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Office of Shared AccountabilifyMONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Rockville, Maryland
October 12,20A9
MEMORANDUM
To:
From:
Subject: Report on Audit of lrdependent Activity Funds for the period
April 1, 2008, through August 31,2009
This audit report presents the results of our examination of the financial records, reports, andinternal accounting controls relating to the Independeart Activify Funds (IAF) for EarlB. WoodMiddle School for the period April 1, 2008, through August 31,2009- Jhs sxamination wasmade to dete'l:nine the adequacy of accountability over these funds, compliance with applicableMontgomery County Fublic Schools (MCPS) policies and procedures, and effective,nesb of IAFmanageme,lrt.
Findings and Recommendations
On October 8,2009, we met with you and Mr. Emest Solar, acting'financial assistant, to discussthe conditions found during our examination of your records. It was a pleasure to have tleparticipation of Ms. Sandra V/indlin, financial assistan! by telephong and the assistant princtpal,Mr. Christopher Rattay, who joined the meeting in progress. You are to be commended. forensuring that both you and your financial assistant attended the mandatory IAF haining recenflyafter your appointnent to the school effective April 29, 2009. We noted that five of the nineconditions described in our previous report dated June 2, 2008, have been either satisfactorilyresolved or significanfly imFrove4 and that continuing attention is needed to firther i-prove tkelsrtraining four conditions. We will first describe abd discuss these remaining fow conditions,then make resomme,ndation for an additional two weahesses we discovered-
We p:reviously reported multiple weaknesses in controls over pruchases. While those previousconditions have been largely resolvd we were unable to locate monthly logs required of cardmembers for any month after December, 2008. MCPS purchasing cardmembers must recordpurchases ou kansaction logs and submit logs monthly with invoices and recerpts attached forreview and approval by the princlpal. Monthly srrmmaly reports from American Express are tobe reviewed, signed and dated by the principal to ensure that purchases are appropriate and.within established limits. We recomme,nd you meet with staffmembers who aracardrnembers,and review record keeping and.reporting requirements.
Ms. Eugenia Dawson" PrincipalEarl B. Wood Mddle School
Roger W. Pisha, Supervisor, [rtemal Audit P,'tf.4ilX
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Ms. EugeniaDawson Oclober 12,2009
MCPS Regulation DMB-RA Control of Admission Receipts, provides requirements for the
accounting for sales of admission tickets. While the conditions previously reported have been
significantly improved, we found ticket reports for a mrmber of events that had not been signed
by the admissions manager. Because these receipts are susceptible to diversion, it is vital to
strictly adhered to established procedures. We recornmend control responsibilities be reviewed
with the admissions manager(s) for each event.
Review of field trip activities again revealed that not all field trip sponsors provided completed
financial information to the financial assistant at the conclusion of a trip. Sponsors should record
cost and fee information for each field trip on MCPS Form 280-41, Field Trip Accounting, orequivalent, and submit the data to the administrative secretary when a trip is completed (see IAF
manual, p. 13). The record of the names of participants and sums collected strengthens internalcontrols by enabling the reconciliation of receipts to s rms recorded in the field trip account We
recommend all sponsors be required to use Form 28041, or equivalent, and follow the above
outlined procedures.
Sales of PE uniforms should comply with the requirements outlined in the Handboolc for the
Operation of School Stores. We again noted some weahresses over the accounting process forthe sale of uniforms, and records of sums collected from students could not be reconciled torecords of sales. To improve confuols, we recourmend foacking of uniform sales on a spreadsheet
that can be reconciled to records of account activify. In additiorq inventory records should be
adjusted for sales, purchases, glveaways, and for garments that are damaged or obsolete. The
inventory record should be compared to a physical count which should be performed at leastannually. The inventory should be secured at all times to lesse,n the likelihood of a loss.
In addition to the above conditions previously re,ported, our analysis of the school checking
account showed consecutive months when the balance exceeded imrnediate needs. Keeping highbalances in the checking account limits the amount of interest the school could be eaming. Theprincipal is responsible for ensuring that firnds in excess of current needs are invested in a
manner that vrill eam a reasonable rate of retum. A better use of the excess funds is to deposit
them in the MCPS Centralized Investuent Fr:nd to maximize interest income. Whe,n needed tocovff expenses, these funds are available for prompt retum to the school (see IAF manual, p. 5).
The monthly lank statement reconciliation which is prepared by the financial assistant using thebool*eeping program should also be performed manually by a staff member independent offiaancial operations. You should revierv both reconciliations to assure they are in agreeme,nt and
sign them before filing them with other monthly reports. Adding an independent checking
account reconciliation to ttre montlly report will sfuengthen internal contols (See IAF Manual,p.e).
Other matters were discussed and satisfactorily resolved. We appreciated the cooperation and
assistrncc of your staq especially Mr. Solar, acting financial assistant, and
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Ms. EugeniaDawson October 12,2009
Iv[s. Windlin" fuancial assistaat who, although not present during our visit, was available
consultafion by telephone as neoded. haccordance
withMCPS Regulation DIA-RA,
Accounting far Financial Operations/Indeptendent Activity Futtds, please provide a response to
the Iaternal Audit ofEce withirl 30 days of this reporL with a copy to Dr. Sherry Liebes,
community superintendent.
RWP:IS:sd
Copyto:'h[r. Bowers
Dr. Lacey
Mr. BedfordDr. Scott
Dr. Liebes
Ms. DeGraba
N[s. Diamond
h[r. Doody
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