06/12/2017
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued a follow-up report on the operations of the city of Sparta, located in Christian County in southwest Missouri. The initial audit, released in September 2016, raised serious concerns related to the city's finances and management policies. Auditors returned for a follow-up review this year.
"Lack of oversight within the Sparta government led to disorganized financial records and a city that was unable to ensure public dollars were properly managed and accounted for," Auditor Galloway said. "This report shows improvement, but city leaders must continue this work for the benefit of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Sparta."
Sparta officials have improved monitoring for the city's budget and reduced the number of bank accounts maintained. City officials have also adopted practices that allow for better oversight of the accounting work performed by city personnel.
Auditors determined the city has not taken corrective action to require bidding on certain purchases, including professional services. Additional work is still needed to further increase oversight for accounting records and payments received by the city. This lack of oversight increases the risk that errors or inappropriate activity could go undetected.
In total, auditors identified 21 areas of concern to evaluate during the follow-up review. Nine recommendations were completed. For nine other recommendations, progress has been made or recommendations were partially implemented. Recommendations for three findings had not been addressed, and no specific plans had been made to act on those recommendations.
A link to the follow-up report is available here.
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