OIG No. 23-21: Finance Dpt Bank Account Reconciliation Annual Results SummarJoseph M. Centorino, Inspector General
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Joseph M. Centorino, Inspector General
DATE: November 9, 2023
PROJECT: Finance Department Bank Account Reconciliation Annual Results Summary Report
OIG No. 23-21
PERIOD: September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023 Bank Reconciliations completed during the
2022/23 Fiscal Year
Upon the discovery of a $3.6 million fraud involving its Treasury and ACH disbursements in the
fall of 2016, the City Administration and Finance Department sought to implement changes in City
procedures, which led to the hiring of the independent firm of BOO USA, LLP (BOO) to perform
an audit. On May 17, 2017, BOO issued a report containing sixty (60) findings with
recommendations on how to mitigate the City's risk exposure on these disbursements which also
affected other Finance Department functions, including payroll and accounts payable.
As a result, the Office of Internal Audit, which was subsumed into the Office of the Inspector
General (OIG) on November 1, 2019, was tasked with performing periodic follow-up examinations
to verify whether the recommendations made to correct the noted deficiencies had been
implem ented or were in the process of being implemented. Although testing found that the
specified corrective actions were being taken, OIG staff has continued to periodically sample
various recommendations to verify that the implemented corrective action continues to be
sufficient.
As part of this testing, the OIG agreed to independently verify that all bank reconciliations
completed during at least four months of the 2022/23 fiscal year (October 1, 2022, through
September 30, 2023) were timely completed and reviewed/approved by Finance Department
staff. Although the actual number of City bank accounts may vary, Finance Department staff
typically complete 40 to 50 bank reconciliations each month.
Unless otherwise noted, the Finance Department's approved Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs) state that all bank reconciliations are to be completed within 30 days from the end of the
month being reconciled. For example, the related bank reconciliations for May 2023 were to be
completed by June 30, 2023.
Meanwhile, the SOPs also state that Finance Department staff have 45 days following the end of
the month to complete the reconciliations for the bank accounts related to General Depository or
pooled cash, 5" and Alton Garage, Miami Beach Golf Club, and Normandy Shores Golf Club. The
additional time allotted for these four bank accounts allows ten to fifteen days to close the books
for the month and 30 days to complete the preliminary bank reconciliation and identify each bank
reconciling item. Consequently, the May 2023 reconciliations for these four bank accounts were
due to be completed by July 15, 2023.
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The selected months for this examination of September 2022, December 2022, February 2023,
April 2023, and June 2023 were chosen solely by the OIG, without notice to Finance Department
staff. Upon request, all related documentation was promptly furnished electronically to the OIG
for testing. OIG examination showed no exceptions and that all sampled bank account
reconciliations were timely completed and properly reviewed/approved by Finance Department
staff.
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N man laiotta, Deputy Chief Auditor Date
cc: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
Jason Greene, Chief Financial Officer
Vyomie Greene, Assistant Finance Director
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, City of Miami Beach
1130 Washington Avenue, 6 Floor, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305.673 .7020 • Hotline: 786.897.111I
Email: CityofMiamiBeachOIG@miamibeachfl.gov
Website: www.mbinspectorgeneral.com
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