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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town of Western (Town) Supervisor maintained complete, accurate and timely financial records and reports.

Key Findings

The Supervisor did not maintain complete and accurate financial records of Town operations and did not file required annual financial reports. As a result, the Town Board’s (Board’s) ability to monitor the Town’s financial operations and make sound financial decisions was compromised, and the transparency of Town financial operations is diminished.

The Supervisor did not:

• Provide adequate oversight of the accountant’s work. As a result, the Town does not have accurate financial records and has been unable to obtain bonding for a capital project. In addition, the highway fund owes the general fund $41,540, and bank reconciliation discrepancies totaling $1,154 were not resolved.
• File the required annual update document (AUD) with New York State Office of the State Comptroller. As of August 11, 2022 the unfiled AUDs were between 163 and 893 days late.
• Ensure that monthly reports contained a detailed statement of cash receipts and budget status reports accurately reflected revenues and authorized budget transfers.

Key Recommendations

• Maintain accurate and complete accounting records.
• Provide reliable monthly financial reports to the Board and file AUDs, as required.

Town officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.