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Audit Objective

Determine whether Lyndonville Central School District (District) Board of Education (Board) and District officials properly procured goods and services and audited and approved claims prior to payment.

Key Findings

The Board and District officials did not ensure goods and services were procured in accordance with applicable statutes and/or District policy and did not ensure claims were properly audited and approved prior to payment.

• District officials did not comply with competitive bidding requirements and/or the District’s purchasing policy and procedures for 65 percent of the purchases we reviewed totaling $263,023.
• The claims auditor did not properly audit and approve 74 percent of the claims we reviewed before they were paid: 37 claims totaling $235,379 lacked documentation demonstrating compliance with the purchasing policy, 34 claims totaling $241,749 lacked documentation confirming goods were received, and four claims included sales tax or late fees.
• The Board did not ask for and was not provided with monthly warrants (a list of audited claims) and was not properly overseeing the claims auditor or the claims audit function.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure goods and services are procured in compliance with competitive bidding requirements and the District’s policy and procedures and that a proper claims audit is conducted prior to paying claims.
• Provide oversight of the claims auditor and claims audit function.

District officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they would take corrective action.