Audit Objective

Determine whether the Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Board of Education (Board) and officials properly paid part-time temporary employees (PTEs).

Key Findings

The Board and officials did not properly approve or monitor agreements for PTEs. Without adequate controls over PTEs, the Board cannot be assured that PTEs are being employed and compensated as the Board intended. The Board and officials did not:

• Ensure employment agreements were pre-approved; 128 of the agreements we reviewed were approved by the Board after the employee began work.
• Properly monitor hours worked by PTEs. Two PTEs worked in excess of the total Board-authorized time and were therefore paid in excess of their Board-authorized salaries.
• Ensure employees completed a timesheet or provided adequate documentation to support hours paid; six of the 26 PTEs reviewed did not maintain timesheets.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt clear and comprehensive written payroll and personnel policies and procedures governing PTEs and identify the individuals responsible for implementing controls and monitoring for compliance.
• Require agreements to be approved prior to the employee’s start date.
• Ensure PTEs complete and submit signed timesheets to support hours worked.

BOCES officials agreed with our findings and recommendations and indicated they have initiated or planned to initiate corrective action.