AG 2009 11 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Board of County Commissioners Cabarrus County Page 3 Finding 2009-4: Criteria: Management should have a system in place to reduce the likelihood of errors in financial reporting. Condition: While documenting internal controls over accounts payables, we noted areas in the finance department where controls could be strengthened. Controls over electronic signatures on check disbursements should be strengthened. Recommendation: Additional segregation of duties should be put into place. A supervisor should approve a check run before the checks can be printed. The person who mails the checks should be different from the person who approves invoices and prints checks. This person should also receive an approved check run listing and match up the check run to the checks to be mailed. Management's Response/Corrective Action: In addressing this finding, the County currently has departments approve all invoices and has several employees who input the invoice data for a check to be generated. One employee matches up the invoice keyed to the check printed and then mails the check to the vendor. The County feels that a segregation of duties exists in who approves the invoices versus who inputs the invoices. The change the County will be making is redistributing duties so that several employees will be inputting the invoice and one employee will be printing the checks and a separate employee will match up the checks and mail them to the vendor. Finding 2009-5: Criteria: Management should have a system in place to reduce the likelihood of errors in financial reporting. Condition: While documenting internal controls over cash collections, we noted areas in the tax department where controls could be strengthened. Recommendation: A formal review process should be put into place to ensure improper back dating of cash receipts payments is not occurring. The tax collections department has the ability to post payments to the cash receipts system by postmark date. The system automatically records an entry date, however, the cashier has the ability to back date the payment date to match the postmark date. Monthly reports should be run listing transactions with the entry date and payment date more than 5 days apart. This report should be reviewed by supervisors monthly to ensure that improper back dating of cash receipts is not occurring. Management's Response/Corrective Action: A formal review process has been put in place to ensure improper back date of cash receipts is not occurring. At the end of the month, a clerk and date will be randomly selected and an activity report will be run for that day. The report will be reviewed for payment dates that occur more than 5 days preceding the transaction date. If any postings meet the criteria, the clerk's paperwork will be pulled to verify postmark. Finding 2009-6 Criteria: Management should have a system in place to reduce the likelihood of errors in financial reporting. Condition: While documenting internal controls over payroll, we noted areas in the finance department where controls could be strengthened. G-8 Attachment number 1 Page 257