Bern Fly Rod Company is a small manufacturer of high-quality graphite fly-fishing rods. It
sells its products to fly-fishing shops throughout the United States and Canada. Bern began as
a small company with four salespeople, all family members of the owner. Due to the high
popularity and recent growth of fly-fishing, Bern now employs a sales force of 16, and for the
first time employs nonfamily members. The salespeople travel around the country giving flycasting demos of their new models. Once the sales orders are generated, inventory availability
is determined and, if necessary, the salesperson sends the order directly to the manufacturing
department for immediate production. Sales staff compensation is tied directly to their sales
figures. Bern’s financial statements for the December year-end reflect unprecedented sales, 35
percent higher than last year. Further, sales for December account for 40 percent of all sales.
Last year, December sales accounted for only 20 percent of all sales.
Required:
Analyze the previous situation and assess any potential internal control issues and exposures.
Discuss some preventive measures this firm may wish to implement.