Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town of New Albion (Town) Town Supervisor (Supervisor) adequately performed his financial duties.

Key Findings

The Supervisor did not perform his financial duties or obtain training on how to perform his duties and was unfamiliar with the duties of his office. The Town Clerk (Clerk) and the bookkeeper performed the Supervisor’s financial duties without oversight.

The segregation of duties between Town officials is an important internal control for preventing errors and misappropriation of assets. By allowing others to perform his duties without oversight, the Supervisor has weakened internal controls.

For example, from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022, the Clerk collected and deposited $937,815 on behalf of the Supervisor and performed the Supervisor’s payroll duties with limited oversight. The bookkeeper performed many of the Supervisor’s other day-to-day financial duties, including recording cash receipts and disbursements into the accounting records, preparing the monthly bank reconciliations and generating all of the Supervisor’s reports to the Board.

Key Recommendations

• Properly oversee individuals with delegated responsibilities and ensure the delegations do not conflict with laws regarding incompatibility of office.
• Complete training on how to perform the Supervisor’s financial duties, including maintaining the accounting records and types of reports.

Town officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated that they plan to initiate corrective action.