Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine if the Village’s computerized data and assets were properly safeguarded for the period June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014.

Background

The Village of Ellenville is located in the Town of Wawarsing in Ulster County and has a population of approximately 4,100. The Village is governed by an elected five-member Board of Trustees. General fund expenditures for the 2013-14 fiscal year were approximately $3.9 million.

Key Findings

• Village officials have not designated a financial software administrator who is independent of financial recordkeeping.
• Village officials have not restricted users’ access to the financial system based on employee job responsibilities.
• The Board has not developed comprehensive policies and procedures to protect critical financial data.

Key Recommendations

• Designate an individual as the administrator of the financial software who does not perform or monitor the Village’s financial recordkeeping.
• Restrict users’ computer access to only those duties needed to perform their job responsibilities.
• Adopt written IT policies and procedures to address breach notification, disaster recovery, acceptable use, system security, internal user access, data backups and protecting personal, private and sensitive information.