COUNTY COMPTROLLER ISSUES AUDIT OF
NASSAU COUNTY PARKS, RECREATION AND MUSEUMS

A comprehensive audit of the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, issued today by Nassau County Comptroller Howard S. Weitzman, has found weaknesses in controls over cash management.

The Parks Department oversees approximately 5,600 acres of county parkland and preserves, attracting an estimated eight million visitors annually. In 2002, the county park system collected more than $16 million in revenues through user fees associated with such facilities as golf courses, driving ranges, beaches, pools, an indoor ice rink, an aquatic center, and museums.

"Our audit found a lack of internal controls in the cash management systems employed at county parks," Mr. Weitzman said, "including a general lack of compliance with the Parks Department's own administrative directives.

"In order for such controls to be effective, all cash receipt transactions need to be clearly documented throughout their life cycle. Our auditors found that the Parks Department's procedures covering these cash transactions generally did not incorporate the entire life-cycle of the transactions, including the titles of employees responsible for the cash at each step along the way."

The Comptroller's Office also found inadequate segregation of duties, which should be in place to provide safeguards against the possibility of embezzlement. "While the audit did not find specific cases of embezzlement," Mr. Weitzman said, "it is clear that urgent steps need to be taken to ensure that such controls are in place, as required under the Department's own directives, in order to minimize the chances of theft or embezzlement."

The Parks Department has reviewed the Comptroller's findings and issued a written response agreeing with the majority of the audit findings.

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Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums Financial Review of Revenue Collections
(~ 586 kB .pdf file - 42 pages)