Officials discuss corrective action plan after accounting concerns in Chester County

Chester County officials discussed requesting a corrective action plan and more frequent verification of accounting fixes after staff raised concerns that state-related balances were not being reviewed.

The discussion focused on checks and balances in the county accounting process, timelines for correcting balances and a statutory deadline to close the county’s books. Speaker 1, a staff member, said the county should receive periodic updates and verification that fixes are in place rather than waiting until the next year.

"But there's nobody reviewing them. Nobody's overseeing them. Nobody's making sure that those checks and balances actually occur," Speaker 1 said, describing gaps in current oversight. The staff member said corrections could be completed "by middle March," and asked whether the county should request periodic updates so problems would not remain undiscovered until the next annual reconciliation.

Speaker 1 also noted statutory timing for closing the county’s financial records: "Well, actually, your books have to be closed by August 31. Right. About 2 months there. Or you'll be in violation of state statute. So you have some time after June 30." The staff member emphasized that the county would be reviewing activity "through June 30."

As a procedural option, the staff member suggested using the chair's advice motion to "ask for a corrective action plan so we can come back, say, in a few weeks." The transcript records the suggestion and discussion but does not show a formal motion, second, or vote on the proposal.

No formal action or vote on a corrective action plan was recorded in the transcript segment. Next steps, including who would prepare the plan or a specific return date, were not specified in the portion of the meeting captured here.