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Auditor Logo Susan Montee

Report No. 2010-52
May 2010

Complete Audit Report


The following findings were included in our audit report of Stoddard County.


Property tax system procedures and controls need improvement. Neither the County Commission nor the County Clerk provide adequate oversight of the activities of the County Collector-Treasurer. The County Clerk does not maintain an account book or other record summarizing property tax transactions and changes, and does not prepare or verify the accuracy of the current or delinquent tax books. In addition, controls over property tax additions and abatements are not adequate. An independent comparision of court orders to changes in the tax system is not performed by the County Clerk or the County Commission.

Several concerns were noted with accounting controls and procedures in the Sheriff's office. Cash custody and accounting duties are not adequately segregated, monies received are not always deposited intact or in a timely manner, fees are not always disbursed to the County Collector-Treasurer on a timely basis, and bank reconciliations are not performed in a timely manner. Procedures have not been established to identify and reconcile month-end liabilities to the inmate bank account balance. As a result, the Sheriff's office is unable to agree the reconciled cash balance to the individual inmate account balances and other related liabilities. Further, adequate procedures have not been established to ensure all accrued costs are identified and pursued.

Adequate records and procedures over commissary orders and the inmate accounts are not in place to ensure commissary purchases are correctly deducted from inmates' accounts, and to ensure monies are correctly transmitted to the County Collector-Treasurer. In addition, the Sheriff's office does not have adequate records or procedures over commissary inventory. Perpetual inventory records of commissary items are not accurate or reconciled to the monthly physical inventory, records are not maintained of employee commissary purchases, and monthly physical inventories are not adequately documented.

Bids and proposals were not always solicited, documentation of bids and proposals was not always retained, and the use of sole source vendors was not adequately documented. The county did not maintain adequate records of the Stoddard County Public Water Supply District 3 Waterline Extension, a federally funded project. As a result, the county could not ensure federal compliance requirements were met.

The county budgets were not adequately monitored and budget amendments were not completed in a timely manner. During 2008, the county overspent the original budgeted amounts for both the Special Road and Bridge Fund and the Capital Improvements Fund by $208,344 and $1,287,479, respectively. Additionally, the 2009 county budget and 2008 budget amendments were not filed timely with the State Auditor's office in accordance with state law.

Other findings in the audit report relate to county property records and procedures, County Commission's meeting minutes, accounting controls and procedures of the County Collector-Treasurer, and minutes and procedures of the Emergency 911 Board.

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