Audits of Local Governments

The Office of the New York State Comptroller’s Division of Local Government and School Accountability conducts performance audits of local governments and school districts. Performance audits provide findings or conclusions based on an evaluation of evidence against criteria. Local officials use audit findings to improve program performance and operations, reduce costs and contribute to public accountability.

For audits older than 2013, contact us at [email protected].

For audits of State and NYC agencies and public authorities, see Audits.

Topics
School District | Employee Benefits

February 24, 2023 –

District officials did not properly approve, monitor and control overtime worked by the Facilities and Operations Department (Department) employees. The Department's overtime costs were 97 percent of the District's total overtime costs during our audit period.

School District | Employee Benefits

February 24, 2023 –

District officials (officials) could achieve cost-savings by offering a buyout in lieu of health insurance coverage.

School District | Employee Benefits

February 24, 2023 –

Officials did not ensure that leave accruals were accurate or payments for unused leave and separation payments were authorized and calculated correctly.

Charter School | Information Technology

February 17, 2023 –

School officials did not ensure that network and financial software access controls were adequate. As a result, data and personal, private and sensitive information (PPSI) are at greater risk for unauthorized access, misuse, or loss. In addition to finding sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses, which we communicated confidentially to officials.

Town | Other

February 17, 2023 –

We issued a report, dated March 29, 2019, identifying certain conditions and opportunities for Town management's review and consideration. Our audit included recommendations for the following findings: information technology (IT) policies and procedures, unnecessary user accounts, security awareness training, hardware and software inventories and disaster recovery plan. We revisited the Town beginning in July 2022 to review progress in implementing our recommendations. Our follow-up review was limited to interviews with Town personnel and inspection of certain documents related to the issues identified in our report. Based on our limited procedures, the Town made progress implementing some corrective action. Of the six audit recommendations, two recommendations were fully implemented, one recommendation was partially implemented, and three recommendations were not implemented.

School District | Information Technology

February 17, 2023 –

District officials did not ensure online banking access was limited to Board-authorized users because no one reviewed online banking users' access and permissions. Officials at the District also did not monitor online banking transactions. As a result, the risk that the District may become the victim of a cybercrime and experience financial losses is heightened.

Town | Other

February 17, 2023 –

We issued a report, dated April 5, 2019, identifying certain conditions and opportunities for Town management's review and consideration. Our audit included recommendations for the following findings: budgeting, multiyear financial and capital plans, and contracts and agreements. We revisited the Town beginning in September 2022 to review progress in implementing our recommendations. Our follow-up review was limited to interviews with Town personnel and inspection of certain documents related to the issues identified in our report. Based on our limited procedures, it appears that the Town has made very limited progress implementing corrective action. When we met with the Town Supervisor (Supervisor), he stated that a prior Board member who was on the Board for the first two years of his term informed him that all recommendations related to the audits had been addressed. However, no verification of corrective action was done by the Supervisor. Therefore, of the eight audit recommendations, one recommendation was fully implemented, and seven recommendations were not implemented.

School District | Cash Disbursements

February 10, 2023 –

District officials did not accurately pay tuition for foster care students enrolled at other school districts.

Town | Claims Auditing

February 10, 2023 –

The Board did not effectively audit claims prior to payment. As a result, disbursements were made for unsupported and/or improper claims and not in the best interest of the taxpayers. In our sample of 199 claims totaling $824,330, 166 claims totaling $601,662 should not have been approved for payment.

Fire District | General Oversight

February 10, 2023 –

The Board did not establish adequate controls over financial activities to safeguard assets.

Town | Records and Reports

February 10, 2023 –

The Supervisor did not maintain complete and accurate financial records of Town operations and did not file required annual financial reports. As a result, the Town Board's (Board's) ability to monitor the Town's financial operations and make sound financial decisions was compromised, and the transparency of Town financial operations is diminished.

Charter School | Cash Receipts

February 3, 2023 –

The Board and School officials did not ensure collections were properly accounted for and deposited timely. Also, the School's cash receipts policy was inadequate and officials did not enforce the policy.

School District | Information Technology

February 3, 2023 –

While the bank transactions we reviewed were appropriate, the Board and District officials did not ensure check signings and banking transactions were secure.

School District | Claims Auditing

February 3, 2023 –

Although all claims were appropriate, audited and approved before payment, the claims auditor did not ensure claims were supported. We reviewed 208 invoices totaling $1.3 million to determine whether an adequate claims audit was performed.

BOCES | Information Technology

January 27, 2023 –

BOCES officials did not establish adequate internal controls over network user accounts to help prevent unauthorized use, access and loss. In addition to sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses that were communicated confidentially to officials

Town | Cash Disbursements, Other

January 27, 2023 –

We reviewed the 25 payments Town officials made to not-for-profit organizations, totaling $33,760.

School District | Information Technology

January 27, 2023 –

Although District officials restricted access to the financial application, they did not adequately secure access to the network or develop an IT contingency plan. As a result, there is an increased risk that the network may be accessed by unauthorized individuals, data will be lost and the District may not be able to recover from a network disruption or disaster. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses that were confidentially communicated to officials.

School District | Medicaid

January 27, 2023 –

District officials did not identify students who received Medicaid-eligible services from the District or file Medicaid reimbursement claims to recover part of the costs associated with these services. As a result, the District did not receive about $20,000 for reimbursements to which it was likely entitled.

School District | Information Technology

January 20, 2023 –

While we determined that online banking transactions were appropriate, the Board and District officials did not meet all the requirements of General Municipal Law Section 5-A and must improve controls over online banking to ensure these transactions are secure.

Town | Other

January 20, 2023 –

We issued a report, dated September 13, 2019, identifying certain conditions and opportunities for Town management's review and consideration. Our audit included recommendations for the following findings: purchasing processes related to credit card and travel expenditures. We revisited the Town beginning in July 2022 to review progress in implementing our recommendations. Our follow-up review was limited to interviews with Town personnel and inspection of certain documents related to the issues identified in our report. Based on our limited procedures, it appears that the Town has made progress implementing corrective action. Of the five audit recommendations, three recommendations were fully implemented and two recommendation were partially implemented.