Audit Objective
Did the Arkport Hose Company No. 1, Inc. (Company) Treasurer properly deposit, disburse, record and report Company funds?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – December 11, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
A fire company treasurer must properly deposit, disburse, record and report a fire company’s funds to ensure statutory compliance, financial accountability and the public’s trust. A lack of oversight can lead to mismanagement, fraud, damaged reputation, and jeopardize a fire company’s funding and its mission.
From January 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, the Treasurer deposited revenues and redeposited startup cash1 totaling $40,466 and disbursed funds totaling $48,320.
Audit Summary
The Treasurer did not properly deposit, disburse, record and report Company funds. As a result, the Executive Committee (Board) lacked reliable information to manage the Company’s financial activities. Furthermore, the company has an increased risk of theft, waste and abuse of company's resources.
From January 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, the Treasurer did not:
- Deposit revenues totaling $5,191 in a Company bank account within three days of receipt, as required by the Company bylaws.
- Maintain adequate supporting documentation, such as deposit slips, receipts or documented purpose, for 95 transactions totaling $55,100. These transactions included 79 deposits totaling $39,930 and 16 disbursements totaling $15,170.
- Record or accurately record 48 transactions totaling $21,528. These transactions included 40 deposits totaling $20,272 in the receipt book and eight disbursements totaling $1,256.
- Obtain appropriate approval for 37 disbursements totaling $15,951.
- Prepare bank reconciliations.
- Provide adequate written monthly or annual reports to the Board and membership.
As a result, the Board, Audit Committee and membership could not ensure that all revenues were deposited or deposited in a timely manner and that revenues and disbursements were properly recorded and for appropriate Company purposes, impacting their ability to monitor the Company’s financial activities.
The Treasurer also did not:
- File the Company’s annual Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). By not filing Form 990 with the IRS, the Company’s not-for-profit status could be at risk.
The report includes 11 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Company’s Treasurer’s duties. Company officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they will initiate corrective action.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC) authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law (GML). 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 findings and 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.
1 This is cash used at the beginning of fundraisers, generally to make change and is redeposited after the event’s end.