Audit Objective
Did the Cuylerville Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. (Department) officers and membership provide adequate oversight of financial operations?
Audit Period
January 1, 2023 – June 3, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
Providing adequate oversight of financial operations helps ensure transactions are properly recorded and supported with documentation, bills are paid on time, and funds are safeguarded and available for equipment, training and emergency responses. A lack of oversight can lead to a lack of operational effectiveness, mismanagement, fraud, damaged reputation and jeopardize the Department’s funding and its mission.
From January 1, 2023, through November 30, 2024, the Department’s deposits totaled $177,922 and disbursements and withdrawals for startup1 cash for fundraising events totaled $141,561.
Audit Summary
Department officers and membership did not provide adequate oversight of financial operations because they did not adopt a code of ethics and detailed bylaws or financial policies or enforce the limited financial provisions in the bylaws. They also did not adequately segregate financial duties, implement compensating controls or provide guidance to the Treasurer2 related to recording and reporting financial transactions. This placed Department resources at risk of waste and theft.
Department officers and membership did not receive or review bank statements, canceled check images, and regular written financial reports; ensure the Treasurer prepared bank reconciliations; or annually audit the Treasurer’s records to monitor financial operations.
Additionally, Department officers and membership did not ensure that the Treasurer or other Department officers maintained adequate supporting documentation for all 50 deposits totaling $177,922 from January 1, 2023, through November 30, 2024.
Furthermore, Department officers and membership did not review the Department’s disbursements before or after they were paid to help ensure that all 259 disbursements paid from January 1, 2023, through November 30, 2024, totaling $141,561 were for appropriate Department purposes and properly supported with documentation, such as itemized invoices and receipts.
Also, while the Department received $9,315 in foreign fire insurance (FFI) tax proceeds, the Department officers and membership could not support that the membership approved spending the FFI tax proceeds that were spent or that the funds were used for appropriate Department purposes. In addition, the Department officers did not file the 2023 or 2024 FFI tax proceeds annual reports with the New York State Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) as required.
The report includes 12 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the officers’ and membership’s oversight of financial operations. Department officers 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 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.
Department officers and membership have the responsibility to initiate corrective action. We encourage Department officers and membership 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 Department officers and membership to make the CAP available for public review.
1 Startup cash is used at the beginning of fundraisers, generally to make change and should be redeposited after the event ends.
2 During the audit period, the Department had three Treasurers. The first Treasurer (Treasurer A) held the position from before the audit period through March 31, 2023. The second Treasurer (Treasurer B) held the position from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2025. The current Treasurer (Treasurer C) started April 1, 2025.