Report cites errors by GOP state auditor candidate

DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - An independent audit of a $195,000 discrepancy in Platte County's books attributes accounting errors to the office of County Auditor Sandra Thomas, a Republican candidate for state auditor.

But Thomas contended Monday that the bulk of the problems were attributable to the county treasurer and the outside auditing firm itself. "It is not my fault," she said.

Thomas, of Kansas City, has touted her awards as Platte County auditor and her qualifications as a certified public accountant in her campaign for state auditor. She declared victory in the five-way Aug. 8 Republican primary when results showed her with a 1,778 vote lead over Rep. Jack Jackson, who has vowed to request a recount.

If her lead holds up, Thomas would advance to the Nov. 7 general election against Democratic Buchanan County Auditor Susan Montee, who also is a CPA.

Montee said Monday that the independent audit shows Thomas is incompetent and uncooperative with other elected officials.

The report "says the errors are Sandra Thomas' - they are squarely within the auditor's office," Montee said. "I think it's clearly an issue in the (state auditor's) race."

Thomas countered that Montee's comments were a "political stunt."

"This is something that if it weren't an election year would never have even become public at all," Thomas said, referring to the outside audit into the accounting discrepancy. "I would put very little weight on it."

Platte County sought the independent analysis after the county's general ledger showed $195,865 more than was listed in the bank account as of Dec. 31, 2005.

Part of the error - $62,569 - occurred when the auditor's office incorrectly listed interest from the last quarter of 2004 in the 2005 books, resulting in the money being counted twice, said the independent audit conducted by Michael Groszek of Troutt, Beeman and Co., of Harrisonville.
But Thomas said she already had accounted for the money and it was the auditing firm that caused the duplicate entry.

An additional $121,855 error occurred because checks were attributed to a construction account when they should have been booked in the county's main account, Groszek's audit said.
In that case, Thomas said, the county treasurer's office failed to follow through with her directions to reconcile the books accordingly.

The independent audit said Thomas' office also incorrectly posted interest in the county's main account - $6,048 in 2004 and $5,426 in 2005 - that should have gone to a separate bond account.

Thomas said the money was shifted to the main account so checks could be written for bond payments. Any discrepancy was mainly a matter of the timing of the checks and a different accounting label used by the treasurer's office than her office, Thomas said.

The audit notes that when the adjustments are made, there is $33 more in the bank than the general ledger.

Groszek did not immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press.
His report was reviewed at the request of the AP by Clay County Auditor Vic Hurlbert, a Republican who is president of the Missouri Association of County Auditors and also is a certified public accountant.

Hurlbert concurred that the errors cited in the report seemed to fall back on the auditor's office - either as the original source or as the entity that is supposed to catch accounting mistakes. But county auditors need to be able to work closely with local treasurers, he added.

"I think it probably reflects poorly on the cooperation between the treasurer and the auditor," Hurlbert said. "Political season or not, the point is they need more conversation and communication between the two offices."

Whereas Thomas is a Republican, Platte County Treasurer Bonnie Brown is a Democrat who has contributed to Montee's campaign.

Thomas acknowledged that she and Brown have had a rocky working relationship.