SKANEATELES - The Skaneateles Central School District Business Office will soon become more efficient.

Earlier in the academic year, the Bonadio Group, an outside certified public accountant firm with whom the district contracts as an external auditor, conducted its annual audit of financial records and business practices.

Bonadio auditors issued various policy and procedure recommendations from that process to make the business office more efficient, according to Business Administrator Dale Bates.

On Tuesday, the board of education unanimously adopted a corrective action plan to address those issues and recommendations, and will submit the plan to the state Education Department in the coming days.

The recommendations come in two areas; one in general business and accounting practices and the other in finances that directly deal with students, including class funds and clubs. For general practices, auditors suggested a segregation of duties that effectively create a system of checks and balances, according to the plan.

Under its current setup, the payroll clerk has the responsibility to add new employees to the payroll recordkeeping system as well as maintain compensated absence records and has the ability to add, delete, and make changes to the employee master data files.

Similarly, the accounts payable clerk adds new vendors to the accounts payable record keeping system and maintains the accounts payable records. The clerk has the ability to add, delete and make changes to the vendor master data files.

Auditors recommend the district administration look at its finding and determine if there can be a reallocation of duties. As part of the corrective action plan, the administration will see if any rearranging of duties can occur between the treasurer, payroll clerk and accounts payable clerk as well as other business office staff, the plan states.

But the business office is small, Bates said, and at the moment, the district cannot expand it at this time.

When it comes to student finances, booster clubs are included in that fund. Auditors recommended booster clubs be removed from that area, as they are generally adult-run.

In other news:

The board recognized the achievements of 18 students that garnered honorable mentions and silver and gold keys from the 2008 Citizens Bank Scholastic Art Awards. Garrett McAuliffe, Kirsten Swartz, Matthew Atwater, Brittany Casper, Kara Finch, Megan Geiss, Katherine Hill, Emma Hueber, Marika Klosowski, Maura Lisson, Amy Riehlman, Alyssa Rottger, Lindsay Tarolli and Rachael Wise from the high school and Maura Tierney, Jane Gaffney and Maddie Legg from the middle school will all receive certificates from the board.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or Alyssa.sunkin@lee.net