YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2004-76

September 28, 2004

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in counties, like Wright, that do not have a county auditor.  In addition to a financial and compliance audit of various county operating funds, the State Auditor's statutory audit covers additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials, as required by Missouri's Constitution.

This audit of Wright County included additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials.  The following concerns were noted as part of the audit:

• The county's controls and procedures over county expenditures need improvement.  Bids were not always solicited, adequate supporting documentation was not always retained, disbursements were not properly monitored, and mileage paid to the sheriff was not adequately documented. 

• The county has not established procedures to monitor collateral securities pledged by its depositary bank, and as a result, funds were undercollateralized by approximately $870,000 and $777,000 during January 2004 and 2003, respectively. 

• County Commission minutes were not prepared to document the matters discussed in closed meetings and open meeting minutes did not always document the reasons for closing the meeting, or the final disposition of matters discussed in closed meetings. 

• A Title IV-D (Child Support Enforcement) Program claim form was not filed timely with the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) resulting in $1,969 in lost revenue to the county.   The Prosecuting Attorney authorized a transfer of $1,969 from the Prosecuting Attorney Bad Check Fund to reimburse the General Revenue Fund.

• Numerous problems were noted relating to Prosecuting Attorneys' accounting controls and procedures.  Bad check collection procedures need improvement, court ordered restitution is not adequately monitored, and the bad check account and restitution account had $3,441 and $2,356 in unidentified funds, respectively. Additionally, improvements are needed with segregation of accounting duties and controls over receipts.  Further, concerns were noted with the compensation paid to employees from the Prosecuting Attorney Bad Check Fund and Prosecuting Attorney Delinquent Tax Fund. 

• The County Collector withheld excess commissions totaling approximately $9,400 on railroad and utility taxes, and $4,000 on surtax collections.  Additionally, surtax distributions need to be reviewed.

• Prior audit reports have addressed the inadequacy of the Sheriff’s accounting controls and procedures; however, weaknesses still exist in controls over receipts and monthly bank reconciliation procedures.  Receipts were not deposited timely, receipt slips were not always issued, and bank accounts were not properly reconciled.  At June 30, 2004, the reconciled balance in the Sheriff's Civil Fees account was only $2,403.  Approximately $1,230 of the balance was being held as civil process fees and $1,740 was due to the County Treasurer, resulting in a shortage of $567.  Additionally, improvements are needed with the segregation of accounting duties, controls over seized property, and controls over fuel usage.

• The Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) has not established procedures to maintain accurate financial information, and operating costs have not been analyzed to ensure the JDC recovers all costs. In addition, budgets were incomplete, and the actual cash balance was not accurately reported on the 2003 and 2002 budgets. Further, accounting duties are not adequately segregated and controls over expenditures need improvement at the JDC and Juvenile Office.

Also included in the audit were recommendations related to budgetary practices, payroll, property tax system, preparation of the county's schedule of federal awards, and a road and bridge maintenance plan.  The audit also suggested improvements in the procedures of the County Treasurer, Ex Officio Recorder of Deeds, Associate Circuit Division, Health Center and Developmentally Disabled Board.

Complete Audit Report