Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Perth (Town) Supervisor (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 or provide adequate financial reports to the Board. For example, as of March 31, 2024 the general fund was overstated by $584,018 and the highway fund was understated by $123,066. As a result, the Board lacked reliable records and reports to manage the Town’s financial operations. The Supervisor also did not:
- Prepare any monthly bank reconciliations during our audit period, and the adjusted bank balances did not agree with the cash balance from the accounting records. The general fund and the highway fund cash balances as of March 31, 2024 were overstated by a combined total of $460,952.
- File timely the Annual Financial Report (AFR) with the New York State Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) for fiscal year 2023.
- Provide the Board with adequate monthly financial reports.
- Provide the Board with his records for audit, as required by New York State Town Law Section 123.
The issues identified may have been detected had the Board annually audited the Supervisor’s records.
Key Recommendations
- Prepare monthly bank reconciliations for all bank accounts.
- Provide the Board with adequate monthly financial reports.
- Annually audit the Supervisor’s records.
Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.