[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Theresa Fire District (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) provided adequate oversight to ensure that financial activities were properly recorded and reported and whether they properly managed fund balance.

Key Findings

The Board did not provide adequate oversight to ensure that financial activities were properly recorded and reported and did not properly manage fund balance.

• The Treasurer did not maintain adequate accounting records or provide regular financial reports to the Board. She also did not file required annual financial reports with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) in a timely manner. The 2017 through 2019 annual reports were filed between 331 and 1,018 days late.
• The Board did not audit all claims prior to payment and did not annually audit the Treasurer’s records.
• The Board did not adopt realistic budgets based on historic trends.
• The District ended 2019 with $345,000 in surplus fund balance – enough to fund nearly two years’ of expenditures. We project the District will end 2020 with a surplus of $308,800, 177 percent of 2021 appropriations.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure the Treasurer maintains adequate accounting records and provides financial reports to the Board.
• Audit all claims prior to payment and audit the Treasurer’s records.
• Adopt realistic budgets based on historic trends.
• Develop and adopt financial plans for maintaining a reasonable level of fund balance.

District officials agreed with our findings and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.