Audit Report for Worth County Released

On Tuesday, the Missouri State Auditor released its report for the County of Worth. The overall rating for the county was “Good.” The following findings were issued by the auditor’s office:

–The Prosecuting Attorney does not issue receipt slips for all money received. The Prosecuting Attorney’s spreadsheets sent to victims and defendants showing current restitution accounts receivable balances are not always accurate.

–The Recorder of Deeds has not established proper procedures for receipting and recording money received, and does not perform adequate bank reconciliations and does not prepare a monthly list of liabilities.

–A complete and accurate seized property evidence log has not been maintained and a physical inventory of seized property has not been performed since the Sheriff took office in January 2021.

–The County Collector, Recorder of Deeds, and Sheriff have not established adequate password controls to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to computers and data. The County Collector, County Clerk, County Treasurer, Recorder of Deeds, and Sheriff do not have security controls in place to lock computers after a specified number of incorrect login attempts.

–The county has not developed a records management and retention policy in compliance with the Missouri Secretary of State Records Services Division guidance, as approved by the Missouri Local Records Commission.

The following recommendations were made:

–The Auditor’s Office recommended the Prosecutor issue receipt slips for all money immediately on receipt and establish procedures to record account receivables accurately;

–The Recorder of Deeds issue receipt slips for all money received on receipt, maintain a log of copy money and reconcile it to the money transmitted to the County Treasurer, prepare adequate monthly bank reconciliations and lists of liabilities, and investigate and resolve any discrepancies.

–The Sheriff maintain a complete and accurate seized property evidence log, ensure a periodic inventory is conducted and reconciled, and investigate any differences;

–The Commission work with other county officials to require passwords for all computers and employees and require passwords to be periodically changed and require computers to have security controls in place to lock each computer after a specified number of incorrect login attempts;

–The County Commission work with other county officials to develop a written records management and retention policy.

Because counties are managed by several separately elected individuals, an audit finding made with respect to one office does not necessarily apply to another office. The overall rating of the county does not necessarily indicate the performance of any one elected official or county office.