Cost-Saving Ideas: School District Auditing – Claims/Deputy Claims Auditor

The claims/deputy claims auditor:

approves vouchers and invoices submitted to the district or BOCES prior to their payment; and
ensures proper documentation and itemization are provided and that payment is for proper district purposes.

The auditor must report directly to the board and serve at the board’s pleasure.

You are not required to hire a claims/deputy claims auditor.
If you decide to, the board must establish the position by resolution.
If you decide not to hire, the board must assume responsibility for auditing all district claims itself.

Candidates for the position must should have or be able to obtain expertise in district finances, and have expertise with purchasing policies.

Candidates may include:

a district employee
a person hired through an inter-municipal or shared service agreement
an outside contractor
a BOCES employee – however, the BOCES and the employee must meet all other requirements and it may not be appropriate for a BOCES to provide claims auditing services to one of its component districts since most of these districts would have material and significant contract payments to that BOCES
an employee exempt from Civil Service classification (however, employees currently classified under civil service do not lose this classification)
a district resident or nonresident

A member of the district’s board
A clerk or treasurer of the board
The superintendent
Any district official responsible for business management
An employee under direct supervision of the superintendent
The district’s purchasing agent
Any clerical or professional personnel directly involved in accounting and purchasing
Any individual responsible for business operations

"Claims Auditor, Internal Audit Function & Audit Committee," Mary Ellen Clark and William J. Klohck, August 2006 (updated April 2013)

Updated 2016