Streets Accountants Review Report Damning of Oakham Town Council's Accounting Procedures and Security
It's shocking Oakham Town Council continues year on year to be careless in the way
it handles public money.
Streets Accountants have asked me not to publish their report.
The reason why I ignore their request.
The £3000 report has been paid for with public money
it is in the public interest to do so.
The report is published in the public domain by Oakham
Town Council although hidden amongst images of
of documents.
http://oakham.leicestershireparishcouncils.org/uploads/1755cdf91991a91864132647.pdf
The report is attached to a public agenda as Appendix C for the
next council meeting and is not exempt 19th August 2015
Councillors will be asked to accept a unaudited new statement
of accounts on Wednesday 19th August 2015.
Streets report incorrectly a one point describes the review as
an Audit, they have offered to correct this oversight
Title Page
Contents
Summary
Purpose of the report
No records of money owed to the council are kept.
The main errors in the 2014 - 2015 accounts were caused by what I and
others consider as possible fraud. An attempt to clear monies owing to
the council by its former tenant body power fitness.
I am advised it would be impossible to disprove the Clerks claim
that he made an number of entries by mistake all on one day which resulted
in the debt of Body Power Fitness Ltd being cleared.
It would appear the Clerk is using two accounts packages £500 a year is
paid for Sage and it appears he can only use that for payroll. When you
consider what the Clerk is paid to perform quite simple accounting the
current situation the council finds itself in is appalling.
He needs to be sacked or sent on a course to learn how to use Sage.
I am also wondering what we actually paid the internal auditor to
do for the last five years?
Expenditure
Copies of purchase orders not kept
Purchase Invoices not signed by two councillors
Purchase price not included in original purchase orders.
Bank Transactions
Bank reconciliations not checked and signed of by a Councillor
each month.
POWER FITNESS LTD
It's shocking Oakham Town Council continues year on year to be careless in the way
it handles public money.
Streets Accountants have asked me not to publish their report.
The reason why I ignore their request.
The £3000 report has been paid for with public money
it is in the public interest to do so.
The report is published in the public domain by Oakham
Town Council although hidden amongst images of
of documents.
http://oakham.leicestershireparishcouncils.org/uploads/1755cdf91991a91864132647.pdf
The report is attached to a public agenda as Appendix C for the
next council meeting and is not exempt 19th August 2015
Councillors will be asked to accept a unaudited new statement
of accounts on Wednesday 19th August 2015.
Streets report incorrectly a one point describes the review as
an Audit, they have offered to correct this oversight
Title Page
Contents
Summary
Purpose of the report
No records of money owed to the council are kept.
The main errors in the 2014 - 2015 accounts were caused by what I and
others consider as possible fraud. An attempt to clear monies owing to
the council by its former tenant body power fitness.
I am advised it would be impossible to disprove the Clerks claim
that he made an number of entries by mistake all on one day which resulted
in the debt of Body Power Fitness Ltd being cleared.
It would appear the Clerk is using two accounts packages £500 a year is
paid for Sage and it appears he can only use that for payroll. When you
consider what the Clerk is paid to perform quite simple accounting the
current situation the council finds itself in is appalling.
He needs to be sacked or sent on a course to learn how to use Sage.
I am also wondering what we actually paid the internal auditor to
do for the last five years?
Expenditure
Copies of purchase orders not kept
Purchase Invoices not signed by two councillors
Purchase price not included in original purchase orders.
Bank Transactions
Bank reconciliations not checked and signed of by a Councillor
each month.
Payroll BACS
For some time and before the introduction and use of
online banking 2010 I suggested to the council should
put in place a basic safeguard when the clerk was making
electronic payments he should have signed authority from
two councillors before he could make the payments.
This has never been done and all the councils electronics
payments since 2010 has not been carried out with any
signed authority.
VAT HAS ALSO BEEN SENT TO HM CUSTOMS AND
EXCISE FOR THE INVOICES NOT PAID BY BODYPOWER FITNESS LTD
Another reason I can not believe the Clerk when he said
he entered the payments as received in error when they
had not been received.
The owners of Body Power Fitness Ltd benefited
considerable from Oakham Tax Payers money.
Streets conclude amongst other things that there is an apparent lack of segregation of key
duties, with the Clerk involved in all key accounting functions and they recommend splitting
some.
They also suggest it may be necessary for the clerk to undertake some training.
Personally I think all financial duties should be taken away from him and the council
should pay a qualified person to carry out the work.
The Clerk can spend up to £1000 on anything and between £1000 and £2000
he needs the consent of two Councillors.
This needs to stop he should be given a budget for the running of the office
and anything over £1000 should be approved by full council.
Explain this is not an audit, that could explain why the newly
revised accounts appear to me to fail to show the large some
of money the council currently owes for a loan it is repaying.
