Kennett Township received its first clean audit since a former township manager’s embezzlement of more than $3.2 million was discovered.
“We have been on a multi-year journey to recover from the fraud for which Lisa Moore, former township manager, pled guilty to multiple felonies and served time in jail,” Kennett Township Treasurer and Finance Director Amy Heinrich wrote in a memo to the supervisors. “2023 is the first year we have achieved a completely clean audit opinion.”
“Getting 100 percent clean has really been a five-year goal,” Heinrich said at Wednesday’s supervisors’ meeting.
Chris Herr with Maillie LLP, the independent accounting firm doing the township’s audits since the embezzlement discovery, called the finding a new one for Kennett Township.
“This is what we’ve been striving to get to for the last five years,” he said. “We’re finally there with a clean GASB.”
GASB refers to the Government Accounting Standards Board standards. Heinrich described it as “an important best practice for municipalities.” It was something that the township began adopting with the 2022 financials, she said.
“GASB standards are much more comprehensive than the minimum DCED requirements,” she said.
Supervisors’ Vice Chairman Richard Leff said it was nice to see the progress.
The 2019 audit, the first since discovering the embezzlement, included eight material weaknesses – such as the interfund and fund balances, the investigation into Moore’s embezzlement, tracking of escrow, and approved salaries – as well as three other recommendations. The 2020 audit featured two material weaknesses – escrow tracking and Moore’s investigation – and two other recommendations.
By the 2021 audit, escrow accounting was the only material weakness, and no other recommendations were made. According to previous years ' audit presentations, the 2022 audit had no material weaknesses and no other recommendations and received an adverse opinion because it was transitioning to the GASB standards.
About Monica Fragale
Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.
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