02/11/2016
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today announced that her office has launched audits of Benton and Vernon Counties, located in west central Missouri. Both audits are regularly scheduled, and the most recent audits of these counties were released in October 2012.
In the 2012 audit of Vernon County, auditors found the county entered into contractual relationships without executing formal written agreements, as required by state law. They also identified a lack of segregation of duties, weaknesses in accounting procedures, and a lack of documentation for some county commission meetings. The county received an overall performance rating of "fair." The complete audit report for Vernon County is available here.
The 2012 audit of Benton County identified excess property tax collections due to the county's failure to sufficiently reduce property taxes to offset sales taxes received. The issue had been noted in a prior audit. Auditors also raised concerns regarding a lack of minutes for numerous closed county commission meetings and inadequate accounting procedures for several county offices. The county received an overall performance rating of "fair." The complete audit report for Benton County is available here.
Individuals with information for consideration during an audit are invited to contact the State Auditor's Office at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or 800-347-8597.
