Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Town’s accounting records and reports for the period January 1, 2010, through July 31, 2012.

Background

The Town of Amsterdam is located in Montgomery County and has a population of approximately 5,600 residents. The Town Board comprises the Town Supervisor and four Council members. The Town’s budgeted expenditures for 2012 were approximately $3.7 million and were funded primarily with sales tax, State aid, water and sewer rents, and real property taxes for fire protection.

Key Findings

• The Supervisor does not maintain timely or accurate accounting records for the Town. Therefore, the accounting records do not support the AUDs filed by the Supervisor for 2010 and 2011.
• Because the majority of the Town’s funds are co-mingled into one checking account, bank reconciliations are prepared by the bookkeeper to balance with the Town's cumulative cash balance versus the cash attributable to each individual fund.
• The Board does not receive all the financial information it needs to monitor the Town’s financial operations.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that the Town’s accounting records are complete, accurate, and maintained in a timely manner.
• Ensure that complete and accurate monthly bank reconciliations are performed for each individual fund.
• Provide the Board with a monthly Supervisor’s report including all receipts and disbursements, and cash balances.