Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Sherman Central School District (District) claims auditor properly audited claims prior to payment.

Key Findings 

The claims auditor does not meet the Board of Education’s (Board) minimum qualifications for the position, was not provided the District’s policies she needed to confirm claims complied with, was unaware of how to properly perform her job duties and did not properly audit all claims prior to payment. According to a District official, historically the Board appoints one of the District’s administrative assistants to the position, regardless of their qualifications.

Of the 303 claims reviewed totaling $1,345,790, 233 claims (77 percent) totaling approximately $1,325,105 should not have been approved for payment because the claims lacked support that the purchases complied with Board policies, were properly authorized, approved by the purchasing agent or approved for payment.

• 204 claims totaling more than $1.3 million were paid that did not have documentation to support that claims complied with Board-adopted policies.
• 170 paid claims totaling more than $1.2 million were not properly authorized and approved.
• 81 claim packets totaling approximately $91,000 were not sufficiently itemized.

As a result, improper or unsupported claims may be paid and may not be detected and corrected.

Recommendations 

The audit report includes seven recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the effectiveness of the District’s claims audit process.

District officials generally agreed with our findings and recommendations and indicated they will initiate corrective action.