COLUMBUS, Ohio — Auditor of State Keith Faber last week declared the village of Quaker City in Guernsey County “unauditable” for the period Jan. 1, 2017-Dec. 31, 2019, after auditors determined the condition of the village’s financial records was not adequate to finish the audit.

“For the sake of transparency, local governments must have complete financial records,” Faber said. “I recommend the village reach out to our Local Government Services team so we can help reconstruct the village’s accounts.”

The village did not have accurate monthly bank reconciliations available for audit. Original and updated bank reconciliations performed by the village’s fiscal officer contained unexplained reconciling items, as follows:

∫ The unsupported bank reconciling items in 2017 ranged from $308 in January to a high of $2,739 in May/June to $1,336 at Dec. 31, 2017.

∫ The unsupported bank reconciling items in 2018 ranged from $1,336 in January to a high of $2,131 in November to $2,073 at Dec. 31, 2018.

∫ During 2019, unsupported adjustments and other adjusting factors to the book balance ranged between $19 and $7,224 and $154 to $382, respectively. Additionally, each month reflected an unsupported adjustment to the bank balance of $1,749.

Consequently, Faber considers these financial records “unauditable.”

Within 90 days of receiving the “unauditable” declaration, the village must revise its financial records and provide the data necessary to complete the audit.

Failure to bring accounts, records, and reports to an auditable position may result in legal action, including the possibility of the attorney general issuing a subpoena to village officials to explain the condition of records. The attorney general may also file suit to compel officials to prepare and/or produce the required information.

The Auditor of State’s Local Government Services section is available to the village to assist in bringing records to an auditable condition.

Local Government Services provides a wide variety of services to local governments, including reconstructing financial records and aid in the reconciling of books.

The auditor’s office removes an entity from the “unauditable” list once the audit in question is complete and released to the public.