Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s payroll process for the period July 1, 2013 through January 31, 2015.

Background

The Fonda-Fultonville Central School District is located in the Towns of Amsterdam, Charleston, Florida, Glen, Mohawk, Palatine and Root in Montgomery County; the Towns of Carlisle and Esperance in Schoharie County; and the City of Johnstown and the Town of Johnstown in Fulton County. The District, which operates three schools with approximately 1,400 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2014-15 fiscal year totaled approximately $24.9 million.

Key Findings

• District management did not properly segregate the Deputy’s duties or implement adequate compensating controls, such as providing additional oversight.
• The Treasurer did not verify that the reconciliations performed by the Deputy were accurate by tracing them to source records.
• District officials did not review the direct deposit upload document or compare this document with the certified payrolls.

Key Recommendations

• Segregate the Deputy’s payroll duties so that this individual does not control all aspects of payroll transactions.
• Routinely generate and review payroll change reports to promptly identify, investigate and resolve any payroll discrepancies before the payrolls are submitted for certification.
• Review the direct deposit upload document each pay period and forward it to the Superintendent for certification.