The Arizona Office of the Auditor General’s provides financial audits and accounting services to the State and political subdivisions, investigates possible misuse of public monies, and conducts performance audits and special reviews of school districts, state agencies, and the programs they administer.
“Based on our audits, we issued opinions on the County's financial statements and federal expenditure schedule and issued reports on internal control and on compliance over financial reporting and major federal programs. Our office identified internal control weaknesses and instances of noncompliance over financial reporting, financial awards and major federal programs.” - AZ Auditor General
THESE ARE JUST A HANDFUL OF THE MISUSE OF PUBLIC MONEY, THERE ARE MANY MORE INDICATED ON THE FULL REPORTS FROM THE AZ AUDITOR GENERAL’S WEBSITE.
- Internal control over major programs and financial reporting both material weaknesses were identified and significant deficiencies were identified Noncompliance material to the financial statements were not noted.
- The County awarded $205,788 to various organizations without requiring them to provide documentation that the monies were used to support economic development that benefitted the public, resulting in an elevated risk of misuse of County monies. See Full Audit on Pg 9
- The County should comply with laws governing conflict of interest. During fiscal year 2017, a County official inappropriately participated in awarding County monies to an entity in which she disclosed an interest. The official disclosed that she is a trustee of the entity on the County’s annually required financial disclosure statement.
- $390,000 was paid to a company Tommy Martin's sisters sits on the board for and was awarded this contract to build a website. See Payson Roundup 2/14/20 publication
- There is an increased risk that the County’s financial statements and note disclosures could include significant misstatements and mislead those relying on the information. Also, the County’s fiscal year 2017 financial report was issued 2 years after the fiscal year ended, so the information was outdated for those who need it and was not issued in time to meet the federal Single Audit Act’s reporting deadline, which is 9 months after the County’s fiscal year-end. The County did not issue its single audit reporting package until August 2019. The County made the necessary audit adjustments to correct the financial statements and note disclosures for all significant errors and omissions that we discovered.
- The County did not have comprehensive internal control policies and procedures or sufficient resources needed to prepare accurate, complete, and timely financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the County did not perform detailed reviews and appropriate approvals to ensure the accuracyand completenessof the financial statements and note disclosures.
- Require an employee who is independent of the person preparing the financial statements and knowledgeable of the County’s operations and GAAP reporting requirements to review the statements and related note disclosures.
- The County’s capital assets were exposed to potential theft, loss,and misuse, and items may not have been accurately reported in the financial statements.
- The County should comply with laws governing transfers of monies between budgeted line items condition and context—The County did not obtain Board of Supervisor approval for transfers of monies between County funds that weregreater than $50,000 during fiscal year 2017.
- The County should comply with laws requiring all public deposits to be collateralized—The County did not collateralize public deposits retained in a bank account under the County's name as required by State laws. Specifically, the Public Fiduciary’s Office balance of public deposits was $275,760 on June 30, 2017, and only $250,000 of that balance was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); the remaining $25,760 was not insured or collateralized as required by State laws.