HANCOCK COUNTY TABLE OF CONTENTS FINANCIAL SECTION_part7 ppt

PATTERSON AUDITOR 3750 I-55 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39211 601 364-2888 FAX 601 364-282863 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS July

OFFICE OF THE STATE AUDITOR

STEVEN A PATTERSON

AUDITOR

3750 I-55 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39211 (601) 364-2888 FAX (601) 364-282863

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH STATE

LAWS AND REGULATIONS

July 15, 1996 Members of the Board of Supervisors

Hancock County, Mississippi

We have audited the general purpose financial statements of Hancock County, Mississippi, as of and for the year ended September 30, 1995, and have issued our report thereon dated July 15, 1996 We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the procedures prescribed by the State Auditor, and accordingly, included such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances

As required by the state legal compliance audit program prescribed by the Office of the State Auditor,

we have also performed procedures to test compliance with certain state laws and regulations Our procedures were substantially less in scope than an audit, the objective of which is the expression of an opinion on the county's compliance with these requirements Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion

The results of our procedures and our audit of the general purpose financial statements disclosed certain immaterial instances of noncompliance with state laws and regulations Our findings and recommendations and your responses are included in the accompanying "Schedule of Auditor's Findings and Recommendations."

The findings described in the accompanying "Schedule of Auditor's Findings and Recommendations" came to our attention as a result of the audit procedures and tests that we applied For those items not tested, nothing came to our attention that would lead us to believe that Hancock County, Mississippi, had not complied with applicable state laws and regulations, other than those laws and regulations for which we noted violations in our testing referred to above

This report is intended for the use of the management This is not intended to limit the distribution of this report, which is a matter of public record

WILLIAM S JONES, CPA Director, Department of Audit

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65 HANCOCK COUNTY

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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HANCOCK COUNTY Schedule of Auditor's Findings and Recommendations For the Year Ended September 30, 1995

General Purpose Financial Statements Performed in Accordance with "Government Auditing

Standards":

REPORTABLE CONDITIONS

Chancery Clerk

As reported in the prior year audit report, the Chancery Clerk did not properly perform reconciliations of the land redemption account

Recommendation The Chancery Clerk should insure that the bank reconciliations are properly performed Chancery Clerk's Response

This has been corrected

Sheriff

As reported in the prior year audit report, expenditures exceed revenues in the inmate canteen fund for the fiscal year even though inventory purchased for resale had a high enough mark up

to make a profit

Recommendation The Sheriff personally should monitor operations of the canteen to determine the cause of the deficit and take adequate measures to ensure this does not happen in the future

Sheriff's Response

We now count inventory once a week, thereby, preventing over purchasing and currently, we

do not have a deficit

As reported in the prior year audit report, we noted the following internal control deficiencies

in the accounts handled by the Sheriff's Office:

The Sheriff should take whatever steps necessary to correct the deficiencies noted in internal controls

Sheriff's Response Settlements are being made by the 20th of each month beginning October, 1995, and monthly cash balances are being computed beginning April 15, 1996

Inventory Control Clerk

As reported in the prior year audit report, we noted that additions and deletions were sometimes not properly reflected in the general fixed assets account ledgers

Recommendation The Inventory Control Clerk should insure that the above deficiencies have been corrected Inventory Control Clerk's Response

I will correct the above problem as soon as possible

Administering Federal Financial Assistance Programs:

REPORTABLE CONDITION

Board of Supervisors

Finding

As reported in the prior year audit report, the community development block grant (CDGB) expenditures were not reflected in the county's general ledger

Recommendation All federal grant expenditures should be included in the county's general ledger

Board of Supervisors' Response The CDBG referenced above successfully closed out during fiscal year ending September 30, 1995 In the future, the county will include all federal grants in its general ledger

Board of Supervisors

Section 19-11-11, Miss Code Ann (1972), requires the Board of Supervisors to prepare a budget for all funds, except Trust and Agency Funds Some funds were not budgeted

Recommendation The board should budget all funds

Board of Supervisors' Response The two funds questioned, Tidelands and Juvenile Detention Center funds, had no expenditure activity during the year In the future, all funds received will be budgeted at a regular board meeting following receipt of the grant

As reported in the prior year audit report, Section 19-11-17, Miss Code Ann (1972), prohibits the incurring of expenditures in excess of the final budget as approved by the Board of

Supervisors Actual expenditures exceeded budgeted amounts in some funds

Recommendation The board should not make expenditures in excess of budgeted amounts

Board of Supervisors' Response Expenditures exceeded budgeted amounts because adjustments were made after the end of the fiscal year

Section 31-7-10(5) and 31-7-13(e), Miss Code Ann (1972), gives the county the authority to enter into contracts to lease purchase equipment and limits the number of years not to exceed five The Board of Supervisors entered into a lease purchase agreement which exceeded five years

Recommendation The board should not enter into a lease purchase agreement which exceeds the five year limitation

Board of Supervisors' Response The lease term for the lease purchase commented on above, E-911 communication equipment, which was installed in three locations, was for 60 months commencing upon the completion of installation Due to the length of time required to install the equipment, an interim financing arrangement was necessary While the board feels that the two instruments are separate from

the term of the lease with the bank to shorten it

As reported in the prior year audit report, Section 19-5-22, Miss Code Ann (1972), requires the Board of Supervisors to submit a list of delinquent garbage fee accounts to the Tax

Collector so the arrearage can be collected The board did not compile and submit the required list of delinquencies

Recommendation

The board should insure that the list of delinquencies is compiled and submitted to the Tax Collector

Board of Supervisors' Response

We will comply

Chancery Clerk

As reported in the prior year audit report, Section 19-3-27, Miss Code Ann (1972), requires the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to keep and preserve a complete and correct record of all board proceedings We noted that the Board of Supervisors entered into an agreement with the City of Bay St Louis authorizing the city to collect garbage fees for the county This contract

is not reflected in the minutes

Recommendation

The Chancery Clerk should keep a complete and correct record of all board proceedings Chancery Clerk's Response

This agreement was signed by the board president on January 22, 1996, and placed in the minutes during the January term and also placed in the minutes when the mayor of Bay St Louis signed it in March of 1996