State Auditor's Office Releases Near Perfect Findings For County Clerk, Sheriff

County Clerk Audit With Only One Exception: Sheriff Audit Shows No Issues​

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:​
State Auditor Mike Harmon today released the audit of the 2017 financial statement of Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle and Edmonson County Clerk Kevin Alexander. State law requires the auditor to annually audit the accounts of each county sheriff and county clerk.

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.

County Clerk's Audit: Auditing standards require the auditor’s letter to communicate whether the financial statement presents fairly the receipts, disbursements and excess fees of the Edmonson County Clerk in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The clerk’s financial statement did not follow this format. However, the clerk’s financial statement is fairly presented in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting, which is an acceptable reporting methodology.

This reporting methodology is followed for all 120 clerk audits in Kentucky. As part of the audit process, the auditor must comment on noncompliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grants. The auditor must also comment on material weaknesses involving internal control over financial operations and reporting. The audit contains the following comment:

"The county clerk’s office lacks adequate segregation of duties over cash, receipts, disbursements, and reconciliations: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2016-001."

The county clerk provided a response:

"As stated after both the 2015 and 2016 audits, both Deputy Clerk [name redacted] and I perform daily deposits, print-out reports, and input information and figures into our QuickBooks accounting software. With just the four of us in our office, it is a very difficult thing to try and train others on the preparation of reports. We will continue to have dual signatures on checks, have multiple reviews of reports, and have each employee review our mail and sign off the mail log."

Sheriff's Audit: Auditing standards require the auditor’s letter to communicate whether the financial statement presents fairly the receipts, disbursements, and excess fees of the Edmonson County Sheriff in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The sheriff’s financial statement did not follow this format. However, the sheriff’s financial statement is fairly presented in conformity with the regulatory basis of accounting, which is an acceptable reporting methodology. This reporting methodology is followed for all 120 sheriff audits in Kentucky.

According to the report, the auditor noted no instances of noncompliance with the sheriff's audit. The auditor also noted no matters involving internal control over financial reporting and its operation that were considered to be material weaknesses. 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. The audit report can be found on the auditor’s website.