06/26/2015
Reports for county, county collector released separately
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released follow-up reports to two Lewis County audits.
The Lewis County audit was issued in November 2014 and earned an overall performance rating of "fair." The follow-up report, which does not include an overall rating, highlights the steps the county sheriff has taken to implement audit recommendations, and notes areas where concerns remain.
"The county sheriff has taken many steps to address findings noted in the original audit report," Galloway said. "Even with limited staff and resources, I believe these new processes will serve the citizens of Lewis County by creating safeguards over the use of taxpayer dollars."
For follow-up reporting purposes, audit findings are prioritized and then selected recommendations are evaluated and ranked as implemented, in progress, partially implemented or not implemented.
In the Lewis County follow-up report, five recommendations were selected for evaluation. At the time of the follow-up review, all five recommendations were either in progress or partially implemented. The sheriff's office is taking steps to improve controls and procedures to ensure the accuracy of all financial transactions, including new procedures to ensure receipts are provided in a timely manner and accounting duties are segregated.
Audit staff also concurrently conducted the follow-up review to the audit of the Lewis County Collector and Property Tax System. The county collector's office was not included in the Lewis County audit report because Missouri law requires a separate audit of the county collector's office if the office experiences a vacancy. The original audit report for the Lewis County Collector and Property Tax System was issued in November 2014 and earned a performance rating of "poor."
For the county collector's office, all seven recommendation were reviewed. In the follow-up review, auditors found that five recommendations had been implemented and the remaining two recommendations were in the process of being implemented.
The follow-up reviews for Lewis County and the Lewis County Collector and Property Tax System were conducted in April and May 2015. The status updates in the follow-up reports are deemed accurate through that time. Links to the complete follow-up reports are available here.
