YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2004-52

June 25, 2004

The following report is our audit of the Public Administrator, Pulaski County, Missouri.

The Pulaski County Public Administrator contacted the State Auditor's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in November 2003 concerning possible misappropriations discovered in her wards' checking accounts.  Weaknesses in the internal control system and record keeping system of the Public Administrator's office allowed misappropriations of at least $40,808 to occur during the period January 1, 2002 through November 7, 2003. These misappropriations may have been detected on a more timely basis if adequate oversight and reviews had been performed and if internal controls had been established.

In addition, the Public Administrator identified additional misappropriations of at least $1,814 made during 2000 and 2001.  Information regarding these misappropriations has been shared with law enforcement authorities. 

The former accounting clerk also made unauthorized transfers among various accounts of at least $98,277, in part to attempt to conceal the various misappropriations and shortages. The accounting records indicate another $13,675 was received but never deposited into various accounts, which may represent additional misappropriations. 

Accounting and bookkeeping duties were not adequately segregated, and the Public Administrator did not perform supervisory reviews of the accounting records.  Checks were not always issued in numerical sequence and several check numbers were not accounted for.  Some annual settlements prepared by the Public Administrator's office were not complete or accurate, and some settlements were approved by the Probate Court without corresponding bank statements and cancelled checks being filed. 

The Public Administrator's former accounting clerk has been charged with 28 counts of felony stealing.

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