Testing Physical Controls
Inadequate segregation of duties and lack of supervision can result in fraud and errors
that can cause financial statements to be materially misstated. The exposure issues here
are similar to the access control issues discussed earlier. Granting inappropriate access
privileges is often due to assigning incompatible duties to an individual. Similarly, the
purpose of collusion is to achieve unauthorized access to assets as well as the information
needed to conceal the crime. Evidence gathered by reviewing the segregation of duties
can be used to test all of the management assertions outlined in Table 10.1.