FOR RELEASE:

DiNapoli's Office Completes School Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of Lisbon Central School District, St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services and Watertown City School District.

"My office’s audits of school districts and BOCES help schools improve their financial management practices," DiNapoli said. "These audits are tools for schools to make sure proper policies and procedures are in place to protect taxpayer dollars and provide students with the best possible education."

Lisbon CSD – Internal Controls Over Financial Operations (St. Lawrence County)
The audit found district officials did not segregate financial duties related to payroll and cash receipts. In addition, the business manager/treasurer did not adequately control use of her signature. Finally, district officials did not implement access controls to their computerized accounting system to limit access to those applications.

St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES – Internal Controls Over Purchasing (Lewis & St. Lawrence counties)
Auditors found from July 2007 to March 2009, BOCES officials made payments totaling $58 million to vendors that were, based on the dollar amounts, likely to be subject to competitive bidding, RFPs or quotes. Auditors examined 88 of these payments totaling $479,541 and found no deficiencies. All payments complied with General Municipal Law and BOCES’ policies, were approved by the purchasing agent and the treasurer prior to the purchase and were verified by the individual that received the goods or services.

Watertown City SD – Internal Controls Over Purchasing (Jefferson County)
Auditors found that the purchasing agent did not always ensure that goods and services were purchased in accordance with the district’s procurement policy and regulations and pertinent laws. The purchasing agent did not ensure compliance with a provision in the district’s regulation requiring oral or written quotes for purchases under competitive bidding thresholds or the proper documentation of sole source and emergency situations.

To view the audits above, visit: www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/index.htm. If you have any questions or would like a comment from the Comptroller’s office regarding the audits above, please call Emily DeSantis at 518-474-4015.

School District Accountability
In order to improve accountability of the state’s schools, DiNapoli’s office will audit all of New York’s school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services by 2010. The State Comptroller’s office has completed 690 school audits and approximately 40 school audits are currently underway.

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