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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
October 5, 1999
Report No. 99-92
IMPORTANT: The Missouri State Auditor is required by Missouri law to conduct audits only once every four years in counties, like Butler, which do not have a county auditor. However, to assist such counties in meeting federal audit requirements, the State Auditor will also perform a financial and compliance audit of various county operating funds every two years. This voluntary service to Missouri counties can only be provided when state auditing resources are available and does not interfere with the State Auditor's constitutional responsibility of auditing state government.
Once every four years, the State Auditor's statutory audit will cover additional areas of county operations, as well as the elected county officials, as required by Missouri's Constitution.
This audit of Butler 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 does not have a procedure in place to track federal awards. The county did not submit a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) to the State Auditor's Office in 1997, and the 1998 SEFA prepared was incomplete. An accurate SEFA is necessary to ensure federal financial activity is audited and reported in accordance with federal requirements.
The County contracts with the State Highway and Transportation Commission for bridge replacement and rehabilitation under the federal Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program. The county did not have documentation regarding the consideration of at least three engineering firms for two bridge projects as required.
The Butler County Juvenile Office operates the Hentz School which receives federal and state funding. Expenditures made from the Hentz School Fund to reimburse the Poplar Bluff School District for teachers' salaries were approximately $130,000 and $128,000 respectively, in 1998 and 1997. The county did not enter into a written agreement with the school district documenting the services to be provided and the payments to be made from the Hentz School Fund.
The county did not have procedures in place to ensure financial activity was accurately presented. Actual receipt and disbursement amounts were not correctly reported on county budgets and published financial statements. Numerous errors were noted and could have been detected had reconciliations between the County Clerk's and County Treasurer's office been performed. In addition, formal budgets were not prepared for various county funds and actual disbursements exceeded budget amounts in several funds.
The audit also made recommendations and suggestions to improve the county's personnel policies and procedures, controls over property tax additions and abatements, and monitoring of collateral securities pledged by county banks. Additional recommendations were made to improve the documentation of county expenditures, minutes of County Commission meetings and general fixed asset records.
Also included in the audit are recommendations to improve the accounting controls and procedures for the Associate Circuit Division, the County Clerk, the County Collector, the County Treasurer, the Juvenile Officer, the Probate Division, the County Prosecuting Attorney, and the County Sheriff. Approximately $130 could not be accounted for in the County Clerk's office. Additionally, due to concerns noted on the Sheriff's inmate and commissary accounts, a special review is being performed of those areas.
