State Finds 11 Violations In Edmonson Fiscal Court Audit: Judge Exec's Office Responds

Cannon's Office Says Violations Occurred Under Former Staff

Darren Doyle, story:
State Auditor Mike Harmon has released the audit of the financial statement of the Edmonson County Fiscal Court for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2018. State law requires annual audits of county fiscal courts. In the 20-page report, eleven violations were found in the court's financial statement, all of which Judge Executive Wil Cannon's office says has either already been corrected or is in the process of being corrected.

According to Cannon's office, none of the violations that were found occurred under the current staff.

In a statement sent to the Edmonson Voice, the Judge Executive's Office said,

"The findings of the Edmonson County Fiscal Court Audit for Fiscal Year 2018 (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018) reflect violations in multiple categories.  These violations were corrected upon the appointment of the current Treasurer in June 2018. Unfortunately, the fiscal year ended shortly after the current Treasurer took office.  This resulted in a limited amount of time to make the necessary corrections. After notification of the prior year’s audit (Fiscal Year 2017), all violations were reviewed individually and the Judge Executive’s Office implemented numerous steps to ensure we prevent repeat violations during future audits."  

The following violations were noted in the audit:
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1. According to the report, Harmon said that "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court lacks segregation of duties over cash, receipts, disbursements, capitals assets, and reconciliations: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-001." 

Cannon's office responded with "Office was restructured after termination of previous Treasurer, we have implemented stronger internal controls with a much more strict and accurate check and balance system that includes all office personnel."

2. The report also said "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not accurately report financial information: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-002. "

Cannon's office responded with "All Financials  information is now being correctly reported."

3. The third violation said, "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not properly reconcile the payroll revolving account: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017- 004. "

The Judge Exec's office responded by saying "Payroll Account is reconciled on a monthly basis.​"

​4. Item number four said, "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court lacks adequate controls over payroll: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-005."

The response from Cannon's office was "Payroll is processed by an outsourced vendor, with Treasurer and Finance Officer reviewing and reconciling all payroll reports."

5. The report continued by saying "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not properly reconcile retirement reports with payroll reports: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-006."

Cannon's office replied with "Retirement reports are being reconciled to the payroll reports on a monthly basis prior to payment being submitted."

​6. The sixth violation found was noted by the auditor saying, "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not pay tax liabilities timely resulting in penalties and interest: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-007."

Judge Cannon's office said "All tax liabilities are now being processed and paid by the Payroll company with Treasurer verifying and confirming payments."

7. The state auditor continued by noting that "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not properly withhold employees’ share of insurance and did not properly pay other voluntary deductions: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-008. "

Cannon's office's response was, "All deductions are being withheld properly and all voluntary deductions are paid in a prompt and correct manner."

8. The eighth violation noted by the auditor said "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not have adequate internal controls over disbursements: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-010."

The response from the Judge Executive's office was "All disbursements are reviewed by Finance Officer, Treasurer and Judge/Executive. We have implemented a stronger process of disbursements."

9. The audit continued with number nine: "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court lacks adequate controls over procurement:"

Cannon's office said "All Procurement requirements are being followed."

10. The audit continued by stating that "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not maintain complete and accurate capital asset schedules in compliance with regulatory requirements: This is a repeat finding and was included in the prior year audit report as Finding 2017-011."

The response from the Judge Executive's office said "Created a new Capitalization plan to properly record and maintain all Capital Assets."

11. The final violation noted from the state auditor said that "The Edmonson County Fiscal Court did not properly disclose debt on the fourth quarter financial report or budget and record amounts:"

Judge Cannon's office responded by stating "All Debt is properly being disclosed on required reporting."

The full audit in it's entirety can be found from the State Auditor's website.