Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine selected Town financial activities for the period January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Background

The Town of Carmel is located in Putnam County and has a population of approximately 34,000. The Town is governed by an elected five-member Town Board. Budgeted appropriations for 2015 are approximately $43 million.

Key Findings

• Staff did not adequately record diesel fuel consumption or perform monthly fuel reconciliations and officials were unaware that gasoline worth $51,900 was unaccounted for.
• Staff routinely circumvented the Town’s purchase order system by issuing confirming purchase orders after obtaining goods and services.
• The Recreation Director did not ensure that records were properly maintained and did not deposit receipts in a timely manner.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that employees document gasoline and diesel fuel usage and perform monthly reconciliations of fuel purchased and consumed, investigate the unaccounted for gasoline and take action to resolve the gasoline shortage.
• Ensure that staff members comply with the Town’s purchase order system by preparing purchase orders and having them preapproved prior to making purchases.
• Require the recreation department to maintain sufficient records to allow for receipts to be easily traced and accounted for and deposit all funds collected within 10 days of receipt.