Page 297 - COSO Guidance Book

Exhibit 8-2: Flowchart symbols (continued)

Multidocument — Several documents or multiple copies of the same
document

Manual input — Data is entered by keying, scanning, or other methods.

Manual file — The letter “A” means file alphabetically, “N” for file
A
numerically, and “D” for file based on date.

Exhibit 8-3: Illustration of narrative and systems flowchart

Narrative
Assume the following for a cash-receipts system and posting to a subsidiary accounts-
receivable ledger.

Mail containing cash receipts (checks) is identified by information on the envelope and sent
to the mail-receipts department. The mail is opened by two individuals who list each
individual payment and the amount remitted on a three-part mail-receipt list. Both individuals
initial this list and one copy of it is sent to the accounts-receivable subsidiary bookkeeper for
posting to the subsidiary accounts-receivable ledger. The cash and another copy of the mail-
receipt list is sent to the cashier. The third copy is retained in the mail-receipts department,
initialed by both individuals who opened and listed the mail receipts. This mail-receipts list is
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then filed by date.
The accounts-receivable subsidiary bookkeeper who posts to the subsidiary accounts-
receivable ledger then posts transactions to each individual subsidiary account. The files are
maintained on a computer; the bookkeeper performs the data entry. When the posting
process is completed, the accounts-receivable subsidiary bookkeeper compares the total
posted to the subsidiary accounts-receivable ledger with the total on the copy of the mail-
receipts list sent to bookkeeping by the mail-receipts department. If both amounts agree,
then the copy of the mail-receipts list is initialed by the accounts-receivable subsidiary
bookkeeper and filed by date. If the totals do not agree, then the accounts-receivable
subsidiary bookkeeper compares the posting to each individual account, reads the mail-
receipts list, and performs other error-correction procedures until the amounts are
reconciled.

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To keep the flowchart concise, another control, “Checks should be stamped for deposit only upon receipt,” is not
included in this example.

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