Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s internal controls over payroll and leave accruals for the period July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Background

The Amityville Union Free School District is located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County and the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County. The District, which operates five schools with approximately 3,200 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $86.2 million.

Key Findings

• Not all overtime was preapproved.
• Overtime payments included work of a routine nature that, with proper scheduling, may have been avoidable.
• Although the payroll clerk performs procedures to check her own work, no one independent of the payroll process reviews the payroll prior to processing.

Key Recommendations

• Implement procedures to properly control and monitor overtime by approving and providing justification for overtime prior to the work being performed.
• Review work schedules and determine whether work shifts can be adjusted to reduce the need for overtime.
• Segregate the payroll clerk’s duties or implement compensating controls.