City of Cortland – Credit Accounts & Employee Reimbursements (2020M-141)

Issued Date
May 14, 2021

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether City of Cortland (City) officials ensured claims for credit account purchases and employee reimbursements were properly supported and for appropriate purposes.

Key Findings

City officials did not ensure all credit account purchases and employee reimbursements were properly supported and for appropriate purposes.

No formal City-wide policies were in place to address the usage, documentation and approval of credit account purchases. As a result, 322 of the 436 (74 percent) claims we reviewed were either not properly supported or for questionable or inappropriate purchases. We found:

  • 164 credit charges totaling $9,905 were not supported properly.
  • 158 claims totaling $4,331 were for questionable and inappropriate purposes, including $2,591 for meals.

Key Recommendations

  • Adopt policies that provide guidelines for appropriate usage, documentation requirements and the approval process for credit account purchases and employee reimbursements.
  • Thoroughly audit claims and require adequate supporting documentation to ensure that claims are for appropriate City expenditures.

Except as specified in Appendix A, City officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they will take corrective action. Appendix B includes our comment on the issues raised in the City’s response letter.