Is this a control activity or a control weakness?

Each business payment requires two employees to authorise the payment.

Question

Is this a control activity or a control weakness?

Each business payment requires two employees to authorise the payment.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks whether the described safeguard is a control activity or a control weakness, focusing on payments and the need for two employees to authorise each one.
First, consider what a control activity entails: it is a policy or procedure that helps ensure management directives are carried out and reduces risks, such as errors or fraud. Requiring two employees to authorise a payment is a classic segregation-of-duties mechanism and a preventative control that reduces the chance of improper or unauthorized disbursements.
Second, assess the implication of the two-person rule. This separation of responsibilities means no single individual can both initiate and approve a payment, which mitigates override risks and promotes cross-checks. It aligns with standard internal control frameworks that designate independent verification before a financial obligation is settled.
Third, evaluate whether this could be a weakness. A potential weakness would be if the process lacked clear authority limits, documented procedures, or if the two approvers were colluding or lacked accountability. In the absence of such issues, the described practice functions as a control activity rather than a weakness.
Fourth, note that because the prompt presents a single statement without alternative options, the analysis centers on the designated role of the two-person authorization. The absence of contradictory choices means we focus on the concept rather than comparing multiple statements.
Fifth, from a conceptual standpoint, this two-person requirement supports fundamentals like authorization, verification, and separation of duties, all of which are integral control activities designed to safeguard assets.
Sixth, it is also worth mentioning potential implementation considerations: ensure the two approvers are independent, that there is proper documentation, and that exceptions are governed by a formal policy to prevent ad hoc overrides.
Seventh, when interpreting this as a control activity, the intention is to strengthen control over payments by adding a verification layer, rather than signaling a weakness unless the policy is poorly designed or not properly enforced.
Eighth, if you were evaluating this in a test scenario, you would mark this as a control activity because it directly addresses risk mitigation in the payment process through recommended internal control practices.
Ninth, to summarize the reasoning in a concise way: the two-person authorisation requirement introduces independent checks, prevents single-person misappropriation, and is consistent with recognized internal control principles, thereby constituting a control activity rather than a control weakness.

Is this a control activity or a control weakness? Each business payment requires two employees to authorise the payment.

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