Attica school audits show years of mishandling which could lead to legislation

Audits dating back to 2008 show several amounts posted to the wrong funds, adjustments, negative receipts and disbursements, and deficit fund balances, according to the State Board of Accounts. Treasurer Carrie Brier has been responsible for handling the school corporation's funds since 1990.

Although previous audits did not find errors as significant as the misappropriation of more than $940,000 noted in this year's report for July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2015, they all cite a lack of segregation of duties with limited oversight by management, including:

• Audit dating from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2007: Auditors found several amounts posted to the wrong funds, adjustments, negative receipts and disbursements, and deficit fund balances during the audit period; and several checks for payroll withholdings on the outstanding check list that had been outstanding for more than three years and had not been investigated.
• Audit dating from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009: Auditors found several amounts posted to the wrong funds, adjustments, negative receipts and disbursements, and deficit fund balances during the audit period; and several checks for payroll withholdings on the outstanding check list that have been outstanding for more than three years. Auditors also noted that Brier did not know why these items were still outstanding and had not been investigated.