REPORT DIGEST

REGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION #12

CLAY/CRAWFORD/ JASPER/LAWRENCE/ RICHLAND COUNTIES

FINANCIAL AUDIT

(In accordance with the Single Audit Act and OMB Circular A-133)

For the Year Ended: June 30, 2009

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit: 1

Total last audit : 2

Repeated from last audit: 0

Release Date: March 30, 2010

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor General

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:

Office of the Auditor General, Iles Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL 62703

(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also available on the worldwide web at http://www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

• The Regional Office of Education #12 did not have sufficient internal controls over the financial reporting process.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

LACK OF SEGREGATION OF DUTIES

The Regional Office of Education #12 did not have sufficient internal controls over the financial reporting process. The Regional Office is required to maintain a system of controls, including segregation of duties, over the financial reporting process to be able to initiate, authorize, record, process, and report financial data reliably in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Auditors noted the following deficiencies in internal control:

• An individual independent of the cash receipt, disbursement, and entry into the accounting system did not receive bank statements unopened and review them for any unusual items.

• There was no reconciliation of pre-numbered receipts to the related deposit slip or bank receipt by an individual independent of the receipt and posting process.

Management or employees in the normal course of performing their assigned functions may not prevent or detect financial statement misstatements or possible fraudulent activity in a timely manner. Regional Office officials were not aware that the design of these processes constituted a lack of segregation of duties and deficiencies in internal control. (Finding 09-1, pages 12a-12b)

Auditors recommended that an individual independent of the cash receipt, disbursement, and entry into the accounting system should open bank statements and review them for any unusual items. Auditors also recommended that an individual independent of the cash receipt function should reconcile pre-numbered receipts to the related deposit slip and bank receipt.

The Regional Office of Education #12 responded that it has already implemented changes to internal controls to address the financial statement findings.

AUDITORS’ OPINION

Our auditors state the Regional Office of Education #12’s financial statements as of June 30, 2009 are fairly presented in all material respects.

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, Auditor General

WGH:JRB

SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS

Our special assistant auditors were Kemper CPA Group, LLC.