City auditor reports "very low" fraud risk after internal assessment; council asked to maintain controls

The city’s auditor presented an internal fraud-risk assessment to the Orangeville City Council on June 11, telling the council the city scored 355 on the state assessment and falls in a "very low" risk category, while recommending continued attention to control practices.

Gary (speaker 5), who identified his professional role as a CPA and auditor, walked council through a 12-question assessment emphasizing separation of duties, reconciliation of bank accounts, credit-card controls, procurement policies, payroll review, and training requirements. He warned that even with strong controls, collusion among several people can create vulnerabilities, and recommended enforcing receipt submission, limiting credit-card access, and annual ethics and financial trainings for employees and elected officials.

Gary described specific practices city staff should keep up: monthly review of billing adjustments, clear custody and use rules for blank checks and credit cards, bank-account reconciliations, and documentation of procurement and travel. He also noted that larger cities sometimes have a formal internal-audit function; for a small city like Orangeville, the auditor recommended staff-level controls and council oversight rather than hiring a full internal-audit team.

Council members asked clarifying questions about who reconciles bank accounts and what the score means; Gary said the score indicates low risk but does not eliminate the possibility of fraud. He also noted the city promotes a fraud hotline on its website and that the state takes complaints seriously.

The council did not adopt new policy at the meeting but recorded the assessment and heard that staff and external auditors will use the report as part of ongoing oversight.