Missouri State Auditor's Office - 2007 Shannon County-
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Susan Montee, CPA
Missouri State Auditor |
YELLOW SHEET |
Report No. 2007-13
March 2007
IMPORTANT: The Missouri State
Auditor is required by state law to conduct audits once every four years in
counties, such as Shannon, that do not have a county auditor. In addition to a
financial 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 the Missouri Constitution.
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The financial condition of the county's General
Revenue Fund remains weak. At December 31, 2005, the fund's cash balance was
$214,098, and it was estimated that the cash balance was $39,623 at December
31, 2006. Additionally, $202,598 was owed from the General Revenue Fund to
the Special Road and Bridge Fund at December 31, 2006. County spending has
increased, and although the County Commission indicated they have been
monitoring the financial condition, the county needs to develop a long-term
plan to ensure revenues are maximized and discretionary disbursements are
closely monitored. In addition, the county should establish a plan to pay off
the General Revenue Fund liability to the Special Road and Bridge Fund.
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The county's budget preparation procedures need
significant improvement. The county's procedures do not ensure that the
budget documents reasonably reflect the anticipated financial activity and
cash balances of the various funds. For larger county funds, some poor budget
estimates caused the estimated ending cash balances to be significantly
over/under estimated. For many smaller funds, estimates of receipts and/or
disbursements were omitted.
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The county did not always solicit bids or
retain bid documentation for some purchases. The county does not adequately
monitor the use of county road and bridge property tax monies paid to cities
within the county. In addition, the county does not have a formal policy for
mileage reimbursements paid to county officials and employees.
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Employee time sheet information does not always
agree with information entered into the county's payroll accounting system.
To facilitate the preparation of employee paychecks, employee time is
estimated for the last two days of the pay period, and the county does not
have adequate procedures to ensure hours actually worked were compared to the
hours estimated. In addition, the county's overtime policy may not comply
with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and employee summary leave records are not
maintained.
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The county's property tax system controls and
procedures need improvement. The County Clerk does not maintain an account
book with the County Collector, and as a result, the County Clerk and County
Commission cannot adequately verify the accuracy of the County Collector's
annual settlements. In addition, controls over property tax additions and
abatements need improvement.
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While similar concerns have been noted in our
prior audit reports, little improvement was noted in the operations of the
County Collector's office. The County Collector does not deposit monies
intact or on a timely basis. Monies are held from deposits for use as a
change fund, which is not kept at a constant amount. Records and procedures
for partial payments accepted from taxpayers need improvement. The County
Collector does not reconcile the cash balance to liabilities, and as a result,
approximately $40,000 was held in the County Collector's bank account that
could not be identified. In addition, the County Collector over-withheld
commissions from property taxes, and approximately $5,250 in annual
commissions paid to the General Revenue Fund needs to be distributed to the
various taxing authorities.
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The Sheriff does not issue receipt slips for
some monies received and does not transmit receipts to the County Treasurer
intact or in a timely manner. The Sheriff does not have procedures to ensure
all monies received are disbursed, and as a result, the bank account had an
unidentified balance of approximately $2,000. Procedures have not been
established to ensure all incarceration costs are billed and received from
other political subdivisions. In addition, the Sheriff needs to improve
records and procedures for county vehicle usage and seized property
inventories. Similar concerns have been noted in our prior audits, and while
the Sheriff previously responded that most recommendations would be
implemented, little improvement was noted.
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The Circuit Clerk/Ex Officio Recorder of Deeds
needs to deposit monies more frequently, follow up on old outstanding checks,
maintain better records of interest earnings and petty cash transactions,
close an old child support bank account, and turn over the Recorder User Fee
Fund to the County Treasurer. In addition, The Circuit Clerk/Ex Officio
Recorder of Deeds did not adequately reconcile liabilities to the cash balance
of the Circuit Clerk's fee account, and as a result, the records indicated a
potential shortage of $3,050 in this account. The Circuit Clerk/Ex Officio
Recorder of Deeds indicated this had resulted from errors in 2003 and had been
corrected.
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The Prosecuting Attorney needs to make deposits
and turn over fees to the county more timely, follow up on old outstanding
checks, and better monitor uncollected bad checks. The Prosecuting Attorney
does not have procedures to ensure all monies received are disbursed, and as a
result, the bank account had an unidentified balance of approximately $200.
Also included in our audit are recommendations
related to published financial statements, collateral securities, county
property records, apportionment of railroad and utility taxes, and officials'
compensation and bond coverage.
Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov