For Immediate Release:                                                      

July 28, 2020                                                             

Unbalanced Books Lead to Finding for Recovery in Village of Lordstown

Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber’s Office today released the 2019 Village of Lordstown (Trumbull County) audit, which included a $1,648 finding for recovery against Village Treasurer George Ebling.

The Village Treasurer is responsible for reconciling the book (fund) balance to the total bank balance on a monthly basis, and the Village Clerk and Council are responsible for reviewing the reconciliations and related support.

During 2018 and 2019, Village Treasurer Ebling prepared bank versus book reconciliations each month that were presented to the Clerk and Finance Committee as being reconciled. However, these reconciliations were not always complete and accurate. The Village Clerk’s office notified Treasurer Ebling’s office of reconciliation differences throughout both years, but the Treasurer did not always respond to the notifications nor investigate the differences in order for the book balances to be completely reconciled to the adjusted balances.

Upon review and testing of the December 31, 2018 and 2019 reconciliations, auditors concluded based on the support provided, that total fund balances exceeded the adjusted bank balances in the amounts of $6,076 and $6,509, respectively.

Failure to reconcile monthly increases the possibility that the Village will not be able to identify, assemble, analyze, classify, and record its transactions correctly or to document compliance with finance related legal and contractual requirements. Further, the lack of accurate monthly reconciliations increases the risk of theft/fraud over the cash cycle and could lead to inaccurate reporting in the annual financial statements.

On June 29, 2020, Treasurer Ebling provided auditors with an updated December 31, 2019 reconciliation that showed total fund balances exceeded the adjusted bank balances in the amount of $1,648. Upon review and testing, auditors determined that difference to be correct.

A finding for recovery for public monies illegally expended was issued against George Ebling, Village Treasurer, and the Midwest Trumco Insurance Agency, his bonding company, in the amount of $1,648 in favor of the Village of Lordstown General Fund.

A full copy of this report is available online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.