Determine whether Cheektowaga-Sloan Union Free School District (District) claims were properly audited and approved prior to payment.

Key Findings 

Claims totaling $9.2 million (45 percent of the claims processed) were not properly audited and approved prior to payment. As a result, there was an increased risk that improper or unsupported payments could have been made and may not have been detected and corrected. Specifically: 

• 588 claims totaling $3.1 million were not audited by the claims auditor.
• 21 Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) claims totaling approximately $5.9 million were not audited. Instead, a BOCES employee approved the BOCES claims.
• 22 claims totaling $173,591 were audited and approved for payment by the claims auditor even though identified discrepancies, including claims that were not properly supported or in compliance with the District’s procurement policy, were not addressed.

Key Recommendations 

• Ensure all claims are audited and approved by the claims auditor prior to payment, and that BOCES claims are audited by the Board or an independent party.

District officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings but indicated that they planned to initiate corrective action. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the District’s response.