What Was the Cost of the Forensic Audit?

A commenter on the Patch site asked this question: Estimated cost of audit?

The audit in question is the Fraud Examination Report which included an audit of school activity and student activity funds.

The town's audit firm Sullivan, Rogers & Company has yet to submit a bill for the audit and report, said Acting Town Administrator Dave Castellarin.

But he expects the cost will be in the $45,000 range.

Earlier, in a joint statement, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee stated that examination into whether fraud took place was inconclusive because of the lack of accounting records and documentation.

Here is some additional information from their prepared statement: "However, the audit report does conclude that the system of internal control over cash receipts and cash disbursements were insufficient.  The report did find evidence of several violations of the municipal finance laws, as well as other related infractions.  Both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee voted to refer the report to the Attorney General’s Office and the Swampscott police department for their review. 

"Both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee take these issues very seriously. Internal controls have already been designed, documented, and implemented to promote controls over cash receipts and disbursements related to school activities and student activity funds.   The School Committee is in the process of formally closing all bank accounts that do not fall under the Town that were previously held at the individual schools.  These funds will be deposited with the Town Treasurer going forward and managed and accounted for in accordance with Massachusetts laws."