Audit Objective
Did the Moravia Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. (Company) Treasurer properly account for all receipts and disbursements?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – March 18, 2026
Understanding the Audit Area
A fire company treasurer must properly account for (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 and a damaged reputation, as well as jeopardize a fire company’s funding and its mission.
From January 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, the Treasurers1 deposited revenues and redeposited startup cash2 totaling $619,862 and disbursed funds totaling $612,880.
Audit Summary
The Treasurers did not properly account for all receipts and disbursements. As a result, the Board of Directors (Board) lacked reliable information that was needed to manage the Company’s financial activities, and assurance that receipts were properly collected, recorded, safeguarded and deposited and disbursements were adequately supported, properly approved, accurately recorded and made for appropriate Company purposes. Furthermore, the Company had an increased risk of errors, theft, waste and abuse of Company resources occurring and not being detected.
From January 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, the Treasurers did not:
- Prepare bank reconciliations for 2024 and maintain adequate bank reconciliations for 2025.
- Maintain adequate supporting documentation for 174 deposits totaling $612,454 and 14 disbursements totaling $9,512.
- Properly account for or accurately record 98 transactions totaling $198,290.
- Obtain required membership approval for 36 disbursements totaling $22,225, as required by the Company’s bylaws.
- Obtain dual signatures for 41 disbursements totaling $20,758, as required by the Company’s bylaws.
- Provide complete, accurate or adequate written monthly reports to the Board and membership.
Additionally, the Treasurers did not file the 2024 or 2025 foreign fire insurance (FFI) tax proceeds annual reports with the New York State Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) as required.
The report includes 11 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Treasurer’s performance of their duties and improve accountability, transparency and compliance with Company bylaws. 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 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.
1 During the audit period, the Company had three Treasurers. The first Treasurer (Treasurer A) held the position from before the audit period through November 6, 2024, when he became the Assistant Treasurer through December 31, 2025. The second Treasurer (Treasurer B) held the position from November 7, 2024, through December 31, 2025. The current Treasurer (Treasurer C) started January 1, 2026.
2 This is cash used at the beginning of fundraisers, generally to make change and is redeposited after the event’s end.