Incorrect accounting procedures in sheriff's, treasurer's offices cited in Dade County state audit

(From State Auditor Nicole Galloway)

State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the government of Dade County, located in southwest Missouri. The report highlighted the need for improvements in several county offices and gave a rating of "fair."

"Dade County has made improvements from the 2018 audit which gave a rating of poor, but there are still areas for improvement to better protect taxpayer dollars," Auditor Galloway said.

 "I urge county officials to move forward with the recommendations in this report to more effectively and efficiently serve citizens."

The audit found issues with incorrect accounting procedures within the Collector-Treasurer's office. An error in the withholding rate for real estate and personal property taxes resulted in various political subdivisions not receiving the full amounts owed to them. 

The report made recommendations to ensure tax calculations are accurate and bank records are prepared and reconciled on time. The Collector-Treasurer responded in the audit that he has corrected the amount withheld and made the appropriate distributions.

Improvements were recommended for accounting procedures within the Sheriff's office, which did not properly prepare receipt slips and bank reconciliations. The report also found commissary net proceeds were not disbursed properly to the Inmate Prisoner Detainee Security Fund, an issue found in the previous audit report. Several of the other findings were noted in previous audits as well.

The audit also recommended improvements to accounting procedures and information security within the Recorder of Deeds' office.

The complete audit report is available here.