Town of Duanesburg – Financial Records and Reports (2020M-116)

Issued Date
February 05, 2021

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town Supervisor (Supervisor) maintained complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records and reports.

Key Findings

The Supervisor did not ensure that the Town’s accounting records and reports were complete, accurate, up-to-date or timely.

  • The Town’s accounting records were not reliable.
    • $590,880 in revenue and $55,182 in expenditures were not recorded.
    • The accounting records’ cash balances were overstated by about $3 million as of December 31, 2019.
  • Bank reconciliations were not performed.
  • The Town Board (Board) did not always receive financial reports and reports it received were not accurate.

The Board did not have complete, accurate and timely financial information. As a result, the Board’s ability to monitor the Town’s financial affairs, accurately assess the Town’s financial condition and make sound financial decisions may be compromised.

Key Recommendations

  • Develop policies and procedures to ensure the accounting records are properly maintained.
  • Complete bank reconciliations timely.
  • Provide accurate and timely financial reports to the Board.

Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.