Audit Objective
Did the Village of Rhinebeck (Village) Board of Trustees (Board) properly audit claims?
Audit Period
June 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024
Understanding the Audit Area
The claims audit is often the last line of defense for preventing unauthorized, improper or fraudulent claims from being paid. When a village has a strong claims auditing process, the control consciousness of its staff is enhanced because officers and employees are aware that a careful review of claims will occur before public funds are disbursed. Because it is the board’s responsibility to ensure tax dollars are spent properly, efficiently and in the best interest of taxpayers, the board should conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of claims before directing the treasurer to pay them.
The Village’s 2024-25 budgeted appropriations totaled approximately $4.8 million. During the audit period, the Treasurer paid 3,345 claims totaling approximately $5.3 million.
Audit Summary
The Board did not properly audit all claims before payment. Without a thorough review of all claims to be paid, the Board’s ability to effectively monitor Village financial operations is diminished and errors and irregularities may continue to occur and remain undetected and uncorrected. Additionally, there is an increased risk that unsupported payments could continue to be made, and improper or unnecessary payments may not be detected and corrected. Furthermore, without evidence of competition attached to claims, taxpayers have less assurance that purchases were made in the most prudent and economical manner. We reviewed 543 claims totaling $430,129 which included 124 credit card transactions totaling $15,517 and determined that the Board did not properly audit 136 claims (25 percent) totaling $351,321. Specifically, the Board approved:
- 130 non-credit card claims totaling $264,582 and one credit card transaction totaling $1,406 without obtaining quotes in accordance with the Village’s Board-adopted procurement policy.
- 50 non-credit card claims totaling approximately $129,223 that were paid by the Treasurer before the Board audited and approved the claims for payment.
- 29 claims totaling $5,343 without adequate supporting documentation (i.e., original, itemized invoices and/or receipts) indicating that the purchases were for legitimate Village purposes. While further discussion with Village officials and review of additional supporting documentation supported that the claims were for legitimate Village purposes, the Board approved the claims and payment without knowing if the claims were appropriate charges to the Village.
- Six non-credit card claims totaling $1,056 and two credit card transactions totaling $204 for purchases of meals for the Village’s fire department without adequate supporting documentation to justify the purpose for meals and refreshments.
- Six non-credit card claims and 17 credit card transactions that included sales tax totaling $354, which the Village was exempt from paying.
The report includes six recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Village’s claims auditing process. Village officials generally agreed with our findings and recommendations and indicated they planned to 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. A written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report should be prepared and provided to our office within 90 days, pursuant to Section 35 of the New York State General Municipal Law. 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 in the Village Clerk’s (Clerk’s) office.