Ogdensburg City School District – Payroll (2016M-250)

Issued Date
September 09, 2016

Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District's payroll procedures for the period July 1, 2014 through March 31, 2016.

Background

The Ogdensburg City School District is located in the City of Ogdensburg and the Towns of Lisbon and Oswegatchie in St. Lawrence County. The District, which operates three schools with approximately 1,800 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. The District’s budgeted payroll appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year were approximately $12.3 million.

Key Finding

  • The payroll clerk controls multiple aspects of the payroll process with limited oversight.

Key Recommendation

  • District officials should segregate the payroll clerk’s duties so that the clerk does not control all aspects of payroll transactions. If it is not feasible to adequately segregate these duties, District officials should establish appropriate compensating controls. Such controls include having someone independent of the payroll process review salary and wages entered into the payroll system and payroll change reports. An independent employee also should compare payroll registers to source documents.