The findings of the Tennessee Department of Treasury's Division of Local Government Audit released Friday show four findings and no apparent major problems. The findings of the report, for the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2015, are all familiar, as they have occurred for the last several years.

A finding for the County Mayor’s office cited the fact that the Solid Waste Disposal Fund had a deficit in unrestricted net position.

The problem is a recurring one, because in order to satisfy the audit, the county would need to keep several million dollars in the fund to cover any possible disaster at the landfill.

The Solid Waste Disposal Fund had a deficit of $3.7 million in unrestricted net position resulting from the recognition of a liability totaling $6.7 million for possible costs associated with closing the landfill and monitoring the site for 30 years after it is closed.

A finding for the offices of Circuit, General Sessions, and Juvenile Courts Clerk said that execution docket trial balances for Circuit and General Sessions Courts did not reconcile with general ledger accounts.

"Execution of docket trial balances for Circuit and General Sessions Courts did not reconcile with general ledger accounts by $6,725 and $2,937, respectively. Therefore we were unable to determine if the clerk had complied with provisions of the Unclaimed Property Act. The statute provides that any funds held by the courts for more than one year and unclaimed by the owner are considered abandoned and should be reported and paid to the State Treasurer's Office in Compliance with state statutes. TCA (state law) further requires these funds to be reported and paid to the state Treasurer's Office. This deficiency exists due to the failure of management to correct the finding noted in the prior-year audit report," the audit report read.

A finding for the offices of Circuit, General Sessions, and Juvenile Courts Clerk and Register of Deeds revealed multiple employees operating from the same cash drawer.

"Good internal controls dictate that each employee have their own cash drawer, start the day with a standard fixed amount of cash, and remove all but that beginning amount at the end of the day. This amount should be verified to the employee's receipts at the end of each day. Failure to adhere to this control regimen greatly increases the risk that a cash shortage may not be detected in a timely manner. Furthermore, in the event of a cash shortage, the official would not be able to determine who was responsible for the shortage because multiple employees were working from one cash drawer. This deficiency has been a management decision by the officials resulting in a loss of control over assets and is the result of management's failure to correct the finding noted in the prior year audit report. Officials should assign each employee their own cash drawer," the report read.

A finding for the offices of Road Supervisor, Trustee, Register of Deeds, and Sheriff said that duties were not segregated adequately.

"Officials and employees responsible for maintaining the accounting records in these offices were also involved in receipting, depositing, and/or disbursing funds. Sound business practices dictate that management is responsible for designing internal controls to give reasonable assurance of the reliability of financial reporting and of the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. This lack of segregation of duties is the result of management's decisions based on the availability of financial resources and is a significant deficiency in internal controls that increases the risk of unauthorized transaction. Also, this deficiency is the result of management's failure to correct the finding noted in the prior-year audit report. Officials should segregate duties to the extent possible using available resources," according to the report.