Luallen Releases Audit of
Fleming County Sheriff’s Office



See the audit report for Full Details

Crit Luallen
Auditor of Public Accounts
105 Sea Hero Road, Suite 2
Frankfort, KY 40601

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(Frankfort - August 6, 2008) State Auditor Crit Luallen today released the audit of the 2007 financial statement of the Fleming County Sheriff, Scotty Royse. State law requires the Auditor to annually audit the accounts of each county sheriff. In compliance with this law, the Auditor issues two sheriff’s reports each year: one reporting on the audit of the sheriff’s tax account and the other reporting on the audit of the fee account used to operate the office.

The audit found that the Sheriff’s financial statement presents fairly the revenues, expenditures, and excess fees of the Fleming County Sheriff in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting.

As part of the audit process, the Auditor must comment on non-compliance with laws, regulations, contracts and grants. The Auditor must also comment on material weaknesses involving the internal control over financial operations and reporting.

The audit contains the following comment: the Sheriff’s office lacks adequate segregation of duties over receipts and disbursements. All deputies are allowed to collect receipts. The bookkeeper prepares the daily checkout sheets, prepares and makes the daily bank deposits, reconciles the bank statements to the ledgers and prepares and mails all checks for expenditures. The Sheriff reviews disbursements and signs checks. Good internal controls dictate the same employee should not handle, record and reconcile receipts and disbursements. The Sheriff should segregate duties so the same employee does not handle, record, and reconcile receipts and disbursements, or he should implement the following steps to strengthen internal controls over receipts and disbursements:

  • The Sheriff should periodically compare the daily bank deposit to the daily checkout sheet and then compare the daily checkout sheet to the receipts ledger. Differences should be reconciled. The Sheriff could document his comparison by initialing the bank deposit, daily checkout sheet, and receipts ledger.
  • The Sheriff should reconcile monthly reports to source documents and to the receipts and disbursements ledgers. The Sheriff could document his reconciliation by initialing monthly reports, source documents and the receipts and disbursements ledgers.
  • The Sheriff should periodically compare the bank reconciliation to the balance in the checkbook. Differences should be reconciled. The Sheriff could document his comparison by initialing the bank reconciliation and the balance in the checkbook.

The Fleming County Sheriff, Scotty Royse, responded, “I have hired a clerk to help with dividing the duties in the office.”

The Sheriff’s responsibilities include collecting property taxes, providing law enforcement and performing services for the county fiscal court and courts of justice. The Sheriff’s office is funded through statutory commissions and fees collected in conjunction with these duties.

 

Crit Luallen
Auditor of Public Accounts
105 Sea Hero Road, Suite 2
Frankfort, KY 40601
WEB: www.auditor.ky.gov/