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Home My WebLink About2223-11 Follow-up Assessor Cash Handling (Final 4-26-23)Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 FOLLOW-UP REPORT Assessor’s Office Cash Handling (Internal audit report #2122-13 issued June 2022) To request this information in an alternate format, please call (541) 330-4674 or send email to internal.audit@deschutescounty.gov Deschutes County, Oregon Internal Audit David Givans, CPA, CIA – County Internal Auditor Aaron Kay – Performance Auditor internal.audit@deschutescounty.gov Audit committee members: Daryl Parrish, Chair - Public Member Jodi Burch - Public Member Joe Healy – Public Member Scott Reich - Public Member Summer Sears - Public Member Stan Turel - Public Member Patti Adair, County Commissioner Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace Lee Randall, Facilities Director Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................... 1 2. FOLLOW-UP RESULTS ............................................................................................................................ 2 3. APPENDIX - UPDATED WORKPLAN (STATUS AS OF APRIL 2023) ....................................................... 3 Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Page 1 1. Introduction Audit Authority: The Deschutes County Audit Committee has suggested that follow-ups occur within nine months of the report. The Audit Committee would like to make sure departments satisfactorily address recommendations. 1.1. OBJECTIVES and SCOPE “Audit objectives” define the goals of the audit. Objectives: The objective was to follow-up on recommendations from the original audit. Scope: The follow-up included seven completed recommendations and three outstanding recommendations from the internal audit report for Assessor’s Office Cash Handling (#2122-13), issued in June 2022. One recommendation for the Finance Department was in the process of implementation at the time of the report and completed soon after the issuance of the original report. Six recommendations for the Assessor’s Office were implemented immediately after the issuance of the original report. The original internal audit report should be referenced for the full text of the recommendations and associated discussion. The follow-up reflects the status as of April 2023. 1.2. METHODOLOGY The follow-up report was developed from information provided by Tana West, Assessor’s Office Deputy Director and Jana Cain, Finance Department Accounting Manager. Follow-ups are, by nature, subjective. In determining the status of recommendations that were followed up, we relied on Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Page 2 assertions provided by those involved and did not attempt to independently verify those assertions. The updates received are included in the Appendix. Since no substantive audit work was performed, Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States were not followed. 2. Follow-up Results Figure I - How were recommendations implemented? The follow-up included three outstanding recommendations agreed to by the Assessor’s Office. Seven other recommendations were fully implemented immediately after issuance of the audit report by the Assessor’s Office and the Finance Department. Figure I provides an overview of the implementation status of the recommendations. With this follow-up, one hundred percent (100%) of the outstanding recommendations have been fully addressed. As indicated in the provided responses, the Assessor’s Office updated their cash Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Page 3 handling procedures and collaborated with the Finance Department to improve the accounting procedures for refunds. The Finance Department has successfully implemented an online ticketing system for accounting requests. The details of the follow-up are included at the end of the report in the Appendix. In interpreting the status, Internal Audit may sometimes raise or lower the status provided by the department based on the communication(s) received from the department. 3. APPENDIX - Updated workplan (status as of April 2023) Items that are not completed are greyed out. Rec # Recommendations Status Estimated or Actual Date of Completion Updated Follow-up comments 1 It is recommended cash handling duties be consolidated to a single custodian staff member to improve tracing of revenues collected. Completed June-22 We have updated our procedures to reflect a single staff member making the deposit for all transactions. 2 It is recommended the Assessor’s Office issue receipts for each type of payment received. Completed June-22 We have implemented issuing receipts for MHOD’s transactions, so now all transactions will have a written receipt. 3 It is recommended to consolidate current revenue reconciliation activities under the custodian staff member and reflect the change in the procedures. Completed June-22 We have updated our procedures to reflect this recommendation. Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Page 4 Rec # Recommendations Status Estimated or Actual Date of Completion Updated Follow-up comments 4 It is recommended the custodian staff member turnover funds daily. The Assessor’s Office could seek exemption from Finance for delayed turnover to complete application processing. Completed June-22 With the change to one staff member making the deposit for both the cash drawer and MHOD’s we will move to daily deposits of the cash drawer. MHOD’s deposits were already made daily but due to the small amount of deposit, often less than a dollar, the cash drawer was not always deposited daily. 5 It is recommended a separate staff member, with no custodial responsibilities, periodically review and verify turnover activity between the receipt book and amounts recorded by Finance. Completed June-22 With the change from one staff member receiving the money and a second staff member making the deposit and balancing the cash drawer we will move to one staff member receiving the money and making the deposit and a second periodically reviewing and verifying the turnover activity. 6 It is recommended the procedures be revised and the duplicate cash drawer keys be secured sufficiently by a supervisor until needed. Completed June-22 With the change from one staff member receiving the money and a second staff member making the deposit and balancing the cash drawer we will move to one staff member having a key. The second will remain in the supervisor’s office. 7 It is recommended proper training on refunds is provided to employees tasked with these duties. Completed April-23 Met with Finance, completed 8 It is recommended the Assessor’s Office coordinate with Finance in reconciling and balancing funds held in the fiduciary account. Completed April-23 Met with Finance, completed Follow-up Assessor’s Office Cash Handling #2223-11 April 2023 Page 5 Rec # Recommendations Status Estimated or Actual Date of Completion Updated Follow-up comments 9 It is recommended for a supervisor or designee periodically review the fiduciary balance to see if the accounts are clearing as designed and identify adjustments required. Completed April-23 Staff assigned to audit weekly deposits between the state and Munis 10 It is recommended the Finance Department establish processes to ensure completion of refund account move requests. Completed May-22 To help manage all the requests flowing through Finance, a new Munis ticketing system went live on May 23, 2022. These types of journal requests will be managed through the ticketing system and allow the departments to monitor the status of their requests easier. Finance still expects departments to verify their requests have been completed accurately. {End of Report}