Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the Town’s budgeting practices and financial oversight for the period January 1, 2012 through December 12, 2013.

Background

The Town of York is located in Livingston County and is governed by an elected Town Board comprising four Board members and a Supervisor. The Town’s 2014 adopted budget totaled approximately $3 million.

Key Findings

• The Board and Town officials have not adopted policies and procedures or long-term financial plans to govern the budget process or the appropriate level of fund balance to be maintained in each fund. As a result, the Board did not always adopt accurate budgets.
• The Board has not adopted policies or ensured that Town officials adopted procedures to govern financial operations or the management of cash, and has not adequately reviewed and updated its purchasing policy.
• The Supervisor did not maintain adequate control over the Town’s accounting records and did not adequately contract for and oversee the financial duties performed by the Firm.
• The Board did not perform an annual audit of the records and reports of the Supervisor and Town Clerk.

Key Recommendations

• Establish written policies and procedures and long-term financial plans to govern the budgeting process and appropriate fund balance levels to maintain for all Town funds and adopt accurate budgets with realistic estimates of revenues, expenditures and fund balance.
• Establish detailed policies and procedures to define responsibilities and provide guidance to employees for key financial areas including cash receipts and disbursements, claims processing and auditing, use of credit cards, payroll processing and maintenance of leave records and information technology.
• Provide proper oversight of the outside firm to ensure its staff maintain complete, accurate and timely accounting and ensure that financial records are maintained at Town offices and readily available for public inspection, as required by statute.
• Conduct an annual audit of the records and reports of all Town officers and employees who received or disbursed moneys during the preceding fiscal year, or retain the services of an independent auditor to conduct the audits.