Weedsport Central School District

Internal Controls Over Segregation of Duties and Claims Auditing - Introduction

Background

The Weedsport Central School District (District) is located in the Village of Weedsport and the Towns of Brutus, Cato, Conquest, Mentz, Sennett and Throop in Cayuga County. The District is governed by the Board of Education (Board) which comprises five elected members. The Board is responsible for the general management and control of the District’s financial and educational affairs. The Superintendent of Schools (Superintendent) is the chief executive officer of the District and is responsible, along with other administrative staff, for the day-to-day management of the District under the direction of the Board.

There are two schools in operation within the District, with approximately 950 students and 150 employees. The District’s budgeted expenditures for the 2006-07 fiscal year were $15 million, which were funded primarily with State aid, real property taxes, and grants.

The Treasurer is responsible for cash receipts and some disbursements activities in the District while the payroll clerk is responsible for the District’s biweekly payroll. Because the District has not appointed a claims auditor, the Board is responsible for auditing and approving claims against the District.

Objective

The objective of our audit was to evaluate internal controls over selected financial activities. Our audit addressed the following related questions:

• Are internal controls over the Treasurer’s and payroll functions appropriately designed and operating effectively to adequately safeguard District assets?
• Are District claim vouchers properly audited?

Scope and Methodology

We examined internal controls of the Weedsport Central School District for the period July 1, 2006 to July 9, 2007.

We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS). More information on such standards and the methodology used in performing this audit are included in Appendix B of this report.

Comments of District Officials and Corrective Action

The results of our audit and recommendations have been discussed with District officials and their comments, which appear in Appendix A, have been considered in preparing this report. District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.

The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. Pursuant to Section 35 of the General Municipal Law, Section 2116-a (3)(c) of the Education Law and Section 170.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, the Board must approve a corrective action plan that addresses the findings in this report, forward the plan to our office within 90 days, forward a copy of the plan to the Commissioner of Education, and make the plan available for public review in the District Clerk’s office. For guidance in preparing the plan of action, the Board should refer to applicable sections in the publication issued by the Office of the State Comptroller entitled Local Government Management Guide.