Caledonia Argus

State auditors report findings to county board

Posted: 6/4/02

bj Jane Palen
Managing editor

An audit of the countyís financial practices was recently completed by the state auditorís office. County commissioners and department heads heard the results of the audit at the regular meeting of the county board on Tuesday, May 28.

Richard Urbain, who works for the state auditorís office, reviewed several items with commissioners, some of which had been reported in previous audits and not resolved.

Segregation of duties in departments was discussed, but it was determined that with many departments staffed with a limited number of personnel, departments are unable to completely segregate incompatible duties, which would include, for example, both signing checks and reconciling the bank statements. Because of the difficulty in separating the duties, said Urbain, itís up to the county to ìKeep its eyes and ears openî and be aware of the situation.

Disaster recovery was another topic brought up by the auditors. As noted in previous audits, the county does not have a formal disaster recovery plan in plan in the event of a major computer breakdown. The county also needs to determine a plan of action for continuing essential services if a disaster were to occur, and stage a ìdesktop drillî to test its plan. County employees should be familiar with the plan.

The auditors also expressed concern over several management practices in the treasurerís office.

Currently, the treasurer, Audrey Petersen, processes the tax statements and personally posts all tax collections to the computer system.

In addition, the treasurer takes home mail to be opened and processed with the help of her daughter. The funds are returned to the courthouse the next day and entered into the computer system. According to the audit, the county treasurer has estimated that about $5.5 million of the countyís $6.5 million of real estate collections are received through the mail.

The auditors are concerned with the potential exposure associated with taking the mail off the premises. The county has $100,000 in valuable paper insurance coverage, byut Urbain said he is not sure the company would even pay if the mail was accidentally lost or destroyed while off county property.

The auditor recommended that the board prohibit the removal of county mail from the courthouse.

If the board continues to endorse this practice, the auditors suggested that the county increase its insurance coverage and make sure the items that leave the courthouse are covered under the policy.

The county was also urged to adopt a policy regarding unclaimed property. The county currently has outstanding checks dating back to 1992. According to Minnesota Statutes, assets unclaimed by the owner after three years are presumed abandoned. Those holding the assets, in this case the county, must file a report with the Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce. The auditor suggested that the county remit the money to the state after three years and adopt a formal policy relating to old outstanding checks for all departments that issue checks.

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