News

Clark County -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today declared the village of South Charleston “unauditable” for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. An unauditable designation means that records and documents necessary to conduct a routine financial audit are missing, incomplete or inaccurate.

“Village officials must maintain proper records of their financial activity in accordance with state law and established record retention schedules,” Taylor said. “The failure to do so increases the potential of misspending or theft of public funds.”

In a letter sent to village officials on June 24, 2008, Taylor indicates that her office was unable to obtain documents showing that village accounts had been reconciled to bank balances.

Taylor says the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services (LGS) section is available to assist village officials in correcting record keeping deficiencies if needed.

The letter also states that the Auditor of State reserves the right to pursue legal action if village officials fail to revise financial records and provide information necessary to complete the audit.

The village will remain unauditable until all financial documents are obtained and the final audit report is released publicly.

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The Ohio Auditor of State’s office is one of the largest accounting offices in the nation.  The office strives to ensure that all public funds are spent legally and appropriately and works aggressively to root out fraud, waste and abuse in public spending. Taylor encourages anyone suspecting fraud or misspending of public dollars to contact her office toll free at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364). Since taking office, Taylor has identified more than $13 million in public funds that were handled improperly, spent illegally or stolen and must be repaid.