Columbus –The Village of Venedocia (Van Wert County) saved 87 percent of its traditional audit costs in its first “basic audit,” a new procedure introduced last year by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“A clean operation spending $27,000 in a year doesn’t need to spend $3,200 on an audit,” Yost said. “Basic audits provide accountability while allowing more tax dollars to go toward providing the services the people deserve.”

The village qualified for the basic audit based on having average annual disbursements of $100,000 or less and having no disqualifying audit concerns as defined by Auditor of State bulletins. The 2011-2012 audit released today cost only $410, compared to the prior audit cost of $3,193 —a savings of 87 percent.

The option for a basic audit, an on-site limited review, was introduced by Auditor Yost in September 2012. The following public offices could be eligible: villages, townships, libraries, parks and recreation districts, water and sewer districts, county boards of health, conservancy districts, solid waste districts, regional planning commissions, fire and ambulance districts, cemeteries, agricultural societies and Family & Children First councils, and others case by case.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,600 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Carrie Bartunek
Press Secretary
614-644-1111