Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the Board’s oversight of Village activities for the period June 1, 2013 through October 5, 2015.

Background

The Village of Savona is located in the Town of Bath in Steuben County and has a population of approximately 830. The Village is governed by an elected five-member Board of Trustees. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year for the general and water funds totaled $551,715.

Key Findings

• The Board approved the Mayor’s appointment of his wife as Clerk-Treasurer and did not segregate the financial duties of the Clerk-Treasurer or provide compensating controls.
• The Board did not adequately audit all claims.
• The Board did not perform the required annual audits of the Clerk-Treasurer’s and Justice Court’s records and reports.

Key Recommendations

• Replace the clerk-treasurer with someone who is independent of the Mayor and all Board members and ensure that duties in the Clerk-Treasurer’s office are segregated properly, or provide sufficient mitigating controls when segregation of duties is not possible or practical.
• Conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of claims before authorizing them for payment.
• Annually audit the Clerk-Treasurer’s and Justice Court’s records and reports, or engage the services of an independent public accountant to conduct the audit.