Finding Text
Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Financial Reporting?Inadequate Documentation of Disbursement Process Department of Treasury Assistance Listing Number 21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program Alternative CSLFRF Compliance Examination Engagement Criteria: Allowable Cost/Cost Principles - Recipients are required to not deviate from their established practices and policies regarding the incurrence of costs. Condition: Per City policies, City Council shall approve expenditures over $50,000. There is no documentation in the form of meeting minutes to confirm Council approval. Context: Through discussions with the Finance Director and a review of information on the website, we can see that the receipt and use of the CLSFRF funds were discussed and resolutions included in meeting agendas. However, without approved meeting minutes, we are unable to confirm that the resolutions for the large disbursement were in fact approved by the Council. Effect or Potential Effect: Without sufficient documentation of meetings, decisions made by the Council may be incorrectly administered by management resulting in misappropriation of funds. Transparency of governance is also adversely affected. Cause: The City?s limited size and staffing resources have made it difficult for management to complete the minutes in addition to all other responsibilities of the responsible staff member. Recommendation: Management and the Council should consider restructuring or reassigning duties in order to ensure that minutes of Council meetings are completed in a timely fashion to allow for their review and approval at the subsequent meeting. This will ensure that all Council decisions are adequately documented and mitigate the risk of misappropriation of funds due to a lack of documented approvals. Views of Responsible Official(s) and Planned Corrective Actions: City staff will seek outside assistance to ensure that all outstanding minutes are completed and up to date. Ongoing, City staff will complete minutes so they are available for approval at the following meeting. All outstanding minutes will be completed by March 31, 2023.