06/03/2015
County plans to remedy over-collection of tax dollars, implement additional safeguards
Missouri State Auditor Nicole R. Galloway, CPA, has released the follow-up report to the Miller County audit. The original audit was issued in November 2014 and earned an overall performance rating of "poor." The follow-up report, which does not include an overall rating, highlights the steps Miller County has taken to implement audit recommendations, and notes areas where concerns remain.
"Miller County has taken steps to improve many of the problem areas identified in the audit," Galloway said. "Additional safeguards are being implemented to prevent over-collection of tax dollars from occurring in the future and to provide oversight in areas where auditors recognized a high risk of errors due to a lack of controls or appropriate accounting practices."
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 Miller County follow-up report, 19 recommendations were selected for evaluation. Of those 19, three recommendations have been successfully implemented by the county, including processes to ensure the accuracy of financial transactions in the sheriff's office. Twelve additional recommendations are in the process of being implemented, including recommendations related to over-collection of property taxes and recommendations to establish inventory processes for seized and confiscated property.
Three recommendations were only partially implemented at the time of the follow-up review, including one related to using building improvement funds for other uses. For one recommendation, which noted concerns with accounting practices for the county collector's office, the recommendation was deemed by auditors as not implemented at the time of the follow-up review.
The follow-up review was primarily conducted in March 2015. The status updates in the follow-up report are deemed accurate through that time.
The complete follow-up report is available here.
The November 2014 audit report is available here.
