11/02/2017
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of Cooper County located in central Missouri. The report, which received an overall rating of fair, raised concerns with lack of oversight in several areas of county government.
"By having proper controls in place, county officials are able to quickly identify and address any potential concern of questionable spending," Auditor Galloway said. "I urge the county to address these concerns to promote accountability and ensure taxpayer dollars are protected."
The audit recommended improved accounting procedures in the county collector's office and increased oversight in the review of property tax transactions to reduce the risk of loss, theft or misuse of funds. Several concerns were previously identified in past audits of the county and the county collector.
The audit also found the county has failed to adequately document the reasons for transfers from two restricted funds and improperly transferred money from one restricted fund. Auditors also found weak computer password procedures in a number of county offices, increasing the risk of unauthorized access to county data, and found the public administrator does not store backup data in an off-site location.
Auditor Galloway recently released a separate audit of the Cooper County Clerk detailing actions taken by the former clerk, Darryl Kempf, to misappropriate county funds to purchase a leased vehicle. The issues were brought to the attention of auditors during the routine audit of Cooper County.
A complete copy of the Cooper County audit is here.
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Auditor Nicole Galloway, CPA, is the 38th auditor of the State of Missouri. She is a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner. Prior to becoming State Auditor, Galloway served as Treasurer of Boone County, and has worked in the private sector as a corporate auditor, accountant and actuarial analyst. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri and degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Missouri University of Science and Technology.
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