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COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST
PLEASE FURNISH ONE ORIGINAL AND TEN (10) COPIES OF THIS
REQUEST AND DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COURT
MADE BY: Tess Mabry
MEETING DATE: 7/13/2009
OFFICE: Auditor
TIME PREFERRED: None
SUBJECT: Presentation of Audit Report for the Office of the Kerr County District Clerk
EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON)
NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: Tess Mabry
ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION: 5 mins
IF PERSONNEL MATTER -NAME OF EMPLOYEE:
Time for submitting this request for Court to assure that the matter is posted in
accordance with Title 5, Chapter 551 and 552, Government Code, is as follows:
Meeting scheduled for Mondays:
THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY:
THIS RQUEST RECEIVED ON:
5:00 PM previous Tuesday
@ .M.
All Agenda Requests will be screened by the County Judge's Office to determine if adequate
information has been prepared for the Court's formal consideration and action at time of Court
Meetings. Your cooperation will be appreciated and contribute towards your request being
addressed at the earliest opportunity. See Agenda Request Rules Adopted by Commissioners'
Court.
REP 0 RT Thursday, June 4, 2009
To: Jeannie Hargis, Kerr County Auditor
From: Theressa "Tess" Mabry,
Kerr County First Assistant Auditor
Subject: Audit Findings for the District Clerk
Background
The District Clerk's duties are to ensure that the affairs of the district courts are maintained
objectively with the full confidence of judicial authorities.
The Texas Government Code states the duties and powers of the Clerk of the District Court: "The
clerk of the District Court has custody of and shall carefully maintain and arrange the records
relating to or lawfully deposited in the clerk's office." The District Clerk shall:
• Record the acts and proceedings of the District Court;
• Enter all judgments of the court under the direction of the judge;
• Record all executions issued and the returns issued on the executions;
• Process passport applications;
• Administer child support payments;
• Administer trust accounts for minors ordered by the courts;
• Keep an index of the parties to all suits filed in the court, and make reference to any
judgment made in the case; and
• Keep an account of all funds collected by the office, by way of fines and fees, and the
amount due jurors in the District Court for service.
The Kerr County District Clerk additionally maintains the Law Library, Jury Fund and Trust
Accounts. The District Clerk:
• Maintains the Law Library including patron access to electronic materials
• Administers Trust Accounts and invests funds on behalf of the Trustees.
• Reconciles Trust Account statements.
• Releases Trust Accounts upon court order, if applicable.
• Maintains Jury funds and disbursements to jurors.
The last audit of the District Clerk was completed on 12/10/ 2007 and was for the audit period
9/30/2007-11 /26/2007.
Changes to Risk Assessment
• Note the implementation of the recommendation from the last audit regarding the
balancing of the District Clerk's checking account.
• Note the new checking account package used and any application of Microsoft Excel
from the previous audit.
• There have been no employee changes since the last audit which would increase risk.
Objectives:
Determine that:
• the District Clerk collects all applicable fees for the District Courts, County Law Library,
District Records Management, Jury Funds and Trust Accounts;
• the District Clerk properly accounts for all fees and amounts due to those funds;
• the District Clerk safeguards cash assets of those funds until deposited;
• the District Clerk disposes all fees properly for the District Clerk Funds;
• The District Clerk has implemented effective internal controls over all funds;
Scope:
The scope of the audit includes:
• the cash assets maintained and fees and fines assessed in the Office of the District
Clerk for the period from 11 /27/2007-9/30/2008
• the cash assets and internal controls with regard to the Jury Fund for the same period;
• assets with regard to the County Law Library and District Records Management for the
same period;
• the Trust accounts are administered correctly.
Program and Fieldwork:
The audit program was prepared by Theressa Mabry who was also assigned to fieldwork.
Sampling:
Cases samples consisted of 5% of cases processed and not expanded given insufficient
errors detected to warrant a higher percentage sampling.
Procedures:
• Traced sampling of cases from docket to deposit;
• Interviewed employees and Department Head;
• Administered Internal Control Questionnaire;
• Reconciled bank statements;
• Conducted cash counts;
• Observed protocols and procedures;
• Obtained and verified fee reports;
• Studied statutory requirements and compliance thereto;
• Verified Law Library Inventory;
• Verified trust account assets;
• Verified deposit frequency with Treasurer;
• Verified checkbook usage and procedures;
• Observed Old Records Preservation procedures;
• Researched Jury Procedures and verified application of statutes;
• Counted and verified cash in Jury Fund;
Findings:
The Office of the District Clerk of Kerr County operates with minimal deficiencies. The staff is very
knowledgeable and efficient with particular attention to detail with respect to the administration of
Trust Accounts and statutory compliance issues. The office runs exceptionally well and the
business of the courts is handled very caringly and professionally.
• Issue 1: Security of Cash Assets.
Access to cash might be strengthened to protect employees and to protect cash from theft.
Recommendation:
One or more security measures need be in place to secure cash safely. There are some measures
in place, but there some different approaches which might be helpful. A cash register might be
useful to secure cash, utilization of the vaults' combination locks during the daytime and use of
keys for the cash boxes might help with safety issues.
Response:
The District Clerk agreed to purchase a new cash storage unit which will only be accessible to the
District Clerk and Deputy District Clerk. Cash counts will continue to be made daily.
• Issue 2: Bank Statement Reconciliation.
The District Clerk oversees 2 checking accounts. These accounts are reconciled on a monthly
basis; however, they are reconciled together into one total, making it more difficult to trace and
easier to miss discrepancies.
Recommendation:
Care should be taken to reconcile each bank statement separately. If a combined cash total of
both accounts is desired, then a separate notation should be made which would reflect Cash On
Hand. The two reconciled totals should be clearly marked separately with the account name and
then combined into a "Cash on Hand" total.
Response:
The accounts will, in the future, be reconciled separately.
• Issue 3: Policies and Procedures Manuals.
The Office of the District Clerk has policy and procedures manuals for the general duties of the
office, but no manuals exist for the specific procedures and duties of the Kerr County District Clerk.
This makes it difficult to assess risk because procedures are not specified clearly and adds to
overall audit time.
Recommendation:
To aid in risk assessment for the duties of the Office of the District Clerk, as well as for new
employees, a set of policies and procedures manuals would facilitate training and auditors in
ascertaining information without interruption of business.
Response:
The District Clerk is already in the process of compiling the manual which will be available to the
staff in the near future.
• Issue 4: Implementation of Previous Audit Recommendations
In the previous audit, a recommendation was made to use a computer program to aid in the
development of a more efficient disbursement system. Specifically, it was recommended that a
check register be created in either QuickBooks or Excel. Neither system was implemented.
Recommendation:
A computerized check register should be implemented to assist in the reduction of errors.
Response:
A copy of QuickBooks has been attained by the District Clerk's office and will be implemented.