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CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM |
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Department: |
Finance |
Commission Meeting Date: 6/6/2017 |
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Staff Contact: |
Bryan Kidney |
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Receive Report of an Assessment of the City’s Miscellaneous Billing Process. |
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Executive Summary: |
In April of 2017, the Finance Department became aware of land lease agreements held by the City that were not being billed. Finance reviewed prior and current billing system compared with list of leases provided by the Attorney’s office and notified the City Manager that there appeared to be a deficiency in the accounts receivable billing process. The City Manager directed staff to engage an auditor to determine the extent of problem.
Engagement of Auditor Finance Director engaged RSM for Rapid Assessment services on April 24. RSM began their two-day on-site review on April 25. During this time RSM reviewed policies, procedures, process and workflow related to Billing & Cash Applications for Non-Utility billings. They also interviewed staff to understand performance metrics, work processes, procedures and related policies. During the review they observed staff to understand daily activities, use of technology, and average workload.
Result of Review The Auditors found deficiencies in multiple areas of the receivable operations. These included: · Lack of training for billing staff · Lack of single source of contracts and agreements · Lack of list of leases and franchise agreements · Deficiencies in software capabilities and installation · No formalized billing policies and procedures · No lease renewal policy and procedures · Reconciliation was limited to annually · No review of staff input · No control point where all agreements must be approved and then added to list for finance to administer RSM will present their report to the Governing Body on Tuesday, June 6.
Next Steps Based on the finding of the Rapid Assessment, staff entered into an agreement to have RSM assist with verifying all City properties are billed appropriately. Finance has been making improvements to the Accounts Receivables process over the last year. The Assessment and the recommendations in the process of training will allow us to fully implement changes in 2017. Staff is also working to implement controls and training for staff as recommended by RSM.
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Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor |
Effective Governance/Professional Administration Sound Fiscal Stewardship |
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Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source): |
The cost of the assessment services is expected to be $17,079, the next phase of the assessment is estimated to be under $20,000. This item was not originally budgeted but the 2017 budget has been revised in the General Fund Overhead department. This cost may be offset by revenue owed to the City that has yet to be collected. |
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Attachments: |
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Reviewed By: (for CMO use only) |
☐TM ☐DS ☒CT ☐BM |