Courts don’t only mete out jail sentences, they also collect fines, which ultimately become part of the town or city’s coffers. Of course, any institution that handles money requires strict accounting to ensure that money is remitted and spent properly. However, this isn’t always the case, as this article published on PressConnect.com illustrates:

“State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office recently completed an audit of the Village of Oxford’s Justice Court operations and found financial irregularities.

According to DiNapoli’s office, the village justices didn’t ensure that court moneys were accounted for properly. Auditors found numerous errors and irregularities, from adjudicating traffic tickets to recording, collection and deposit, and in reporting to the Justice Court Fund and the Department of Motor Vehicles, the audit revealed.

For example, $1,325 in collections was recorded with no corresponding deposits; 10 cases totaling $2,520 were reported to the DMV as paid, with no related records of receipt; and there was a $3,500 shortage in one court account, according to DiNapoli’s office.”

While $3500 may not be a massive shortfall, it is the public who will eventually pay for the deficit via their taxes. Hence, any accounting irregularity is unacceptable and stringent measures have to be employed to prevent them. That being said, maintaining a town or city’s record books can be a daunting task, and it only gets more challenging the larger the area and population.

 

One way to make things easier-aside from preventing errors-is by using accounting software like the Sage 50 Quantum program. When you use accounting software, you also reduce the mistakes caused by the manual data entry and computation. The program will also call your attention to suspected incorrect entries, thus saving you hours of backtracking work later on.

This accounting software features internal accounting checks and double-entry accounting, thus ensuring that your record books are tight.  It can generate reports on the fly, allowing government offices to know if they are in the red or in the black.

Of course, purchasing Sage Quantum is a significant investment whether for government or private entities. To get a good deal on it, contact trusted premium resellers like Quantum Buyers. With their help, offices can operate more efficiently while still operating within their budget, and avoid the headaches caused by accounting errors.

(Source: Audit discovers financial errors in Oxford village court, PressConnects.com, Feb 25, 2014)