The auditor can use ACL’s Stratify and Classify features to identify various characteristics
and anomalies associated with accounts payable procedures. Both of these
functions are used to group data into predetermined intervals, count the number of
records that fall into each interval, and accumulate a financial value for each interval.
The stratify function groups financial data into specific strata. Using data similar to
those in Table 10.2, we demonstrate its use for stratifying disbursement vouchers by
accumulating the Amount field for each strata. The classify function forms strata based
on nonfinancial (and nonnumeric) data. In our example, this feature is used to group
the vouchers by vendor number. In this case also, the Amount field is accumulated.
The results of the two procedures are presented in Figure 10.10 and Figure 10.11,
respectively.
The first report gives the auditor an overall perspective for the nature of the purchasing
process. Notice that 91 percent of the total number of disbursement vouchers
constitutes only 15 percent of the business volume for the period. The second report
shows the business activity associated with individual vendors. Over 40 percent of the
organization’s purchases are from a single vendor, while most of the other vendors receive
only a small percentage of the total business. These findings may reflect a natural
business phenomenon, or they may signify potential risks.
Excessive purchases from a single supplier may reflect an unusual business dependency
that may prove harmful to the firm if the supplier raises prices or cannot deliver
on schedule. This situation may also signify a fraudulent relationship involving kickbacks
to purchasing agents or other management.