Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Keene (Town) Supervisor maintained complete, accurate and timely accounting records and reports to allow the Town Board (Board) to effectively manage the Town’s financial operations.
Key Findings
The Supervisor did not maintain complete, accurate and timely accounting records. As a result, the Board lacked reliable records and reports to manage the Town’s financial operations, account balances were inaccurate and certain revenues and expenditures were not reported in the annual financial report (AFR).
- Of the 20 journal entries we reviewed, six (30 percent) were not properly recorded, six (30 percent) were not supported, eight (40 percent) were not recorded in a timely manner and no one independently reviewed and approved entries.
- Bank reconciliations were generally not prepared or provided to the Board in a timely manner and adjusted bank balances did not agree with general ledger cash balances for 55 (41 percent) of the 133 bank reconciliations we prepared.
- The Supervisor did not provide adequate monthly financial reports to the Board in a timely manner and the Board did not annually audit the Supervisor’s records, as required.
Key Recommendations
- Maintain complete, accurate and timely accounting records and provide the Board with adequate monthly financial reports.
- Prepare and review bank reconciliations monthly and annually audit the Supervisor’s records and reports.
Except as specified in Appendix A, Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to take corrective action. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the Town’s response letter.