Corporate Governance & Ethics is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 Accounting CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. A core principle of good internal control is:
Separation (division) of duties, so no one person controls a transaction from start to finish
Allowing one trusted employee to handle all cash transactions alone
Avoiding all bank reconciliations to save time
Removing all authorisation requirements to speed up transactions
Answer: Separation (division) of duties, so no one person controls a transaction from start to finish — Separation of duties ensures no single individual can both carry out and conceal a fraudulent or erroneous transaction, since different people are responsible for authorising, recording, and safeguarding assets.
Easy
2. Why should the person who receives cash from customers ideally not also be the person who records that cash in the books?
Combining both duties in one person creates an opportunity for theft or errors to go undetected
It is simply more efficient to separate these tasks
Recording cash is a task only managers may perform
There is no accounting reason for this separation
Answer: Combining both duties in one person creates an opportunity for theft or errors to go undetected — If one person both handles and records cash, they could take cash and hide the theft in the records with no independent check; separating these roles means a second person's records can be compared against actual cash received.
Medium
3. Which of the following is an example of a strong internal control measure over cash payments?
Requiring two authorised signatories for large cheques or electronic payments
Allowing any employee to approve their own expense claims
Storing all cash in an unlocked drawer for convenience
Never reconciling the bank statement
Answer: Requiring two authorised signatories for large cheques or electronic payments — Requiring two signatories means no single person can authorise a large payment alone, reducing the risk of unauthorised or fraudulent payments going through unchecked.
