Finance committee approves new e-banking and fiscal-approval policies to tighten controls

The Warren County finance and budget committee on March 5 approved an updated electronic wire transfers and e-banking policy and a companion fiscal-approval policy, following extended discussion about internal controls and vendor onboarding.

Supporters said the policy is intended to centralize responsibilities, create separation of duties, and reduce fraud risk. "It's separation of duties and checks and balances," one supervisor said while describing the policy's goals. The policy text assigns oversight roles to the board, the finance committee chair (in partnership with the county treasurer and the Risk & Safety Committee), the county attorney and the county auditor; it also names the purchasing department as the office responsible for vendor records.

Committee members pressed two implementation points: whether department heads or IT should manage user access, and how the county will obtain written acknowledgements from parties with e-banking responsibilities. Supporters argued the IT director should control system access to avoid perceptions of departmental gatekeeping and ensure consistent access controls. The policy envisions the board chair executing online banking agreements with the bank and the county treasurer acting as the primary administrator for day-to-day management.

Treasurer's office and committee members said the policy intentionally leaves sensitive operational procedures — for example, detailed cash-receipts handling, bank reconciliations, and lock-box processes — to be designed by the Risk & Safety Committee and kept confidential as internal controls. The committee approved the e-banking policy (9A) and the fiscal-approval authority policy (9B), and directed the Risk & Safety Committee to prepare the detailed internal financial procedures (9C).

What happens next: The Risk & Safety Committee will draft the confidential procedures called for under the policy and work with the treasurer's office and purchasing to implement vendor onboarding and administrator access controls. The board will need to execute bank agreements and later consider any needed technical or budgetary changes to implement the systems described.