Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Pittsfield’s (Town) Town Supervisor (Supervisor) maintained complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records and reports.
Key Findings
The Supervisor did not maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records and reports. Without accurate, complete and supported financial records and reports, the Town Board’s (Board) and Town officials’ ability to monitor financial affairs, make sound financial decisions and identify and correct errors was limited. The Supervisor did not:
- Properly record revenues in the accounting system, prepare bank reconciliations or provide detailed monthly fund balances to the Board.
- File the Town’s 2021 or 2023 Annual Financial Reports (AFRs), as required by New York State General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30. In addition, the 2022 AFR was inaccurate.
- Provide the Board with records for the annual audit, as required by New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 123.
Had the accounting records been presented to the Board and the Board members fulfilled the annual audit requirement and provided adequate oversight of the Town’s financial operations, the accounting and reporting deficiencies may have been identified and corrected.
Recommendations
The audit report includes nine recommendations that can help improve the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of the Town’s accounting records and reports.
Town officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they are taking corrective action.