A recent Hamilton County external audit raises red flags about internal controls in Trustee Bill Hullander’s office, which functions as a county banker managing more than $1 billion a year.
An audit of the county’s constitutional offices by Joseph Decosimo and Co. also reported significant delays in the accounting and financial reporting process of the county’s Department of Education, which received about $373.4 million of the county’s $625.8 million budget this year’s budget.
The county had to ask for a 30-day extension to submit the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to the Government Finance Officers Association.
“Although we received full cooperation of management and believe that we were given direct and unrestricted access to the County’s books and records, as we disclosed in our management report, we encountered significant difficulties in performing and completing this audit process for both the Department of Education and the Trustee’s Office,” the management report states.
Though the audit showed material weaknesses, deficiencies and noncompliance, county officials and Hullander say steps have been taken to make changes that will prevent future problems.