Assess whether a referral to counsel is warranted (359e57)

Situation

In a county government payroll environment, round-trip cash circularization file is the evidence after a sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean. External counsel's accounting expert has to pick Remove access or reverse the item or Temporary compensating control for this Forensic Accounting Related-Party and Corruption Risk close using round-trip cash circularization file.

Decision

External counsel's accounting expert in a county government payroll environment must choose Remove access or reverse the item / Temporary compensating control / Approve a documented exception / Hold using round-trip cash circularization file after a sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean.

Hypotheses to test

• A sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean is noise around an already-controlled Related-Party and Corruption Risk process in a county government payroll environment, given round-trip cash circularization file.
• A sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean is the event in round-trip cash circularization file that forces Remove access or reverse the item for external counsel's accounting expert under Forensic Accounting.
• Round-trip cash circularization file shows a one-file miss after a sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean, not a Related-Party and Corruption Risk program failure.
• Round-trip cash circularization file cannot decide a referral to counsel is warranted yet after a sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean; hold is the only Forensic Accounting close a county government payroll environment can defend.

Analysis required

• Test cutoff, reversals, and system-of-record ties for materiality on a referral to counsel is warranted.
• Quantify the entry if external counsel's accounting expert has to reverse it.
• Separate a close-process miss from a qualitative SAB 99 issue in a county government payroll environment.
• For this Forensic Accounting Related-Party and Corruption Risk file, read round-trip cash circularization file against a sudden drop in days-sales-outstanding that looks too clean and write the one fact that would move a referral to counsel is warranted for external counsel's accounting expert.

Recommendation