QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madame

I am Mengnjo Venyena Eric, a Master student at Baltic International Academy in

the department of Business Administration and Management. As a prerequisite for
the I am conducting research on: “The Effects of Internal Control systems on
the quality of financial reports”. This information provided by you will strictly
be used for academic purposes and the researcher also promises to keep your
information confidential.

This research was carried out using a sample of 70 employees in the organization,
made of managers and internal controllers. Kindly give your opinion by ticking
and filling in the blank spaces provided below.

SECTION ONE: IDENTIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENT

Kindly answer all the questions by either ticking ( ) in the boxes or writing in the
spaces provided.

1 What is your level of education?

[ ] O/Level [ ] A/Level [ ] Bachelor [ ] Masters [ ] others

(please specify

2 What is your position in the organization?

[ ] Manager [ ] internal controller

3 For how long have you been working with the institution?

[ ] less than a year [ ] 1-3 years [ ] 4-5years [ ] 6-8years

[ ] Over 8 years
SECTION TWO: To assess the components of effective internal control in
microfinance institutions in Cameroon.

Where, 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= strongly

agree

No 1 2 3 4 5

Control activities

1 A system of checks and balances is used to ensure

that no one person has control over all parts of a
financial transaction

2 Are receipts required for every petty cash

transaction?

3 Staffs are trained to discharge their duties diligently

4 Employees are actively supervised

5 Your institution has clear separation of duties

Control environment

6 Management reviews financial statements regularly

7 All staff perform their duties as per the regulation

8 Information needed is always available in time

9 Compliance with guidelines can lead to reliable

financial reports

10 Employee morale and turnover rates are at an

acceptable level

Internal Auditing
11 Organizational internal auditing complies with
professional standards

12 Internal auditors examine the reliability and

accuracy of accounting records

13 Internal auditing has an effect on employee

accountability

14 Internal audit is able to detect illegal activities from

within the organization

15 Internal auditors check compliance with established

policies and accounting procedures

SECTION THREE: TYPES OF CONTROL (Tick as appropriate)

S/ DESCRIPTION YES NO
N

Preventive control

1 Are duties and responsibilities separated among different

staff?

2 Does management specify activities or transactions that need

supervisory approval before they are performed by staff?

3 Is there any back-up system in place for your entire electronic

database?

4 Are there procedures that allow your department to maintain a

copy (soft or hard) of the client list and account balances?

Detective control
5 Does your department prepare reconciliation statements?

6 Does the management use budget, spending plans, etc. to

review the company’s performance?

7 Is inventory counted regularly?

Directive control

8 Is there any approved policy manual which governs the

activities of your department?

9 Have you read the policy manual yourself?

10 Has the policy manual been explained to you?

SECTION FOUR: ACHIEVEMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

S/ DESCRIPTION YES NO
N

Reliability of financial reporting

1 Is it required that trial balances, adjustments and supporting

work papers be maintained to support the process of closing
the General Ledger and preparing Financial Statements and
Financial Statement worksheets?

2 Are worksheets and schedules attached to journal entry

accounting code sheets and are they secured in a safe
location?

3 Are schedules followed to ensure timely preparation and

filing of statutory reports?

4 Is usefulness of internal financial reports periodically

 evaluated?

5 Are financial reports submitted timely to requestors or users?

Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

6 Are there methods used to identify laws, regulations and

standards that affect the organization?

7 Are there mechanism designed to monitor compliance with

these laws, regulations and standards?

Safeguard of fixed assets

8 Are there procedures in place to safeguard valuable and

sensitive assets against theft or damage?

9 Is there adequate insurance coverage of the very high valued

fixed assets?

10 Are assets owned by the company specifically

identified/coded?

11 Are there procedures in place for writing-off fully depreciated

fixed assets?

Prevention and detection of fraud and operational errors

12 Does the implementation of strong internal control system

able to detect and prevent fraudulent act and practice?

13 Does an effective supervision and implementation of strong

internal control system capable of revealing fraudster’s mode
of operations?

14 Does awareness of internal control system by management

and staff reduces an attempt to perpetrate fraud?

15 Does top management adherence and submission to the

control procedures set in place in all departments of the bank
able to prevent the occurrence of management fraud?