Cash receipts, data storage audit target

An audit released by the state comptroller last week concluded that the village needs to improve its information technology and how it monitors money from the Recreation Department.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office periodically audits municipalities and school districts. Rockville Centre’s most recent audit focused on the operations of the Recreation Department and the village’s information technology from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012.

The comptroller’s office decided to focus on the Recreation Center and information technology after a months-long initial assessment. It was determined that the two areas focused on in the audit were those most at-risk and susceptible to fraud.

According to the audit, the village needs to change the way it accepts and monitors transactions using the cash register at the Rec Center, with the goal of having more control over how money is handled. The audit also concluded that the village needs to develop a disaster recovery plan for all of its electronic data and to begin storing backups off site.

Village Comptroller Michael Schussheim said he was pleased with the results of the audit, and that it showed that village spending is well regulated. “Obviously, we would like perfection,” he said. “But that’s not realistic.”

According to the audit, the village does not have written policies on how to handle cash receipts at the Recreation Center, and has no procedure for reviewing daily transactions. It stated that, because of these “weaknesses,” there is an increased risk of errors that can go undetected and uncorrected.

In addition, the audit pointed out that with one cash register to handle all Rec Center transactions and eight employees using it, there is no way of knowing who has used it at any given time. “This makes it impossible to track discrepancies by employee,” the audit reads.

According to Schussheim, the Recreation Department brings in about $1.8 million per year, most of which passes through the Rec Center cash register.