Audit Objective
Did Middlesex Hose Company (Company) officials ensure that fundraising collections were properly recorded, reported and safeguarded?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – December 16, 2025. We extended the audit period back to January 1, 2022, to review the Company’s U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990.
Understanding the Audit Area
Company officials must ensure fundraising collections are properly recorded, reported and safeguarded to prevent financial mismanagement, ensure accountability, preserve public trust and maintain regulatory compliance, which helps the Company retain its tax-exempt status. Individuals involved in fundraising activities are responsible for accounting for and remitting all money received to the Company’s Treasurer (Treasurer) who is responsible for recording and depositing cash and preparing bank reconciliations and fundraising reports.
From January 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025,1 the current and former Treasurers’ fundraising collections totaled $108,893.
Audit Summary
Company officials did not ensure that fundraising collections were properly recorded, reported and safeguarded. As a result, the Executive Committee did not have reliable information, such as detailed fundraising reports, to oversee the Company’s fundraising activities. Also, the Company has an increased risk that fundraising collections could be lost or stolen without detection.
We determined that the Treasurers did not:
- Maintain adequate supporting documentation or issue receipts or tickets for any fundraising activities.
- Prepare bank reconciliations.
- File IRS Form 990 for 2022, 2023 and 2024 in a timely manner
Also, Company officials did not ensure that:
- Company members issued tickets, or implemented other forms of tracking, to record the number of roast beef suppers that were sold.
- The Treasurers maintained monthly reports or documented the reports within the monthly meeting minutes. As a result, Company officials could not ensure that all money was accounted for and deposited.
The report includes six recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Company’s fundraising records and reports. Company officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings and recommendations, but indicated they have initiated corrective action. Appendix C includes our comments on issues raised in the Company’s response letter.
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 D.
The Executive Committee has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. We encourage the Executive Committee 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 Executive Committee to make the CAP available for public review.
1 Refer to Appendix D for further information on this selected time frame.