Cortland County - Claims Audit and Check Printing (2018M-247)

Issued Date
March 01, 2019

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether County officials ensured disbursements were for proper County purposes.

Key Findings

  • The Legislature has not audited claims since 2015.
  • The Finance Office clerks have access rights in the financial software to enter disbursements and apply the Treasurer’s signature to checks at the time of printing, without direct supervision.
  • The Treasurer did not control his signature during check printing.

Key Recommendations

The Legislature should:

  • Audit all claims or delegate its responsibility for auditing claims by establishing the office of county auditor or the office of county comptroller, in accordance with law.
  • Direct the County’s Information Technology (IT) Department to review user access rights to the financial software and modify user rights according to job duties.

The Treasurer should:

  • Control his signature when it is applied to prepared checks.
  • Discontinue assigning users access rights in the financial software.

County officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to take corrective action.