North Salem Central School District – Time and Attendance (2016M-209)

Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine if District officials provided sufficient oversight of time and attendance for the period July 1, 2014 through December 18, 2015.

Background

The North Salem Central School District is located in the Town of North Salem and portions of the Town of Somers in Westchester County and portions of the Towns of Carmel and Southeast in Putnam County. The District, which operates two schools with approximately 1,160 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $40.8 million.

Key Findings

• The Board did not establish policies and formal written procedures over payroll timekeeping to ensure that employees’ leave and work time was accurately accounted for.
• District officials did not segregate duties in the time and attendance software, and there were no compensating controls in place.

Key Recommendations

• Establish more comprehensive policies that incorporate duties to be completed and records to be maintained for time and attendance and maintaining leave records.
• Change user access in the time and attendance system to provide limited user rights.