County gets promises of resolution to accounting system problem      

[JUNE 16, 2006]  For more than a year county officials who control and or monitor county finances have struggled with a changeover in the computer system and software. Despite a plan and great efforts of all parties involved, there are still problems, with the accounting department having the greatest problems. In April the company contracted to perform the county's annual audit, Crowe Chizek, submitted a letter with problems that needed to be resolved to complete this year's audit.

Additionally, the committees of the Logan County Board had usable financial reports that help them know how this year's finances are standing.

A unbiased company, WTI, that understand government accounting and audits, was called in last month to review and recommend resolution to the now urgent problems.

Representatives of the key players in the work were at the Thursday finance meeting to report and find a meeting of the ways. John McKeague, Great Plains product lead, and John Matterson, executive vice president for operations, represented Techtura. Emma Knauer stood in for Logan County Treasurer Mary Ellen Bruns, who was called out to a family emergency, and a representative of WTI discussed the issues.

The treasurer's office struggled all year with different components of the new programs that were installed in the all-new system. Knauer told committee members -- told it straight -- how difficult the last year has been. Payroll held numerous challenges and created great stress for employees, who worked long hours and weekends to get it going, and then there were more problems with stipends that were left out; they went to do their first quarterly federal tax reports and the complete accounting system wasn't complete; it needed more software purchased; funds would not balance; and so on. It has taken large amounts of overtime to get up and running and created a lot of stress for the entire department in the last year, particularly for Mary Ellen, Knauer said.

The Techtura representatives reviewed a document detailing the timeline of the project. Matterson recalled that the county began the search with the intention that they wanted to get away from the legacy system and bring their accounting in-house. With this move they have gone from an application-hosted system administered by a company to self-managed. He said that the time given to make the changeover in the system was aggressive. Typically it would take six months to set up and learn, but because of the timing with the county's needs this was done in three months.

The process began in October 2004. The financing portion, which includes payroll, was implemented in December 2004. Program additions and support continued.

Tectura included in their documentation the areas where there were problems and the resolution they attempted, recognizing in hindsight where problems continued with failure to communicate effectively.

They also identified an apparent cause of the interfund imbalances that now hold up the audit. A new computer that was installed and used to make entries did not have certain software loaded on it.

They acknowledged missing in their recommendations a $1,700 software package that was needed by the treasurer's office.

In short, the most urgent problem to resolve at this time is the interfund balances. It is important so that the audit can move forward; the Logan County Health Department can then collect grant funds and the board can have a better understanding of where finances stand.

Tectura has offered to go in and make the changes manually at the direction of the treasurer. They cannot assume accounting responsibility, Matterson was careful to say.

In addition, the company is offering another week's training to the county employees free of charge. The county is also on a "Red Carpet" plan that provides support.

County finance chairman Chuck Ruben said that he had received communication from John Webber at the auditors. They have concluded most of the audit, and it should go fairly quickly once they have the fund balances completed, he said.

Ruben wanted to make it clear that the county's books are balanced, "but within those books are several different funds, and those funds don't all agree."

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