Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine if the District established adequate controls to ensure that financial activity was properly recorded and reported and to safeguard District moneys for the period January 1, 2012, to May 13, 2013.

Background

The South Fallsburg Fire District is a district corporation of the State, distinct and separate from the Town of Fallsburg and located in Sullivan County. The Board of Fire Commissioners consists of five elected members. The District’s general fund budget totaled approximately $306,000 for the 2013 fiscal year.

Key Findings

• While the District does have adequate financial policies, it does not have certain financial procedures in place. The Board has not ensured that procedures concerning certain financial recording and reporting were developed. The Treasurer submits a budget-to-actual financial report to the Board only at the end of the fiscal year and has not filed the required annual financial report with the Office of State Comptroller since the 2008 fiscal year.
• Although the Treasurer identifies checks that have cleared the bank, he does not perform proper bank reconciliations.
• The Board contracts with an independent auditor to perform an annual audit of the Treasurer’s records; however, the last completed audit was performed in 2010 for the 2008 fiscal year.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that formal written procedures are in place for financial recording and reporting. Provide the Board with budget status reports on a monthly basis. Ensure that the Annual Financial Report is filed with the Office of the State Comptroller within 60 days of the close of the fiscal year.
• Reconcile the District’s accounting records to the bank statements monthly and follow up on any differences.
• Ensure that the annual audit of the financial records is performed in a timely manner.