Cheney Setting Up Assets Accounting In/Around: Cheney

A newly released state audit of Cheney’s city finances showed improvements in resolving accounting problems uncovered in recent years.

Cheney still has not implemented a system for accounting for its fixed assets, the auditor said.

That was the one deficiency cited by state officials in their review of Cheney’s 1997 finances. The audit was made public last week.

Mayor Amy Jo Sooy said the job of accounting for fixed assets is daunting. Department managers have been working toward establishing such a system, and the city hopes to implement it by the end of 1999.

“That’s been an ongoing project,” Sooy said. “It’s been slow.”

Fixed-asset accounting is particularly difficult for Cheney City Light, which has a large amount of equipment and physical assets in its operations.

Computer software has been purchased to record and keep track of physical assets, Sooy said.

The actual work of setting up the fixed-asset accounting system must be done by managers in their spare time, and there isn’t a lot of that, the mayor said.

Two years ago, the city had eight lapses cited by the auditor, and fifteen lapses three years ago.

Among the past findings, the auditor called for better documentation before paying bills to vendors, spelling out contracts between the city and other entities, and improving employee benefit records.

State Auditor Brian Sonntag some years ago launched a program to improve financial controls in public agencies that his auditors oversee.

Most municipalities in the Spokane area have been working on deficiencies cited by Sonntag’s staff.

Sooy said the improvements in recent years mean citizens can be assured that money is watched even more closely at City Hall.

“There is a lot of cross-checking,” she said. “People know the books are in good order.”