Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Town’s financial operations for the period January 1, 2011, to September 17, 2012.

Background

The Town of Pittstown is located in Rensselaer County and has a population of approximately 5,700 residents. The Town Board is the legislative body and has overall responsibility for managing operations. The Board comprises four elected Board members, and an elected Town Supervisor. The Town’s budgeted appropriations for the 2012 fiscal year were approximately $2.5 million for the general and highway funds.

Key Findings

• The Supervisor did not maintain adequate accounting records or provide the Board with accurate financial reports. Examples include balance sheets for operating funds that did not balance, with differences totaling $339,000 and $487,000 as of September 2012. In addition, cash on the Supervisor’s monthly reports did not agree with bank balances or accounting records for any of the 17 months we reviewed, with differences ranging up to $300,000 during 2011.
• The Supervisor’s AUDs did not agree with bank records, resulting in, for example, general fund cash being over-reported by $98,438 in 2011.
• The Board members did not audit the books and records of the Supervisor, which could have made them aware of differences between cash accounts and bank accounts and the numerous mispostings to the accounting system made by the former bookkeeper.

Key Recommendations

• Provide accurate and timely accounting records and reports to the Board each month including balance sheets, operating statements, and bank reconciliations.
• Review the AUD prior to submission to ensure it is accurate, reasonable, and is supported by the accounting records.
• Audit the books and records of the Supervisor on an annual basis and document evidence of the audit.