[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Village of Canton (Village) Clerk-Treasurer maintained complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records and reports.

Key Findings

This audit contains similar findings and recommendations to our 2012 audit of the Village. The same Clerk-Treasurer was in office for both audits. We found:

• The accounting records were not complete, accurate and reliable, in part because the Board did not develop policies and procedures to ensure the records were properly maintained. For example, as of May 31, 2020, the Village’s pooled cash accounts were out of balance by $942,592.
• Proper bank reconciliations were not performed and total cash in the accounting records was overstated by about $142,500 due to various accounting errors, including errors that were carried forward from 2013.
• Annual financial reports were not filed with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) for 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, as required.
• The Board was not provided with adequate monthly financial reports and did not annually audit the Clerk-Treasurer’s records and reports, as required.

As a result, the Board’s ability to monitor the Village’s financial affairs and financial condition is inhibited.

Key Recommendations

• Maintain proper accounting records and file required annual financial reports timely.
• Audit the Clerk-Treasurer’s records and reports as required.

Village officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.