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Audit Objective

Determine whether Village officials ensured that cash disbursements were properly supported, audited and for valid purposes.

Key Findings

• The Board did not audit individual claims before payment. Our review of 59 claims totaling $1.2 million paid during the audit period showed that these claims generally appeared to be valid expenditures.
• Village officials were unable to provide documentation to show that they obtained the required number of bids, quotes or request for proposals (RFPs) for seven purchases totaling $102,494, as required by the procurement policy.
• While New York State Village Law, Section 5-524 (Village Law) authorizes certain claims to be paid in advance of audit, 14 claims totaling $380,938 were paid before audit that were not authorized for such prepayment.
• Village officials paid 40 credit card charges totaling $7,187 (of 103 charges totaling $16,999 incurred during the audit period) that were inadequately supported.

Key Recommendations

• Conduct a deliberate and thorough audit of each individual claim and ensure that each claim is sufficiently supported.
• Ensure compliance with the procurement policy before approving claims for payment.
• Claims paid before audit should be limited to those authorized under Village Law and presented at next regular meeting for audit.

Village officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.