News

Monroe County -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today released the audit of the Monroe County Agricultural Society for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The audit reveals several instances of missing or incomplete financial information and improper record keeping.

“Society officials must maintain proper records of their financial activity in accordance with state law and other regulations,” Taylor said. “The failure to do so increases the potential to misspend public funds.”

The Auditor of State initially declared the society “unauditable” on May 17, 2007 because records and documents necessary to conduct a routine financial audit were missing, incomplete or inaccurate. This is the second time in the past three audit periods that the state has declared the society “unauditable”. The missing information led to a longer, more time-consuming audit process.

Findings outlined in the audit include:

• Missing or inaccurate information on reports tracking ticket sales to the county fair
• The lack of documentation to show that money collected for admission to the fair was deposited into the society’s bank account
• No documentation to show how much money was collected for season or grandstand ticket sales to the county fair
• Incomplete contracts for concession vendors at the county fair

A copy of the complete audit is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.