Sales representatives for a manufacturing company are reimbursed for 100 percent of their cellular telephone bills. Cellular telephone costs vary significantly from representative to representative and from month to month, complicating the budgeting and forecasting processes. Management has requested that the internal auditors develop a method for controlling these costs.
Which of the following would most appropriately be included in the scope of the consulting project?
- Control self-assessment involving sales representatives.
- Benchmarking with other cellular telephone users.
- Business process review of procurement and payables routines.
- Performance measurement and design of the budgeting and forecasting processes.
Answer(s): C
Explanation:
A business process review BPR) assesses the performance of administrative, financial, and other processes, such as those within the procurement and payables functions. BPR considers process effectiveness and efficiency, including the presence of appropriate controls, to mitigate business risk. It seeks to achieve improvements in such critical measures of performance as cost, quality, service, speed, and customer satisfaction. Because the objective is to control cellular phone costs, BPR is the appropriate tool.