Software Change Blamed for Non-Compliance in Protocol Compliance Audit – Butler Eagle

Discrepancies in Butler County Recorder’s Office fiduciary funds attributed to software migration error.

The Office of the State Auditor General found insufficient accountability for funds held in escrow during an accounting compliance audit conducted from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022.

– said prothonotary Kelli Ferrari Outdated software did not correctly transfer payable amounts to the new software system when transferring 21 years of information and costs from the old to the new system in December 2021.

According to the audit results, as of December 31, 2022, cash on hand exceeded recorded liabilities by $219,614, and no liabilities report was prepared to identify to whom these funds were owed.

Funds held in escrow are taxes, surcharges, fees, and fines that the Notary Public’s office collects and remits to the state Department of Revenue and the Administrative Office of the Courts of Pennsylvania.

The report said the county paid $422,920 to the department and $7,779 to the state court system during the audit period. During that time, Glenna Walters served as clerk from Jan. 1, 2019, to Jan. 3, 2020. Ferrari has been in office since Jan. 6, 2020.

To address the problem, the state Auditor General’s Office is recommending that the county identify all existing liabilities associated with the office’s bank account. Any unidentified funds should be reconciled according to normal procedures, and the office should ensure that the reconciled cash equals the unpaid monthly liabilities, according to the report.

Ferrari said outdated accounting software, used since 1992, was replaced when she was elected, and migration software was used to transfer 21 years of information and costs from the old system to the new one in December 2021.

“We do an internal audit with Maher Duessel in the county every year. I’ve never had a problem with them. It was a migration issue,” Ferrari said.

She added that she hopes the new software will solve the problem.

According to the report, the office was unable to provide any files containing liability account balances.

“While there were many benefits to moving to newer software, we struggled with the way financial data was pulled. While checking account balances each month for deposits and withdrawals, trust accounts are not accurate in the software system.

“I am 100% certain that this amount represents money collected and then paid out, which includes rent, security deposit, master’s fees and care fees,” Ferrari wrote in her response to the audit. “Sometimes these fees are collected for a short period of time (weeks), but fees can also be collected for several years.

“We have been working with the current software company since December 2021 to resolve this issue. On May 6, 2024, a software update was released that will hopefully resolve this issue.”

According to the report, the notary’s office complied with state laws governing the collection of money for the state, including whether taxes were properly assessed, reported and remitted.