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Audit Objective

Determine if the Village of Oyster Bay Cove (Village) Board of Trustees (Board) ensured that claims were adequately supported, for appropriate Village purposes and audited before payment.

Key Findings

The Board did not ensure that claims were adequately supported, for appropriate Village purposes and audited before payment.

• The Board reviewed and approved warrants (list of claims) without auditing the individual claims. We reviewed 304 claims totaling $775,633 and found that although these claims were for legitimate Village purposes, none of the claims were audited by the Board.

Key Recommendations

• Conduct a deliberate and thorough audit of claims prior to payment.
• Claims paid before audit should be limited to those authorized under Village Law and presented at the next regular Board meeting for audit.

Except as noted in Appendix A, Village officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they were taking corrective action. Appendix B includes our comments on the Village’s response.