Columbiana Co. audit brings fine

By D.A. WILKINSON

wilkinson@vindy.com

LISBON

Columbiana County officials will have to pay a $750 fine for not using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

The penalty was assessed as part of the county’s 2009 audit, which was released Thursday.

County officials said they have not switched to GAAP because of the higher costs associated with it.

County Commissioner Penny Traina said that a switch to GAAP could cost the county tens of thousands of dollars for the extra work.

Nancy Milliken, the county auditor who oversees county spending, could not be reached to comment.

Rea & Associates, an accounting firm in New Philadelphia, is a private firm that did the audit for the state.

The audit report also stated that:

There is no internal control for the county prosecutor’s furtherance-of-justice fund.

The county’s financial software allows the same invoice number to be entered multiple times and does not provide any type of warning. In addition, the county’s process is to enter the vendor number as the invoice number within the system when processing invoices. This subjects the county to the risk of paying an invoice multiple times.

A computer hardware router is using outdated firewall technology that increases the risk of external virus and malware getting into the Columbiana County network. The company recommended the county install a modern firewall.