Audit Objective
Did the West Henrietta Fire Department, Inc. (Department) Treasurer properly deposit, disburse, record and report Department funds?
Audit Period
January 1, 2023 – August 7, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
A fire department treasurer must properly deposit, disburse, record and report a fire department’s funds to ensure statutory compliance, financial accountability and the public’s trust. A lack of oversight can lead to mismanagement, fraud, a damaged reputation and jeopardize a fire department’s funding and its mission.
From January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024, the Department deposited revenues totaling $225,198 and disbursed funds totaling $200,833.
Audit Summary
The Treasurer did not properly deposit, disburse, record and report Department funds. As a result, the Board of Directors (Board) lacked reliable information that was needed to manage the Department’s financial activities or determine whether all disbursements were for appropriate Department purposes. Furthermore, the Department has an increased risk of theft and waste of Department resources.
From January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 the Treasurer did not:
- Deposit revenues totaling $2,219 in a Department bank account within 10 days of receipt, as required by Department bylaws.
- Maintain adequate supporting documentation, such as deposit slips or issue required receipts, for all deposited revenues totaling $225,198.
- Record 18 deposits totaling $123,898 with correct dates, descriptions or amounts in the accounting software.
- Record 125 disbursements totaling $46,640 with correct vendor names, check numbers or payment methods in the accounting software.
- Obtain any Board approval for 24 disbursements totaling $113,194 or Board approval before making 109 disbursements totaling $42,911.
- Regularly provide written financial reports to the Board.
- Prepare bank reconciliations.
The report includes 10 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Department’s Treasurer’s duties. Department officials agreed with our findings and indicated they will take corrective action.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the State Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law. Our methodology and standards are included in Appendix C.
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. We encourage the Board to prepare a written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the recommendations in this report and forward it to our office within 90 days. For more information on preparing and filing your CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which you received with the draft audit report. We encourage the Board to make the CAP available for public review.