[read complete report - 2023M-19]

Audit Objective

Determine whether Barker Central School District (District) employee compensation payments were accurate, approved and supported.

Key Findings

Employee compensation payments were not always accurate, approved or supported. District officials did not ensure the pay rates were accurate or overtime was approved and supported. Therefore, payroll errors went undetected and resulted in unnecessary and erroneous payroll payments.

• Seven employees were paid amounts that were inconsistent with Board-approved contracts or collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), resulting in erroneous compensation calculations totaling $3,131.
• One employee was paid $2,948 for overtime despite language in the individual’s employment agreement which suggests the employee was not eligible to receive overtime payments.
• One employee was paid $657 in overtime work that was not preapproved as required. In addition, 10 employees were paid $26,297 for overtime without being required to seek preapproval per their CBAs or District policy.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt a written payroll policy governing the use of overtime and establish procedures for reviewing payroll to detect unusual payments or inaccurate pay rates.
• Require preapproval for overtime to ensure the employee is eligible to work overtime and overtime is for a valid and necessary purpose.
• Perform a more thorough review of payroll during the payroll certification process.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they would initiate corrective action. However, they disagreed with certain findings. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the District’s response.