Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Alden (Town) Town Supervisor (Supervisor) prepared and maintained complete and accurate accounting records and provided sufficient financial reports to the Town Board (Board).
Key Findings
The former Supervisor did not always follow basic accounting principles by preparing or maintaining complete and accurate accounting records or providing sufficient financial reports to the Board. The Supervisor did not always adhere to basic internal controls that are designed to help ensure funds are safeguarded and accounted for. Because the Board did not receive adequate financial reporting, it was not aware of the Town’s financial status and, as a result, adopted unrealistic budgets. Without adequate accounting controls and accurate and timely financial information, the Supervisor and Board cannot make informed financial decisions. The former Supervisor did not:
- Always record collections in a timely manner during 2023, with an average of 40 days between the collection date and the recording date.
- Maintain accurate accounting records or prepare monthly bank reconciliations. As a result, the total cash balance in the 2023 Annual Financial Report (AFR) was overstated by over $76,000 when compared to the cash balances of the accounting records (book balances). After we engaged the audit, officials completed bank reconciliations that should have been completed in prior years.
- Provide the Board with monthly financial reports as required, resulting in unrealistic budgets being adopted and a significant accumulation of fund balance totaling over $4 million or 134 percent of the 2023 budget appropriations for those funds.
In addition, the Town contracted with an accounting firm to audit the Supervisor’s records, help reconcile the bank accounts and correct accounting errors, but the Board and Supervisor did not implement corrective actions to address the accounting firm’s audit recommendations.
Recommendations
The audit report includes seven recommendations to help the Supervisor address the deficiencies in the accounting records and to improve financial reporting to the Board.
Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have initiated corrective action.