THE “surprise cash counts” that the Office of Public Auditor conducted on Oct. 7 and 8 on Rota and Tinian “resulted in no significant discrepancies.”
However, according is cash audit report on Dec. 29, 2021, OPA noted some observations and made recommendations regarding collection points, petty cash funds, daily collection reports, remittance of collections, deposits, change funds and accessibility to records and documents in certain government offices on Rota and Tinian.
On Rota, OPA said conducted surprise cash counts at the Rota Municipal Treasurer’s Office, the Department of Finance-Division of Revenue and Taxation, the Division of the Treasury, Customs Services at the seaport and airport, and the Customs Services main office.
On Tinian, OPA conducted surprise cash count at the Tinian Mayor’s Office-Planning & Budget Office, the Tinian Municipal Treasurer-Municipal ID Program office, the Department of Lands & Natural Resources, the Division of Revenue and Taxation, the Division of the Treasury, Customs Services main office, and Customs Services at the airport and post office.
OPA said the surprise cash count at the Rota Municipal Treasurer’s Office, the Division of the Treasury, Revenue and Taxation, and the Customs Services main office did not result in any discrepancies.
Likewise, on Tinian, the cash audit of the dog control program, the ID program, Revenue & Taxation, Treasury and Customs Services main office did not result in and discrepancies.
But OPA said it noted the following observations:
1) Collection points are established by some agencies to receive payment for services provided. These agencies are physically located within the same building as the Division of Treasury collection point. OPA recommends that collection points within the same building be consolidated to provide a central collection point for efficiency and better use of resources.
2) The use and replenishment of petty cash funds are not properly documented or reviewed by a supervisor in a timely manner. OPA said an employee used her personal funds to cover a shortage in the petty cash fund. Documentation of the shortfall and subsequent reimbursement to the employee was not documented. OPA recommends that petty cash funds be monitored and replenished in a timely manner; that transactions are properly documented; and that reviews and logs, if applicable, are properly filled out.
3) Daily collection reports are not prepared or maintained at a collection point utilizing manual receipts. For the same location, a supervisory review is not performed on the collections and deposits on a daily basis. OPA recommends that daily collection reports and/or daily cash reports be prepared for locations utilizing manual receipts reviewed and approved by a supervisor on a daily basis.
4) One collection point remits daily collections to the Treasury at the end of each month. OPA recommends that all collection points remit funds to the Treasury on a daily basis.
5) At one collection point, the validated deposit slips are filed separately from the collection reports. Further, supervisory review of the deposit is only performed when the bank statements are received from the bank. OPA recommends that validated deposit slips be attached to collection reports and are reviewed by a supervisor or manager after the actual deposit was made.
6) A total “overage” of $0.59 from three collection points was noted during the cash count. (An online legal dictionary defines overage as “an excess or surplus, especially the amount by which a sum of money is greater than a previous estimate.”)
OPA said the overage resulted from the lack of change funds to remit amounts due back to customers. OPA recommends a minimum change fund be established and accounted for at all locations.
7) During the cash count at one agency, the supporting documents for the day’s collection was not readily provided to OPA personnel. The agency staff requested for a written authorization and/or request be provided to the agency. OPA recommends that all CNMI government departments and agencies educate its employees on OPA’s purview to prevent delay in performing audit, review, or survey procedures.
In her letter to Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig, Public Auditor Kina B. Peter, CPA, said a surprise cash count “is one control procedure that management can implement to deter, detect, and prevent misappropriation of funds or other irregularities.”
She said OPA recommends that policies and procedures for the accountability of cash be established and implemented.
“The efficiency of current procedures should also be evaluated to consider the convenience of the paying public and the use of limited government resources. In an effort to maintain and monitor the accountability of cash, OPA plans to perform cash counts periodically at various locations in the CNMI government.”
Peter added, “We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.”
