Missouri State Auditor's Office - 2000-
 |
YELLOW SHEET
Office of the State Auditor of Missouri
Claire McCaskill
|
Report No. 2000-82
August 29, 2000
IMPORTANT:� The Missouri State Auditor is required by
Missouri law to conduct audits only once every four years in counties, like
Gentry, 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 Gentry 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 procedures in place to track federal financial assistance for the
preparation of the Schedule of expenditures of federal awards.� The county�s schedule contained
numerous errors and omissions.�
Without an accurate schedule of expenditures of federal awards,
federal financial activity may not be audited and reported in accordance
with federal requirements which could result in future reductions of
federal funds.
- During 1999, the
county completed a federal bridge project and obtained additional funding
(called soft-match credits) from the Missouri Department of Transportation
for part of the county�s 20 percent share of project costs.� The county had not established
procedures to ensure the Missouri Department of Transportation�s bridge
project credit records were in agreement with the county�s records and as
a result failed to detect a $19,875 error in unused credits.� To ensure all federal bridge project
credits are accounted for properly, the county should periodically
reconcile its records to the Missouri Department of Transportation�s
records and investigate any discrepancies.
- The audit noted two
instances in which the county may not have complied with the Fair Labor
Standards Act.� The county is
required under the Fair Labor Standards Act to account for and pay
overtime or allow compensatory time off for any hours worked over the
Act�s limit for all non-exempt employees.�
- County employees
participating in the county�s cafeteria plan have the option to
participate in the medical reimbursement program to cover certain medical
expenses not covered by their insurance.�
One employee was reimbursed $1,500 from the Medical Reimbursement
Fund; however, his monthly contributions pledged were not withheld from
his paychecks during the year ending February 28, 2000.� The county had no procedures in place
to reconcile plan contributions pledged to receipts of the fund.
Also
included in the audit are recommendations to improve the county�s budgetary
procedures, general fixed asset records, and vehicle and mileage records.� The audit also suggested improvements be
made to the Tri-County Health Center�s records and procedures and that various
bond coverage be reviewed.� Several of
these issues have been noted in prior audits.
Complete
Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@mail.auditor.state.mo.us
Webmaster:
auditor@mail.auditor.state.mo.us
