Orleans/Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services – Capital Assets (2023M-103)

Issued Date
December 15, 2023

 [read complete report – pdf] 

Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Orleans/Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) capital asset records were complete and accurate.

Key Findings 

BOCES’ capital asset records were not complete or accurate to ensure that assets were accounted for and protected from loss, theft, misuse and obsolescence. We selected 94 capital assets purchased for $247,918 and identified one or more exceptions for 49 capital assets purchased for $115,351 (two capital assets, with a purchase price of $4,437, had more than one exception).Specifically: 

  • 27, purchased for $33,349, were not recorded in the capital asset records.
  • 13, purchased for $22,099, were recorded with either an incorrect or missing location.
  • Nine, purchased for $59,571, were recorded without a model or serial number.
  • A wheel balancer and a portable video magnifier, purchased for a total of $4,769, could not be located.

These discrepancies occurred because staff did not always follow BOCES’ capital asset inventory policy. BOCES officials did not verify whether capital asset purchases were recorded in the records. They also did not investigate discrepancies and update the capital asset records when exceptions were found in the June 2022 fiscal year-end physical inventory.

Key Recommendations 

  • Verify recently purchased assets were recorded in the capital asset records.
  • Perform an annual physical inventory, investigate the discrepancies and update the capital asset records.

BOCES officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated that they planned to initiate corrective action. Appendix B includes our comment on an issue raised in the BOCES’ response.