RALEIGH — The Town of Robbins’ financial management personnel did not fully comply with state provisions from 2021 to 2025, according to a recent Rapid Response Special Report issued by the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor.
The report discovered internal financial weaknesses alongside a forged check totaling $3,570. The Town of Robbins filed a police report on Aug. 20, 2025, upon discovering the forged check.
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) issued eight findings regarding the weaknesses in internal financial controls, alongside recommendations for improvements to be made in future endeavors.
The audit highlights eight errors, including failing to complete required monthly bank reconciliations and engaging a third party to catch up with these reconciliations, not adhering to its own purchasing policies for approving and canceling invoices, as well as improperly shredding voided checks in violation of applicable public records law.
Additionally, the audit found information regarding payee and amounts in the accounts payable register did not match the corresponding issued checks, the town did not issue checks in sequential order and failed to strictly exercise the dual check signer requirement prescribed by law.
The town also did not report and remit outstanding checks more than one year old to the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer as unclaimed property and did not complete annual audits in a timely manner.
The OSA recommended Robbins:
- Perform timely and complete bank reconciliations while also verifying account balance and proper authorization to personnel.
- Approve all invoices and mark them as “paid” to prevent duplication, document and date discovered errors, and implement formal procedures to pursue, document and track overpayments.
- Mark and physically deface voided checks, maintain a chronological file of cleared checks, and ensure all record management policy follows relevant provisions and guidelines.
- Require staff conduct monthly comparisons of internal records against bank statements to ensure matching transactions and implement a two-person review process for the comparisons.
- Require all checks be issued and recorded in numerical order, compare checks to bank statements to identify any missing or improperly issued, and provide check-handling and procedure training to financial staff.
- Determine and document if forgoing the dual-signature requirement under state law is appropriate. If so, implement mitigations that prevent unauthorized disbursements; if not, reinforce the dual-signature requirement.
- Implement recordkeeping and related training to clearly mark voided, reissued or canceled checks, and resolve items more than a year old. Additionally, report uncashed checks at least one year old to the North Carolina Department of the State Treasurer.
- Create an audit completion timeline and require the third-party auditor to provide monthly reports until all audits are issued. Once the issues are provided, a copy should be given to the Local Government Commission in accordance with state law.
The Town confirmed to the OSA that it lacked a finance officer for several years before 2021, resulting in annual audits, bank reconciliation and federal construction projects failing to comply with relevant provisions and guidance. Financial management staff experienced frequent turnover after the current town manager was hired in 2021.
The OSA acknowledged these small-town difficulties but affirmed the importance of maintaining these practices and procedures to reduce risks of errors and fraud.
The Town of Robbins said it would work to implement many of these changes, including:
- Ensuring invoices are marked as “paid” and that a credit memo is received in the future regarding any other use of funds.
- Using a two-person review process.
- Adding an internal control of manual logging and verification of check numbers before being loaded for printing.
- Adhering to state law to ensure dual signatures unless waived in writing.
- Reporting unclaimed property to the state treasurer as required by state law.
“We greatly appreciate the state auditor office’s tenacity, professionalism, and proficiency throughout this investigation,” Town Manager Clint E. Mack said in a response letter. “The town is currently in its best position ever with the most qualified personnel and culture to address all the findings annotated and regain full financial compliance.”
