By Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com Reporter
MOUNT VERNON — A recent financial audit of Knox County by Auditor of State Dave Yost’s office has returned a clean audit report. The county’s excellent record keeping has qualified it for the Auditor of State Award with Distinction.
The award is presented to local governments and school districts upon the completion of a financial audit. Entities that receive the award meet the following criteria of a “clean” audit report:
*The entity must file timely financial reports with the Auditor of State’s office in the form of a CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report).
*The audit report does not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Single Audit findings or questioned costs.
*The entity’s management letter contains no comments related to ethics referrals, questioned costs less than $10,000, lack of timely report submission, reconciliation, failure to obtain a timely Single Audit, findings for recovery less than $100, public meetings or public records and no other financial or other concerns exist that involve eligible entity.
The audit report did note several recommendations to improve internal controls or efficiency:
*Reconcile the segregated checking accounts in the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Water/wastewater Department on the first business day following the end of the month with all reconciling factors identified and agreed to supporting documentation. The reconciliations should also be reviewed and signed off by a supervisor who is independent of the reconciliation process. Any unreconciled amounts should be followed up on in a timely manner by the supervisor assigned to review.
*Retain documentation showing the Public Assistance Administrator’s approval of the eligibility determinations for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funding.
*That all non-cash adjustments and write-offs in the Water/wastewater Department be formally approved by the superintendent and documentation be retained.
*Updating the county’s disaster recovery planning to include provisions for an alternate processing site and plans for updating and testing the site at least yearly.
*Passwords should contain at least six characters, including alphanumeric and/or special characters, and automatically expire at the end of 90 days minimum.