Lincoln’s financial audit is a train wreck
March 2, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
LINCOLN – "In last week's Valley Breeze Administrator Almond cited his fiscal management record as a reason to return him to office for a third time. Chances are good he won't also be citing the recently released independent audit management letter" stated Lincoln Democratic Town Committee Chair Tim McMahon.
Quoting the auditor’s report, McMahon said that “among
the most disturbing statements to come out of the audit
was that the auditors 'believe that the Finance
Director has not exercised a degree of control and responsibility
required by the town charter’1. This type of cautionary
statement from outside financial professionals should
give each of us pause for deep concern about the state
of our town’s finances.”
McMahon went on to state: “What I heard at Monday’s Town Council work session was amazing. This is truly an embarrassment and a big black-eye to the administration and its finance department. In addition to mentioning how late the audit was (the major delay of the audit was that the Finance Director had not yet prepared June 30th Financial Statements by December as required) Auditor Frank Champi went out of his way in his presentation to the Council to state that ‘of the six communities [his firm audits], Lincoln had the largest number of deficiencies’. He also went on to iterate the audit findings noting on several occasions that material deficiencies are among the most severe problems that can be uncovered in an audit and that ‘Lincoln had a rather large number of these types deficiencies.’”
“Particularly disturbing to me – and to anyone else I would hope” stated McMahon “was Mr. Champi’s statement that “the finance director has ultimate responsibility for construct of the financial process town wide – he should not be the focus of the problem.’ Champi stated very openly that ‘Quite frankly, I believe this has been a learning year for [the finance director]’ and that ‘perhaps this is the year that Mr. Ward finally learned how to prepare a financial statement.’
McMahon was particularly concerned when the auditors turned their presentation to communications between the Administration, School Department and Water Commission. “The Administration is falling down in a very drastic fashion when it refuses to simply pick up the phone and open a dialog between these three major financial players” stated McMahon. “The auditors stated again and again ‘This is not a good situation regarding the lack of communication between these three groups’. It’s amazing to me that our Town Administrator, who prides himself on sound fiscal management, can simply look the other way and disengage when this town’s financial management program is so clearly broken.”
“When I read front page rhetoric about this administration’s financial responsibility and then compare that to the reality presented in the auditor’s report, I just shudder. These are among the most financially trying times we’ve faced in decades. To pander for votes on one hand while failing to create and foster an environment of open communication and sound fiscal management is a recipe for disaster – not a cause for re-election.”
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