Audit of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority (December 20, 2024)
December 20, 2024 · Southfield Redevelopment Authority · Read the full official report on mass.gov ↗
Published December 20, 2024 Audit covers January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2022 Under Diana DiZoglio · 2023–present
source
“Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with links to each page listed.”
Read the plain-English breakdown
This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority, covering January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2022.
“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has conducted a performance audit of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) for the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2022.”
Auditors checked whether the authority fixed issues from a prior audit, especially around oversight, financial reporting, financial planning, and whether it had a policy for employee settlements and judgments.
“In this performance audit, we determined whether SRA took appropriate corrective actions based on prior audit findings and recommendations by OSA in the following areas:”
These problems matter because weak internal controls can make it harder to protect public resources, catch mistakes, prevent unauthorized payments, and reduce cybersecurity risks.
“Without a documented internal control plan or an updated policies and procedures manual, SRA may be unable to sufficiently safeguard the organization or efficiently achieve its objectives.”
For residents and taxpayers, the audit is about whether the public body managing the former South Weymouth naval air station redevelopment has basic controls to protect money, data, and decision-making.
“It was established for the purposes of acquiring the land and managing the redevelopment of the former South Weymouth naval air station for nonmilitary purposes including, but not limited to, commercial, housing, industrial, conservation, or manufacturing uses.”
The authority did not always have the policies, reviews, and separation of duties expected for sound oversight, though the report says auditors did not find evidence that money was misused.
“We did not find evidence of misappropriation or mismanagement of funds; however, if SRA does not properly segregate managerial duties to ensure that vendor invoices receive preapproval signatures, then there is an increased opportunity for errors or other problems to go unnoticed and for unauthorized transactions to occur.”
The biggest governance concern is that the board has been doing some day-to-day management work because the executive director position has been vacant, which can weaken independent oversight.
“This would be a management conflict and may result in less oversight, as BOD members may be less likely to question the work of their fellow BOD members.”
An internal control plan is the written playbook for how an organization protects money, checks work, assigns responsibilities, and prevents errors or misuse.
“SRA should develop and maintain a documented internal control plan that includes policies and procedures for SRA operations.”
3 figure(s) pending source verification - not shown
What the Auditor checked
- Partially Did SRA take the appropriate corrective actions on audit findings and recommendations from OSA’s prior audit report in the following areas: improving the board of directors’ (BOD’s) oversight of SRA management through the creation of an internal control plan as required by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s (CTR’s) Internal Control Guide; publishing and filing its annual financial audit with OSA as required by Section 31 of Chapter 291 of the Acts of 2014; and creating short- and long-term financial plans to ensure its financial solvency in accordance with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 56 (Codification of Financial and Accounting Reporting) and Section 5B of Chapter 40 of the Massachusetts General Laws?
- Did not comply Did SRA have an employee Settlements and Judgments Policy based on guidelines provided in CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy 1779893, including the following: a process to determine the language, review, approval, and reporting of any employee settlement agreements and a process to determine whether a non-disclosure, non-disparagement, non-publication, or confidentiality request clause is appropriate in any employee settlement agreement?
What the Auditor found
Why it matters: SRA may be unable to safeguard the organization or efficiently achieve its objectives.
Standard: Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989 and Section 12.01 of CTR’s Internal Control Guide. ( Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989; Section 12.01 of the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s Internal Control Guide )
1 recommendation
- SRA should develop and maintain a documented internal control plan that includes policies and procedures for SRA operations.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The Authority’s staff is currently working on a draft Internal Control Plan using the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s Internal Control Guide."
Auditor: "SRA states that it is taking appropriate actions to address this finding."
Why it matters: Untimely reconciliation reviews increase the risk of financial loss from reconciliation errors and may weaken board oversight.
Standard: Section 8 of Article 1 of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors By-Laws. ( Section 8 of Article 1 of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors By-Laws )
1 recommendation
- SRA should perform timely reviews of bank reconciliations, and the BOD should ensure that SRA is staffed with a sufficient number of employees who can fully manage SRA’s daily operations.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The Authority is currently and will continue to complete bank reconciliations within 30 to 60 days."
Auditor: "SRA states that it is taking appropriate actions to address this finding."
Why it matters: Poor segregation of duties increases the chance that errors, problems, or unauthorized transactions will go unnoticed.
Standard: Chapter 3.4 of the US Government Accountability Office’s Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual. ( Chapter 3.4 of the US Government Accountability Office’s Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual )
2 recommendations
- SRA should ensure that all accounts payable vendor invoices have preapproval signatures by a separate employee before being submitted to the BOD for final approval and payment.
- SRA should create policies and procedures that detail specific requirements and responsibilities for all employees in the payment of vendor invoices process.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The Authority is currently and will continue to have the Land Use Administrator provide a pre-approval signature on all invoices on the accounts payable warrants, during the absence of an Executive Director, in addition to the Treasurer/Finance Director, providing dual review and approval prior to submittal of the accounts payable warrants to the Board of Directors for final approval."
Auditor: "SRA states that it is taking appropriate actions to address this finding."
Why it matters: Settlements or judgments may not follow appropriate tax reporting, withholding, or funding requirements.
Standard: CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy 1779893. ( CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy 1779893; Section 5.00 of Title 815 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations )
1 recommendation
- SRA should adopt CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy 1779893 in its policies and procedures manual or create a new policy to keep current with executive branch policies and case law.agency: already implemented
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The Authority adopted CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy in October 2024."
Auditor: "SRA states that it has already taken action regarding our recommendation for this finding."
Prior findings revisited
"During a prior audit, the Office of the State Auditor found that SRA did not have an internal control plan and discussed this matter with the authority."
More audits of this entity
Other Office of the State Auditor reports on Southfield Redevelopment Authority , including the prior audits referenced above.
- Audit of the Southfield Redevelopment AuthorityAuthority / Commission · March 29, 2018