City of Sherburn

Material Audit Adjustments Condition: The audit firm proposed and the City approved corrections of certain misstatements. Criteria The City should have controls in place to prevent and detect a material misstatement in the financial statements in a timely manner. Management is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all financial records and related information. Their responsibility includes adjusting the financial statements to correct material misstatements. Cause: The City has not established controls to ensure that all accounts are adjusted to their appropriate year-end balances in accordance with GAAP. Effect: The design of internal control over completeness and accuracy of financial records could adversely affect the City’s ability to detect misstatements in amounts that would be material in relation to the financial statements in a timely period by employees in the normal course of performing their assigned functions. Recommendation: The City should continue to evaluate its internal controls processes to determine if additional internal control procedures should be implemented to ensure that accounts are adjusted to their appropriate year end balances in accordance with GAAP.

Cash Account Reconciliations Condition: Although the City has established procedures and controls related to bank reconciliations, we found that these procedures are not being followed. During fieldwork we noted bank reconciliations were either not being prepared on a monthly basis or contained material differences. Criteria A sound system of internal control requires that significant and sensitive accounts are reconciled monthly and monitored to ensure compliance. Cause: The City has not performed ongoing or separate evaluations to ascertain whether internal control activities are present and functioning properly. Effect: Material misstatements of the cash accounts and the misappropriation of cash may occur and not be prevented or detected or corrected in a timely basis. Recommendation: The City should evaluate their internal controls over cash account reconciliation to ensure they are operating effectively and that monitoring of this control is being accomplished on a consistent basis.

Auditor Prepared Financial Statements and Related Footnotes Condition: The City does have an internal control in place for the review of the drafted financial statements, however, the City does not have an internal control system designed to provide for the preparation of the related notes being audited. Based on the degree of complexity and level of detail needed to prepare the financial statement disclosures in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), the City has requested the auditors prepare them. Criteria The preparation of the financial statements and the related notes are the responsibility of management. Cause: The City has informed us they do not have the expertise to prepare the annual financial statement disclosures, although the City has reviewed and approved the annual financial statements as prepared by the audit firm. Effect: This could result in a material omission of a disclosure that would not be prevented or detected and corrected as a result of the City’s current internal control. Recommendation: The City should continue to request assistance to draft the financial statements and related notes and thoroughly review these financial statements after they have been prepared so the City can take responsibility for them.

Limited Segregation of Duties Condition: There is an absence of appropriate segregation of duties consistent with appropriate control objectives due to a limited number of employees. Criteria There are four general categories of duties: authorization, custody, record keeping, and reconciliation. No one person should have control over more than two of these four responsibilities. Cause: The City has assigned duties to staff based on a cost-benefit relationship to the City and the practicality of the level of staffing the City maintains. Effect: The lack of adequate segregation of duties could adversely affect the City’s ability to initiate, record, process and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the financial statements. Recommendation: The City should continue to monitor and evaluate the job responsibilities assigned to staff to determine whether there is an unacceptable risk.