A state audit of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office 2016 financial statement found three instances of noncompliance. State Auditor Mike Harmon released the information Wednesday.
The audit found the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office lacks adequate segregation of duties, which is a repeat finding and was included in the 2015 audit report. Sheriff Stan Hudson’s response to the finding says he feels his staff had done a fantastic job with the resources they have been allotted. He says they will continue to do double and triple checks as well as keeping the pertinent records. Sheriff Hudson adds he is proud of his employees who have handled the funds for the Sheriff’s Office with no shortages or discrepancies.
The second finding says the Caldwell County Sheriff failed to maintain receipts and disbursements ledgers properly. The audit says the sheriff failed to require the bookkeeper to keep accounting records required by the Department of Local Government (DLG). By not maintaining cumulative receipts and disbursements ledgers, the audit says the sheriff is not in compliance with Kentucky Revised Statutes, and there was inadequate support for monthly financial reports.
Sheriff Hudson’s response to this finding says the Sheriff fee ledger has not been formatted as per Auditor’s request for 2017, which was made at the conclusion of the former audit in November 2016. He notes the additional page with ledger totals on one page has been added for auditor’s express convenience. He adds no improprieties were found in the Sheriff’s Fee Account.
The third finding says the Caldwell County Sheriff failed to make deposits daily due to deposits being held and deposited when the amount is over $100. The auditor adds that abnormal delays create an opportunity for cash to be misplaced or even misappropriated.
The sheriff’s response says the Sheriff’s Office will endeavor to make a deposit every day, even very small amounts of fees collected will need to be worked up, entered into the ledger, double checked and deposited daily. He adds there were no improprieties found.
