State audit of Niles government finds continuing weaknesses

November 15, 2016 at 9:11a.m.

NILES

The 2015 Niles government audit released today by the Ohio Auditor’s Office indicates that many of the same weaknesses found in the city’s control over its finances in 2014 persisted into 2015.

But no city officials were charged with theft in office in 2015 and the city corrected a weakness in the controls it places on its outsourced self-insurance program, the audit says. The 2015 audit contained no findings for recovery as audits did when the thefts were discovered.

Perhaps one of the most significant findings in the 2015 audit is that the city continued in 2015 to fail to monitor its financial transactions in a way that would “provide reasonable assurance” that its financial reporting is accurate, that the city’s operations are effective and efficient, that the city is complying with laws and regulations and that it is safeguarding its assets.

“The lack of effective monitoring controls contributed to an environment which allowed for the expenditure of funds contrary to the directives of the governing body and management and incomplete capital asset records,” the audit says.

“Furthermore, the lack of effective monitoring controls allowed for errors related to posting transactions and account classifications,” it says. “Numerous adjustments were made to financial statements for the year ending Dec. 31, 2015, to properly state financial statement amounts.”