HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has completed its annual audit of Scott County’s basic financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, resulting in only minor findings.
The Comptroller’s office on Nov. 8, 2016, released the findings of the audit. In the Office of Director of Finance, the audit found that a scheduled principal payment on a capital outlay note had not been made. In the offices of Clerk & Master and Register of Deeds, the audit found that duties were not segregated adequately.
Specifically, auditors noted that the finding in the Office of Director of Finance was due to a staff member not understanding the rule of repayment provisions authorized for debt instruments.
“As soon as the error was presented to the Finance Department, the principal payment was made to the bank,” the audit noted. “The finance director discussed the procedures of the repayment of debt instruments with the staff member. The finance director will be reviewing the debt schedule each month for that fund. The finance staff will attend continuing education courses that pertain to GASB updates and changes to state law pertaining to accounting, purchasing and budgeting.”
In the offices of Clerk & Master and Register of Deeds, the finding regarding inadequately separated duties was a repeat finding.
“A resolution to correct this deficiency was never suggested; therefore this clerk had no idea on how to correct this to the audit’s satisfaction,” Clerk & Master Jane Lloyd noted.
“It really didn’t hinder or make the office operate in a better manner, but I made these corrections to comply with the state requirement so that federal funds would not be withheld from the county,” Register of Deeds Benjie Rector noted.
Both offices submitted a plan for corrective action as a result of the audit. In the Clerk & Master’s office, the clerk will be responsible for making bank deposits. In the event that she is absent, the bookkeeper will take deposits to the bank. The bookkeeper will not issue manual receipts, and the chief deputy will not issue checks. The actions were put into place on July 1, 2016.
The complete audit is available for inspection.
Last modified: November 10, 2016
