Ulster comptroller audit says county needs more oversight, consistency over petty cash

KINGSTON – An audit of 25 of Ulster County Government’s petty cash accounts, an audit by Comptroller Elliott Auerbach found what his office believes are issues that need to be corrected.
Auerbach’s audit was meant to evaluate the internal controls over
the county’s reporting and administration of those funds.
“There is really no standardized approach to any one of these petty cash accounts. There are a number of accounts that are inactive. There are accounts lacking authorizing resolution by the legislature. There are accounts that really have not been used or have not been known by the department.”
Auerbach said this is “an opportunity to clean up the books.”
County Finance Commissioner Burton Gulnick, Jr. responded to the audit. “While we agree that strong oversight and internal controls should be of utmost importance, booking individual petty cash activity to the petty cash accounts would be an undue burden with no real benefit or increase in efficiency,” Gulnick wrote.  “The current process of replenishing petty cash at the department level seems to work well, and if a process to improve efficiencies, and not create additional burdens and efficiencies were presented, my office would be more than happy to implement such a process.”