TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Audit Finds Shelby Clerk's Office 'Lacks Understanding of Software System,' Trustee Says More Audits Likely

Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Mar 22, 2024
News Type: Legal News

A nine-page report from Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower’s Local Government Audit Unit, released Thursday, says the Shelby County Clerk’s office has been using different software to record parts of the same transactions and for years has not reconciled conflicting dollar amounts in financial statements. In a press release announcing the findings, the comptroller’s office says that the clerk's office "is not utilizing the software to its full capabilities." The Daily Memphian reports that the clerk’s office also "lacks an understanding of its software system." Auditors also noted issues with reconciliations not being performed, a signature stamp being used on checks, employees deleting their own transactions without authorization, and a failure to properly track how much money the county is owed after bad checks are written by customers. Shelby County Trustee Regina Newman told the news outlet that the county government may hire an auditor to further reconcile the money it gets from County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s office, stating "that’s obviously a longer-term issue." According to the Commercial Appeal, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, who was appointed to lead the investigation, told reporters Friday she learned things that give her "great concern" regarding Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. "It makes sense that there are unhappy citizens and unhappy commissioners and unhappy elected officials, that makes sense to us at this point. There certainly are failures that must be fixed at some point whether that's through removal of office or not, we will make those decisions," Wamp said.

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