SOUTHERN TIER SCHOOLS
State audits find flaws at Brocton, Yorkshire-Pioneer
State audits of two Southern Tier school districts showed some weak controls over classroom funds and in some internal controls and auditing.
Representatives from the office of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli examined how Brocton Central School District clubs maintained their records and how the Yorkshire- Pioneer Central School District maintained its bank accounts and conducted its internal audits.
Auditors found that Yorkshire-Pioneer allowed a vendor to withdraw money from district accounts. The audit said $314,874 was withdrawn for payments to a flexible benefit plan during the 2007-08 school year.
While the district treasurer reviews the bank statements monthly, the state said that it would be possible for a vendor to make an unauthorized withdrawal before the treasurer examined the bank statement.
In the district response, Superintendent Jeffrey M. Bowen and Business Administrator Nicholas J. Silvaroli said the district has tight controls that would prevent an unauthorized withdrawal. But the district will set up a separate account for this vendor to make electronic withdrawals, they said.
The state also said the district should not have an employee of the Cattaraugus-Allegany Board of Cooperative Educational Services performing its internal audits. That person could not be impartial, the state said, since he or she would be auditing services or programs provided by Cattaraugus- Allegany BOCES.
Pioneer was one of 17 districts that entered an intermunicipal agreement to have BOCES perform the internal audits for them.
In their response, the superintendent and the business administrator said that BOCES acts as an independent third party to process payroll and benefits for the auditor and that the agreement allows the auditor to act independently.
They said the participating districts, not BOCES, selected and hired the auditor, established the terms of employment and evaluated the auditor.
In Brocton, the comptroller’s office reviewed the books for three clubs in April 2008. In two instances, the club records showed that there was more money than in the central treasurer’s records, and in the last club, the central treasurer showed more money than in the club records.
All money was ultimately accounted for, the audit said.
Superintendent John J. Skahill Jr. and Board President Susan Hardy said the district business office will take over managing club funds and that the district will separate record-keeping and cash-management duties.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments