WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – After reviewing the Battleship North Carolina’s financial processes, an accounting firm has recommended more than a dozen changes to address internal issues plaguing the ship for years.
The review comes after the state auditor’s office found more than $2 million in financial reporting errors in September. The report found the mistakes could increase the risk of fraud, and that ship management “did not have adequate internal controls, including review procedures, to ensure accurate financial reporting.”
In a letter to State Auditor Dave Boliek on August 19, Jay Martin, the Executive Director of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial and Battleship Commission, wrote the Commission agreed with the findings and recommendations made by the audit, and “is taking prompt corrective action to strengthen internal controls”.
During a finance and audit committee meeting Wednesday, Martin said he noticed financial reporting issues before and after taking over in 2024. He said most of the issues outlined in the audit were addressed before September, with some problems still outstanding.
On Wednesday, Martin said the situation created an opportunity to overhaul how the battleship handles money.
“We decided that one of the most important things we could do and learn from this process was to move forward, and bring in outside help who would support us,” Martin said.
The accounting firm found the battleship’s system relies too much on just one or two people and uses physical paper instead of digital automation. The report called their systems disconnected and inadequate for financial reporting today.
The accounting firm, Cherry Bekaert, made 13 recommendations, finding the Battleship’s current accounting environment relies heavily on single-person reporting, physical paper instead of digital automation and disconnected systems.
“The system, as currently configured and used, is inadequate for efficient scaling or modern-day financial reporting,” a summary of the presentation reads.
Recommendations for Battleship leadership included:
- Assigning a backup admin for system access changes, instead of just relying on one person
- The executive director, or another staff member, should perform periodic reviews of system access
- There should be quarterly reviews of user access lists for all systems, instead of just periodic ones
- The Battleship should set a dollar threshold to trigger cash pickups
- More than one staff member should verify deposits
- Monthly reconciliations should be performed over restricted cash balances
- Accounting should get a complete, detailed booking packet with deposits when booking an event
- Staff should create a detailed ledger for each restricted fund
- The Battleship should store all commission votes and donor letters in a searchable, indexed library
- There should be more training available on restricted/unrestricted funding sources
Martin said the battleship is also looking at upgrading internal software and realigning positions.
“We’re in the process of totally remaking the organization, administratively, almost in every aspect of how it worked,” Martin said.
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