Why would a company institute a control policy that required mandatory vacations

There are numerous risk factors that can cause an individual to misappropriate assets, such as cash (see Table 4-5). By requiring that an individual take a vacation, another individual will perform that person's duties. If some type of misappropriation is taking place, there is a strong probability that the misappropriation will be detected. Such a policy is particularly helpful in a small business that does not have sufficient personnel to provide total segregation of duties or where there is poor oversight by personnel responsible for the asset.