The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-09
BOOKKEEPING
 METHODS ARE
 HIT OR MISS"
Expert So Characterizes Ac. counts of Board of
 Education

Bookkeeping methods of the Board of Education were described in the report of Cavanagh and Iffla, certi- fled public accountants, made public at a meeting of the Board of Educa. tion last night, as lacking in orderly businesslike methods and as being conducted on :; Init or miss. principle. I No disclosure of graft" imsappro- priation or wilful negligence in con nection with the books of the board were made.
 | On motion of Samuel B. Plotlzin, member of the board, and unanimous i ly carried, the. report of the account ants was made public. The abstract of this report follows:
 We found a thorough lack of or derly inessliize methods existing in this department, and apparently no knowledge of the purpose the only one book of account in use was meant to serve No account is kept with the budget except on loose sheets of pa per. An attempt at keeping an ac- l count for the expenditures of each 1 school is made but more on the Init l or miss principle.
 | ftIt was our intention upon starting this work to analyze the expendi- | lures of the department by summariz- l ing the accounts with each school
 
 time in completing our investigation 1 This we found impossible however, as l the account with the High school, the first in the book showed seven out of | twelve months in which the footings | of the analysis column did not agree with the total, and a pay roll amount ing to $12,50S.83 not extended. ':As a further evidence of the loose methods employed, two statements r. T z k1,1 A |, were different, one showing a. deficit of $11, 1,414.77 for the year, and the other no balance or deficit.
 ''No detailed pay roll showing | amounts paid to regular teachers is l kept. Instead a card is kept for each teacher covering a period of a year and in order to check a pay roll it is l necessary to list the amount for that particular pay roll from each teach i CTS card. All pay rolls should show the names and amounts paid to each 1 teacher. Also, a record of absentees 1 and substitutes employed in their stead.
 "In checking the substitutes pay roll we found that some were paid fo1 i three (3) sessions in one CD day 1 Upon inquiry. as to how this was pos. sible, we were handed a list of forty l seven N4GJ lOdCHeIS III part I1IIe classes who teach from to 12 a. m. one session, and were informed they were paid for a full day of two CD sessions. Substitutes in their absence being paid on the same basis. If they ubstituted for another teacher in the afternoon, they were also paid for thai session.
 'tThe salaries of the regular janf- tors are recorded properly on the pay roll hook, showing names, school: and amounts paid. To each pay ro1 $500 without any names Or itemizet amounts There are, however, addi tional vouchers put through whicl , more than cover these items. Thest vouchers are for pay roll for extr, l janitors, scrubwomen, and for ser vices of regular janitors in caring fo portable houses.
 John B. Wynkoop, assistant secre tary of the board, explained the audi tors figures at last nights meetin and stated in this explanation that tn boards commercial procedure wa not as anaemic as it might seem, Sec nation of the report with a statemen . that the present system of account 7 had not had fair trial and urged it continuation.
 MT. Wynkoop, in a postscript t his report accused the public accoun tants of having made two errors i
 their report, amounting together t approximately $2,700.