Northumberland schools’ interim finance director cites bookkeeping backlog, tightens procurement after review finds widespread miscoding and nonessential spend

The interim school finance director for Northumberland County told the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 29 that her office has found widespread miscoding of account lines, a backlog of unpaid invoices and years of purchases charged to inappropriate categories, and has put stronger procurement and card controls in place.

The director, speaking in her 12th day on the job, said staff have onboarded two employees, reconciled petty cash, filed quarterly tax returns and begun bank reconciliations dating back to November 2024. Using recommendations from a recent forensic audit, she said her team has processed roughly $300,000 in past-due invoices and expects another roughly $40,000 to be paid this week.

"We found invoices tucked in piles and in inboxes that were never coded or paid," the director said. "We are rejecting charges that were charged to the wrong account line and putting controls back into place." She said the office is now requiring purchase orders to include item descriptions, pricing justification and an account-line…