Auditor of State Mary Mosiman today (Monday) released an agreed-upon procedures report on the
City of Griswold, for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. The agreed-upon procedures engagement was performed pursuant to Chapter 11.6 of the Code of Iowa.

Mosiman recommended the City review its control procedures to obtain the maximum internal control possible. The City should also establish procedures to ensure an independent review of the City’s utility reconciliation is performed and a monthly City Clerk’s report which includes comparison of budgeted to actual receipts and disbursements, including the beginning and ending fund balance of each fund, is provided to the City Council.

In addition, the City should ensure compliance with Chapters in the Code of Iowa which relate to budget amendments and conflicts of interest, respectively. A review of the City’s procedures resulted in numerous recommendations. They include, but are not limited to:

• The segregation of duties among employees to prevent an individual employee from handling duties which are incompatible.
• The City Council or other independent person designated by the City Council should review the reconciliations and monitor delinquent accounts. The review should be documented by the signature or initials of the reviewer and the date of the review.
• To provide better control over budgeted disbursements and the opportunity for timely amendment to the certified budget, the City Clerk’s monthly financial reports to the City Council should include comparisons to the certified budget by function. Also, the monthly reports should include the beginning balance, receipts, disbursements, transfers and ending balance for each fund.
• The petty cash and change fund should be reconciled to the authorized amount. Procedures should be established to ensure all receipts, including miscellaneous fees, are deposited intact and recorded in the financial system.

A copy of the agreed-upon procedures report is available for review in the City Clerk’s Office, in the Office of Auditor of State and on the Auditor of State’s web site at http://auditor.iowa.gov/reports/1421-0130-BL0F.pdf