Comptroller's Office Review

Review of Comptroller’s Office Complete

Thorough review identifies internal inefficiencies, offers cost saving solutions to best serve taxpayers, and takes corrective action to improve the office of Erie County Comptroller

(Buffalo) – Erie County Comptroller Stefan I. Mychajliw has completed a top to bottom, internal review of the Office of Erie County Comptroller.  The goal of the review was to identify inefficiencies, provide cost saving improvements, and take immediate action to better serve taxpayers.  The review was conducted on the two divisions of the department: Audit and Accounting/Fiscal.

“I am going to root out inefficiency, waste, and abuse across Erie County government.  We took the high road and are leading by example by scrutinizing at our own office first.  The Office of Comptroller needs to set the bar high for other departments.  There is no better way to show leadership than to review my own office first,” said Erie County Comptroller Stefan I. Mychajliw.

Numerous concerns were identified within the Audit Division going back many years.  Corrective action has already taken place in some instances.  Some of the identified concerns in the Audit Division:

• A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) has not served as Deputy Comptroller for Audit since 2006
• The last documented Annual Audit Plan took place in 1988
• Decreased number of audits and reviews
• Lack of performance evaluations and required continuing education  
• Decades long depletion of audit staff
• Lack of written policies and procedures and outdated audit manual

“Taxpayers hired me to clean up Erie County government.  I’m working hard to do that, starting with my own office.  Our current staff did their best under tough circumstances.  Keep in mind, there was no Erie County Comptroller for two months last year, and no Deputy Comptroller for Audit for four months.”

“Without an organized Annual Audit Plan, staff had no idea what they were working on for the year.  Auditors were given no benchmarks on when work needed to be done in a timely and efficient manner.  Staff told us they were marched into the office, handed an assignment to audit, and that was it,” added Comptroller Mychajliw, who hired a CPA to lead the Audit Division for the first time since 2006. 

To address the lack of a CPA leading the audit division for many years, Ms. Teresa (Terry) Fraas was hired as Deputy Comptroller for Audit.  She is a private sector CPA with a 30-year auditing and accounting career.  Ms. Fraas is the first woman to ever serve as Deputy Comptroller for Audit. 

She previously worked as a Director for Internal Audit Services, Internal Audit Manager, Internal Audit Director of Compliance, Audit Compliance Officer, and Controller.  The University at Buffalo graduate earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), and is a CPA.

Deputy Comptroller Fraas has completed a 2013 Audit Plan.  She calculated the number of audit hours available for the entire year based on staffing levels, right down to the month.  Auditors will now have clear expectations of what is being audited and when audits and reviews should be completed.  Accountability benchmarks and timetables were placed into the 2013 Audit Plan.  In addition, Ms. Fraas will create written departmental policies and procedures. 

The three audits conducted for all of 2012 were completed at the end of the year.  Two audits were finished on New Year’s Eve, December 31^st, 2012.  One audit was completed three days earlier on December 28^th, 2012.

Going back 25 years, the number of audit staff members was 23 in 1987 compared to 7 in 2013.  Currently there are two vacant audit positions.  Results of the most recent civil service exam could allow the Office of Comptroller to fill those two positions with candidates from that list by May of 2013.

Overall, there were a total of 74 Comptroller’s Office staff members in 1987 compared to 34 in 2013.

The Accounting/Fiscal division was also reviewed.  Some of the identified concerns are:

• Lower level clerical employees engaging in work that should be completed by professional accountants
• Numerous accounting and clerical positions are funded but remain empty and were never filled
• Short staffing levels
• Lack of succession planning to maintain the long-term integrity of the office
• Accounts Payable (AP) unit drowning in paper

According to the review of the Office of Comptroller, a total of 12 positions requiring accounting degrees have been eliminated over the past nine years.  Currently there are five vacant or soon to be vacant positions in the accounting division, creating an unfortunate reliance on lower level clerical positions to do accounting work.

Of the eleven accounting positions/titles in the Office of Comptroller, nine of those employees will reach the age of retirement eligibility within five years.  Deputy Comptroller for Accounting/Fiscal Gregory G. Gach will develop a formal, written succession plan and develop written policies and procedures to train and prepare lower level accounting workers to step right into upper level positions. 

“There’s no back-up bench in the office.  None.  It is downright scary to think what will happen if there are mass retirements or people leave.  I asked to review the office succession plan and there wasn’t one.  I have to protect taxpayers by solidifying the long-term integrity of the office.  We found there is no roadmap in place to manage the office if workers go elsewhere,” said Comptroller Mychajliw.

To address the issue of lower-level clerical workers doing the job of higher-level accountants, the Office of Comptroller created an “Office Efficiency Plan” and will submit proposed personnel changes to the Erie County Legislature for approval.  Five vacant clerical positions will be eliminated and the Accounting/Fiscal division will be strengthened with the addition of four accounting positions and one dedicated Information Technology (IT) position.

The personnel changes through the “Office Efficiency Plan” will increase the number of accountants and actually save taxpayers approximately $4,254.

The Accounts Payable (AP) section of the division utilizes the county’s SAP system to pay bills, which is heavily dependent on paper.  There is also a large amount of paper documents in that area of the office.

Lack of an internal IT person with knowledge of the county’s SAP system forces the Office of Comptroller to rely on outside consultants or the Division of Information and Support Services (DISS).  A dedicated IT professional can create custom reports, trouble shoot issues concerning SAP, and transfer paper documents to an electronic form.

“Families in this tough economy are being asked to tighten their belts and do more with less.  The Office of Comptroller will do the same.  Our recommendations are not ‘revenue neutral.’  There are budget savings through the efficiencies.  We are strengthening our staff and reducing the cost of doing business,” concluded Comptroller Mychajliw.

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