Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine internal controls over the Department’s financial operations for the period January 1, 2013 through March 5, 2014.

Background

The Lumberland Fire Department, Inc. provides fire protection and emergency services to the Town of Lumberland in Sullivan County. The Department’s Executive Officers comprise the President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer. The Department collected $248,000 in 2013.

Key Findings

• While the Department adopted by-laws to dictate the manner in which it should conduct operations, Department officials do not provide adequate oversight to ensure the adherence to the procedures prescribed in the by-laws.
• The Secretary-Treasurer prepared reconciliations intermittently and in some cases, reconciliations covered two months of transactions.
• The by-laws require the President to co-sign checks along with the Treasurer for amounts in excess of $500; the Secretary-Treasurer was the sole signatory of 19 checks totaling $38,123.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that the Secretary-Treasurer is performing the financial duties defined in the by-laws.
• Ensure that the Secretary-Treasurer is reconciling monthly bank statements to verify completeness and timeliness of deposits.
• Ensure that the President co-signs all checks in excess of $500.