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Audit committee: coroner, magistrate court and water utility audits report few exceptions
Summary
Columbia County internal auditors presented three reports March 11 showing no exceptions in the coroner’s office, accounting discrepancies in the magistrate court that have been corrected or recommended for control changes, and a largely clean water-utility audit with inventory and a single purchasing control exception.
The Columbia County Audit Committee received internal audit reports March 11 covering the coroner’s office, the magistrate court and the county water utility, with auditors reporting no major findings but recommending tighter reconciliations and inventory controls.
Auditor Mr. Snyder told the committee, “We have completed our internal audit of the coroner’s office, and we had no exceptions noted in our audit.” He said auditors reviewed purchase card transactions, job logs and the coroner office’s payroll certifications and found no issues.
At the committee meeting at the Columbia County Courthouse, the magistrate court audit flagged reconciliation gaps between QuickBooks registers, the general ledger and externally generated escrow reports. Mr. Snyder said auditors also identified a temporary negative balance in the accounts-payable account that the magistrate court has since corrected. “Definitely not material to the County,” Mr. Snyder said when asked whether the discrepancies were material, adding that the issues appeared to be accounting and internal-control gaps rather than missing funds.
Committee member Miss Reese asked whether the magistrate court could use Munis for those trust accounts; Mr. Snyder said Munis is used for paying invoices through the county but that the court’s trust funds are not currently on Munis and could be set up there.
The water utility audit covered a wide range of functions. Mr. Snyder said auditors found one purchase-card transaction in which the purchaser also approved the purchase; management has documented a response and the matter has been resolved. Auditors also noted inventory-tracking weaknesses: inventory spot checks could not be traced to detailed component records, in part because year-end inventory procedures had not been performed at the time of the spot check. The report records that management is considering updates to Cityworks to improve inventory tracking.
Auditors reported no issues with licensing, environmental reporting, water-efficiency and water-loss audits, and they traced late fees, reinstatement fees and other customer revenues to deposits. The report includes charts showing a rising number of inspections and work volume as the county grows.
Mr. Snyder told the committee the three-audit approach is working administratively but said the auditors are open to splitting large divisions such as the water utility into separate audits for deeper review if the committee prefers.
The committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting by voice motion; the transcript records the motion as “So moved” but does not include a recorded tally. The committee adjourned and planned to reconvene for the management and internal services committee after a three-minute break.
