Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the District’s employee compensation and benefits transactions with the aid of computer-assisted auditing techniques for the period July 1, 2015 through July 5, 2017.

Background

The Auburn Enlarged City School District is located in the City of Auburn and Towns of Aurelius, Fleming, Owasco and Sennett in Cayuga County. The District, which operates seven schools with approximately 4,200 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. General fund appropriations for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $73.4 million.

Key Findings

• District officials have generally established effective payroll-related policies and procedures but have not established formal and adequate policies and procedures related to the processing of payroll outside of normal pay dates.
• District officials did not develop policies or procedures related to the periodic review and reconciliation of payroll withholdings, deductions and contributions, to ensure accuracy.

Key Recommendations

• Develop adequate and formal policies and procedures requiring employees to submit payroll information on time to avoid the necessity for interim payrolls.
• Develop appropriate policies and procedures to ensure that periodic review and reconciliations of payroll withholdings, including deductions and contributions, are performed to verify the accuracy of calculations and reports.