SCCC program chastised for reporting collections late

PHOTOGRAPHER: Haley Viccaro

An audit by the state Comptroller’s Office found Schenectady County Community College’s culinary arts program did not appropriately report cash collections.

The audit, conducted from September 2011 to August 2013, reported that money made from the baking class, bakery and butchery totaling more than $20,000 was not submitted in a timely manner to the bursar.

At SCCC, amounts exceeding $200 must be submitted within 24 hours to the bursar. According to the audit, 149 cash collections from the bakery and butchery totaling $20,569 were not submitted on time.

It took about 15 days in March 2013 for 47 collections totaling more than $9,000 to be submitted. But the Casola Dining Room’s collections of $18,620 during the same period were submitted on time.

Also, the petty cash fund was used to purchase food and supplies for the culinary arts program that regularly exceeded the $150 authorized limit, according to the audit.

The Comptroller’s Office recommends that all college employees responsible for cash collections submit them on time and that cash receipts not be used for department purchases.

In a response to the audit, Ann Fleming Brown, acting chairwoman of SCCC’s board of trustees, wrote the college’s faculty and staff has already taken action to correct the errors.

She said that the shops deposited their cash on a daily basis in January 2014 and that the staff will no longer use cash receipts for purchases.

Her letter also states: “We feel that it is important to note that your draft audit report did not find any missing funds or any irregularities of any kind with regard to the operations and accounting for the Department of Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism.”