Auditor Seal

YELLOW SHEET

Office of the State Auditor of Missouri
Claire McCaskill

 

Report No. 2004-72

September 21, 2004

IMPORTANT:  The Missouri State Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every 4 years in counties, like Knox, 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.


Many of the findings noted in this audit report were noted in past audit reports; however, little or no improvement has been made.   The following concerns were noted as part of the audit:

�           The county does not have adequate procedures in place to track federal awards for the preparation of the schedule of expenditures of federal awards.  The county's schedules for 2003 and 2002 contained several errors and omissions.  Without an accurate schedule, federal financial activity may not be audited and reported in accordance with federal audit requirements, which could result in future reductions in federal funds. 

�           The county has not established cash management procedures to ensure minimal time elapses between its receipt of federal project monies and the distribution of such monies to contractors as required by federal and state regulations. 

�           In December 2003, transactions were made that effectively lowered the cash balance of the Road and Bridge Fund by over $150,000.  The county prepaid $100,000 to two local quarries for rock and prepared and signed a check for $51,440 for a truck which had not yet been received. This check was held by the County Treasurer until delivery of the vehicle more than four months later.  Prepaying for goods to be received at a later date could result in the county paying for goods or services not received. 

�           Several additional problems were noted concerning the Road and Bridge Fund  including no written agreements with the two local quarries for the prepaid monies and no annual maintenance plan for county roads.  Improvements are needed in the county's procedures regarding the purchase of road materials and the sale of some materials to the public. 

�           Problems were noted in the compensation paid to various county officials.   Incorrect application of assessed valuation levels appears to have  resulted in salaries  being incorrectly calculated  for many officials.  The Public Administrator has continued to receive both a salary and fees which no longer complies with state law.

�           There are several concerns regarding the counties personnel policies and procedures including a lack of timesheets and accurate leave records.  Some payroll checks were issued in advance, an employee received both sick leave and unemployment compensation for the same time period, and numerous errors were made in the calculation and payment of overtime for a Sheriff's deputy.   Similar concerns were noted in previous audit reports.

�           As noted in prior audit reports, the County Commission does not maintain adequate records of its meetings to demonstrate compliance with the Sunshine Law. 

�           Formal budgets were not prepared for various county funds and, as noted in previous reports, actual disbursements exceeded the budgeted amounts in various funds.  In addition, the county's budgets contained several misclassifications of receipts and disbursements.  Also, as noted in previous reports, the annual published financial statements did not include some county funds and did not include complete financial activity of other county funds.  The county did not properly calculate the property tax roll back in 2003 and 2002. 

�           Controls over county disbursements need improvement.  Bids were not always solicited or documented and, as noted in previous reports,  payments were approved without adequate supporting documentation and without acknowledgement of receipt of goods or services.  In addition, written contracts were sometimes not prepared specifying the arrangements between applicable parties. 

 �           Controls over the preparation of and changes to the property tax books are not adequate.  Prior audit reports have also addressed this problem to the county clerk but, the conditions have not improved. 

The audit also includes recommendations to improve computer system controls, fixed asset and vehicle records and controls, and monitoring of collateral securities.  Additional concerns regarding controls were noted for the County Clerk, the County Treasurer, the County Collector, the County Assessor, the Sheriff, the Prosecuting Attorney,  the Circuit Clerk, and the Public Administrator.  In addition, the audit included recommendations to the Knox County Health Center regarding receipt records and controls, collateral securities, and computer controls.

Complete Audit Report


Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov