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Merrick Union Free School District – Financial
Management (Nassau County)
The
board and district officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserves.
Although the board and district officials reduced surplus fund balance from 19%
as of
Panama Central School District – Procurement
(Chautauqua County)
The
board and district officials did not always comply with the district’s procurement
policies or state law which generally requires purchase contracts that exceed
certain thresholds to be competitively bid. In addition, the claims auditor did
not perform adequate audits. As a result, $1.1 million in purchases (half of
the procurements reviewed) were made without competitive procurement methods.
Therefore, the board, officials and the claims auditor did not help ensure that
district funds were used to procure goods and services in a prudent and
economical manner and in the best interests of taxpayers. Furthermore, certain
district officials delegated their procurement responsibilities to other
individuals and did not ensure they adhered to the procurement policies and
state law. The claims auditor also relied on other district officials to
perform her job responsibilities and did not ensure district officials complied
with the procurement policies and state law.
Village of Catskill – Accounting Records and Reports
(Greene County)
The
clerk-treasurer did not maintain complete and accurate accounting records and
did not provide timely, accurate or adequate reports to the board. As a result,
the transparency of the village’s financial operations was reduced, and the
risk that unauthorized or inappropriate transactions could occur and go
undetected increased. The clerk-treasurer made accounting errors totaling over
$2.2 million and did not reconcile bank balances to the general ledger cash
balances. As a result, there is a greater risk that errors and/or
irregularities could occur. The clerk-treasurer also did not properly account
for three bank account balances totaling $1.1 million on May 31, 2023 in the
accounting records or comply with state law, all requiring annual financial
reports (AFRs) be filed with the Comptroller’s Office. Further, the village
board did not annually audit the clerk-treasurer’s records, as required by law.
Town of Pittsfield – Supervisor’s Records and Reports
(Otsego County)
The
supervisor did not maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting
records and reports. The supervisor did not properly record revenues in the
accounting system, prepare bank reconciliations or provide detailed monthly
fund balances to the town board. In addition, the supervisor did not file the
town’s 2021 or 2023 AFR as required by state law and the 2022 AFR was
inaccurate. The supervisor also did not provide the board with records for the
annual audit, as required. Had the accounting records been presented to the
board and the board members fulfilled the annual audit requirement and provided
adequate oversight of the town’s financial operations, the accounting and
reporting deficiencies may have been identified and corrected.
Cayuga County – Court and Trust Funds
Pursuant
to a court order, certain assets may be provided to the court and then
delivered to the county treasurer for safekeeping. Together, the treasurer,
county clerk and surrogate’s court must develop sound procedures and processes
which, when implemented properly and consistently, provide a system of internal
controls to account for and safeguard these funds. Auditors found there was no
reconciliation performed between the treasurer’s, county clerk’s and
surrogate’s court’s records and three cases totaling $175,940 were excluded
from the annual report. In addition, the court and trust register did not
include two court and trust actions identified in the treasurer’s records.
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