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“Joelle picked Cinderella. It’s one of her favorites. She’ll be content for the next ninety minutes,” Caleb said, settling in the chair next to her.
“Great. I’ve sorted through everything and arranged the inventory into stacks by each week, and then a monthly summary stack. Start with July of last year, comparing week-to-week entries to see if anything jumps out at you. I’ll start from January to June and do the same. Highlight large increases in yellow and then we can step back and compare the data. If in doubt what’s considered large, circle it anyway.” Madison was ready to tackle this project and having two of them going over the data should make it quick work. The problem she saw in her plan was that once they found the problem, Caleb wouldn’t need her anymore. And she loved spending time with them.
“I like your take-charge attitude. Having your help is awesome because it forces me to stay focused. Wouldn’t want the boss to catch me slacking,” he teased.
“Well, since I’m the employee, there’s no chance of that. Like I said, I enjoy the challenge, not that I wouldn’t rather be applying my skills creatively instead of mathematically, but this pays the bills.” Luckily, she had an aptitude for both.
“Except I hired you to watch Joelle. You could be watching Cinderella, but you voluntarily gave that up for this.” He gestured toward the stacks of papers spread out on the table.
“And miss all this fun? No way. Now quit stalling. Ninety minutes will go quickly.”
“I’m on it,” Caleb said, picking up the first four weeks of inventory sheets arranged neatly in front of where he was sitting.
The man liked to tap his marker on the table as he reviewed the ledgers, the sound somewhat distracting. And cute. Sneaking a peek at him as he worked, his mouth was drawn tight as he studied the figures. There were a few highlighted areas, but not many, which were good and bad. Good, there were no discrepancies. Bad they were no closer to figuring out the problem.
Madison continued to review her stacks, making quick work of the inventory sheets. There were a few entries that had steady increases, perhaps relative to the economy, but one jumped out at her. The BOGOP company expenses kept creeping up higher at an alarming rate, while most of the inventory remained steady. “Let me see what you have so far. I may have found something,” Madison said.
“What is it?” Caleb had only gone through a few months by the time she’d finished her stacks, but he stopped, more than a little interested in seeing what she’d found.
“There’s a company called BOGOP whose costs have risen at an alarming rate. Have you seen anything about them on your end?”
“BOGOP only just started showing up on my accounts, so I figured it was a seasonal thing. Am I missing something?” he asked.
A quick scan confirmed Caleb’s assessment. It would seem the relationship with BOGOP only started in March. “It helps that I’m a little more well-versed in comparing the data. But in looking over what you’ve done so far, I see the jump to July and moving forward as significant. While you finish those up, I want to do some quick figures based on monthly totals.”
“Have at it.” Caleb grinned. “I’ve not heard of the company, so it must be someone my uncle started using.”
Madison didn’t like what she was seeing. Month after month, the increase was a steady pattern. Jotting down some notes on her tablet, she added up the increases, circling her last figure. “I think this may be your problem. Look,” she said, pointing at the tablet. “The account started off spending hundreds of dollars a month in March. Each month, the expense got higher, and by the end of last year it was almost a thousand dollars a month.”
Caleb nodded and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s an issue, but it still doesn’t explain the shortages I’m facing now.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen this year’s numbers on BOGOP. Look at this,” she said.
Caleb stood and moved to stand behind Madison as she spread out the last six months of monthly summaries for this year. “What am I looking for?”
Madison pointed to her tablet and the chart she’d drawn. “Starting in February, the increases grew at a faster rate. To the tune of over ten thousand dollars in the last five months.”
Caleb drew in a deep breath and shook his head. “That’s almost in line with the shortages I’ve calculated in my account. I don’t get it. What could my uncle possibly be buying that keeps getting more expensive, and why wouldn’t he find another supplier?”
“That’s what you need to find out. Call him. Find out what the BOGOP company sells and get his take on the situation. He is the manager, after all, and should fully expect questions given the situation.”
Caleb frowned. “I don’t want to upset him or make him think he’s done something wrong. He’s family and I trust him.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him from walking away. “It’s either that or lose the store. Take your pick.” Madison wanted to deal with the issue head on.
“Fine.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons. It wasn’t long before the two men were exchanging greetings, the corded muscles of his neck rippling with tension.
“Hey, Uncle Bill. We’ve been going over some accounts payable ledgers, and Madison has found something we need to discuss. We’ve discovered an issue with one account and I’m hoping you can shed some light for us.”
Madison could hear Bill talking but couldn’t make out the words. She tried to gauge the conversation using Caleb’s facial expressions and was rewarded with a sudden smile as he pressed the speakerphone button.
“What seems to be the problem? You know I feel terrible about the store revenue declining and I’ve tried to increase sales. If there’s anything I can do, just say the word,” Bill offered.
“I know you have tried to help, and I’m sure this isn’t your fault. What can you tell me about the BOGOP company? The capital expense with them seems out of line, but then I don’t even know what you are ordering from them. There’s no description of goods.”
“Oh, that’s a marketing company I started doing business with. They offer Buy One, Get One deals we can sell to our customers. I figure we needed to draw people into the store and keep them shopping here instead of going to the new store. I thought it was working.” Madison believed the man, as he seemed genuinely distressed.
Caleb ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “I see. It makes sense, but unfortunately, it’s not working. We need to stop doing business with BOGOP immediately. There has to be a better way to drum up business. The account is costing us exorbitant sums of money we can’t afford based on revenue.”
