Delaware’s State Auditor recommended Smyrna make some financial changes but reported no theft, fraud or misuse in its audit of the town.
Smyrna’s Town Council and town manager requested a performance audit last spring. The audit covers fiscal management policies and practices from calendar years 2022 and 2023.
The State Auditor’s policy advisor Sam Barry said his office found the way Smyrna tracked revenue spending in the assessed period could potentially lead to issues of fraud in the future.
“For one, you need to make sure – whether you're managing a town or a state or country – that you're reconciling your bank accounts often,” Barry said. “And that might be daily, depending on the volume of money that is flowing through those bank accounts.”
The auditor’s office also recommended more than one person reviews purchases and transactions and documents those processes.
Smyrna town officials asked the State Auditor for a performance review after a period of high turnover and change in town leadership and staffing structure, according to the town’s public response to the audit report.
“The audit findings confirm what the current leadership team observed upon stepping into their roles: the Town lacked established written policies, consistent oversight procedures, and internal checks and balances across several departments. While there was no indication of theft or misuse of funds, the lack of documented processes created risk and confusion in day-to-day operations,” Smyrna’s response read.
The State Auditor’s policy advisor Sam Barry said he and his office cannot comment on the town’s practices outside of the period of time they assessed.
“The indication that they asked us to do this at all tells us that they're taking the problem seriously,” Barry said. “And we know that there's been new leadership in Smyrna that has received these recommendations, and they're making plans to continue to implement the policies that are going to help them.”
Smyrna’s audit response noted town officials have already implemented new financial policies, routine budget reviews and training for all management and department heads.
