinner offer from my coworkers
because it is inappropriate. Seems sort of like a bribe thing to me where as though he/she
expects that you will continuously clean up their mistake if they reward you. I don't believe
that you should go out to dinner with your co worker simply because it can backfire on you
as well. I believe in the saying you don't mix business with pleasure no matter what it is. I
would try investigating the error before trying to fix it since it wasn’t the first time it
happened. I would asks a lot of questions and make notice for future errors too. I would also
try to find out why they are being changed to cash accounts. I would have to involve the
manager too. So that everyone are on the same page about these accounts. I wouldn’t accept
the dinner offer because I don’t see why they would offer it to do my job. That would make
me feel like it’s something bigger I am fixing but I don’t know it. That would be a red flag
for me. But I could be over thinking the situation. But No I wouldn’t just fix a problem
blindly so it could bite me on my butt later. I would differently get my supervisor involved
and make sure everything is being done correctly. First of all, this is a situation I would
never want to be in. :) I would look into those previous transactions and verify that cash
account transactions are accounted for. I would then verify that counterpart (sales account) is
documented and input correctly, as well. This type of behavior would be extremely
suspicious to me. However, I would of addressed this once the second error occurred for
preventive measures. So I would also take some accountability for this third occurrence. I
would also involve both my supervisor and theirs. Mine would be for protection when
correcting all these errors. I would also speak with my supervisor requesting I be allowed to
address possible training concerns for my coworker. As far as dinner is concerned, I would
respectfully decline the offer. The dinner offer seems to be a bit sketchy considering the
current events. This type of behavior to me goes against my moral and ethical beliefs. This
scenario is one that would arouse my suspicion. First of all, the same type of bookkeeping
error three times in one month, is edging more towards an intentional pattern, rather than
careless mistakes. I would first verify the cash receipt transactions and obtain proof that they
were legitimate business transactions made by my co-worker. This scenario is a red flag
because in each instance, the company could have received two cash payments, and by
reversing one of the payments, it looks like there was only one cash payment in the
accounting ledger. That would be a way for my co-worker to pocket the cash from one of
the payments. Of course, this sort of misconduct has serious consequences, so I would only
reach this conclusion based on rock solid evidence.
Whether I accept dinner from my co-worker would be based on the context of the invitation.
If it was his/her subtle way of thanking me for looking the other way, then absolutely not.
Being the recipient of a bribe is definitely not something I want to get caught up in at work.
If the invitation was completely separate from the accounting correction request, I would
consider it, since other factors might prompt a dinner invitation. For example, maybe we
have had dinner together in the past and a dinner invitation would not be out of the blue.
Basically, I would go with my intuition, behavior of my co-worker, and if the topic of dinner
came up organically in our conversation. If the other employee is entering the same receipts
multiple times, that doesn't seem like something that would simply be an oversight. You
don't normally get extra copies of cash receipts, so the duplicates really seem to be an
intentional act of deceit. That person would have to literally ask whomever they are having
a cash transaction for duplicate receipts or copy them themselves.
If I were in this situation I would start taking a look at this person's recorded receipts over
the course of their employment, trying to verify that this isn't a pattern past just this month.
I would also ask the coworker to provide me with any supporting information, like a thank
you text or email from the person they shared a meal with if it was a dining expense.
I would also report the multiple instances of the same mistake to their supervisor, as well as
the offer of a free meal, and I would not submit any corrections without approval to do so
from someone who gets paid enough to own that decision. Not that updating the ledger is an
issue here, the action is simple enough... Add the transaction total back to the cash account
to increase the balance back to where it supposedly should be, and move the expense over to
the credit account to decrease it in value therefore correcting the books... however I would
not be comfortable or willing to toe the line of anything that could get me charged with theft
or embezzlement. In this scenario, there is money being removed from the Cash Account
and money is being added to the Sales Account. Before making the corrections to the entry,
I would investigate why there are so many mistakes happening with this co-worker. I would
want to bring it to my and her supervisor to ensure that she had the adequate training for the
entries. This would ensure that any corrections are done with the approval of a superior, to
avoid any sort of "funny business". As far as the dinner offer, I could not and would not
accept anything of the sort. It would appear as though we are doing favors for each other. I
would also make it clear to the co-worker how offering something like that would be
unethical and that she should not be doing those sort of things. I would like to say that I
would immediately report that to my supervisor as well, but I do not think I would. I would
warn my co-worker, and if it happened again, to me or anyone else, I would then report it.
Before rectifying the double entry, I should first determine whether the issue is related to a
performance issue created by a coworker who is not careful while entering cash receipts or
whether it is a purposeful oversight. Hence, if it's a mistake done by my associate
unwillingly, I should inform the supervisor for an appropriate decision to be made. In
contrast, if the oversight was intentional, it is definitely forgery, as my associate is
attempting to match up the embezzlement by documenting the incorrect amount that should
get reported.
In this case, the cash amount is overestimated as of a set date, posing audit risks because
cash practically available may differ from cash documented. Daily, physical verification of
cash and comparison of account balance with financial statements should get performed to
uncover any potential for incorrect reporting or deception, which should get corrected
quickly.
I will decline the dinner offer because it would be beyond its standards of conduct and
ethical guidelines. Accepting an offer to cover up a mistake made during the specified
course of accounting is not appropriate.
