WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – In its annual audit of the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission, the Office of State Auditor Dave Boliek identified more than $2 million worth of financial reporting errors during the Commission’s 2024 fiscal year, and found its management “did not have adequate internal controls, including review procedures, to ensure accurate financial reporting”.
According to its website, the Battleship Commission “adopts rules and regulations for proper maintenance and operation of the ship as a permanent memorial and exhibit”. The governor appoints 16 of the 18 members, who serve four-year terms.
The audit done by the Office of the State Auditor found the Commission did not:
- Complete and review the reconciliations for three out of six bank accounts between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024. As of September 30, 2024, these three bank accounts held $5.1 million (67%) of the Commission’s $7.6 million total cash balance.
- Perform the annual review of user access to the financial system to ensure access level aligned with job responsibilities.
- Provide evidence of an independent review and approval of journal entries. Specifically, auditors tested 182 out of 301 journal entries recorded during the period and found that 17 (9%) journal entries had no evidence of an independent review and approval.
Findings listed by the Office of State Auditor also found what it called “inadequate internal controls over financial reporting resulted in several misstatements”. They included:
- Transactions associated with the pension and other post-employment benefits plans were not recorded correctly. As a result:
-Deferred outflows related to pensions were overstated by $430 thousand…