Cash-handling audit recommends 20 issues to fix for Carson City government

An audit of cash-handling procedures in four Carson City departments found 20 issues.

Eide Bailly LLP, the city’s internal auditor, found no instances in which the city was short on cash or a misappropriation of funds, but did find that some controls were not in place to detect it.

The findings and corresponding recommendations called for desegregating duties so the same person does not handle cash and write deposit slips; separate cash registers or logins so two people do not appear as one user on the same register; additional security including cameras; and staying current on routine training.

The auditor reviewed the Carson City Library, the Clerk-Recorder, Community Development, and the Treasurer’s Office. The library handles little money, up to about $175 a day, and Community Development, which charges significant fees, receives most of them by check or credit card.

Nine of the 20 recommendations have already been implemented.

Audrey Donovan, senior manager, Eide Bailly, also told the Audit Committee on Monday about audits of the city’s social media and human resources administration’s eligible employee group insurance.

“One of the positive things to come out of this audit is the city now has one wide, overarching social media policy,” said Donovan.

Among the recommendations were to inventory the city’s social media assets, formalize a request form for social media assets, and update the city’s unacceptable behavior policy for employees, which is now under review by the District Attorney’s office.

The audit had four findings for the HR department, three of which have already been addressed, that primarily entailed moving some paper-based procedures and documentation to electronic form.

The committee also received an update on a new fee structure for Parks, Recreation and Open Space. The department’s fees have not been evaluated for about a dozen years.

“They are very outdated and not practical for how we run things,” said Jennifer Budge, director, Parks and Rec.

The department has conducted a regional analysis of fees and plans to propose new fees at the February meetings of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Open Space Advisory Committee.

“It’s really the right thing to do,” said Supervisor Lori Bagwell, who sits on the Audit Committee. “If we don’t keep it current we do things outside procedure. I hope the new policy has a way to be responsive.”

Eide Bailly is currently working with Community Development to simplify its complex fee structure, said Donovan.