BerryDunn’s Government Assurance Practice Group provides local governments and state agencies with assurance services relating to financial compliance, risk management, financial management, and information security. Our team recently helped a client assess compliance and effectiveness of operations of high-risk functional areas.
Challenge
A town needed an operational assessment to assess the compliance and effectiveness of policies, procedures, and processes, and to identify opportunities for improvement relating to the following six functional areas.
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable
- Tax title
- Tax assessment
- Procurement
- Payroll
Solution
BerryDunn’s government assurance team:
- Conducted interviews with town officials and employees
- Reviewed policies and procedures
- Documented the current processes
- Performed gap analysis and identified challenges and risk areas
- Performed sample testing focusing on high-risk areas
Outcome
BerryDunn’s assessment found inconsistencies in procedures, a lack of documentation, and non-compliant practices. Our recommendations included establishing/updating policies and procedures, reducing cash transactions, and eliminating manual data entries as much as possible.
The assessment helped the town to start discussions to:
- Address existing non-compliant practices
- Improve controls to help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse
- Identify potential cost-reducing and revenue-increasing opportunities
If you think your agency or organization could benefit from a similar assessment, please contact our team. We’re here to help.
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