Audit Report on the New York Public Library’s Controls over Its Financial and Operating Practices

Audit Report on the New York Public Library’s Controls over Its Financial and Operating Practices

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of the audit was to determine the adequacy of the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) internal controls over its financial and operating activities and its compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. The NYPL is one of three separate library systems serving the City of New York.¹ The NYPL has a combination of 87 neighborhood branches and four research centers throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. It operates as a private, not-for-profit corporation, and is governed by a Board of Trustees, which includes as ex officio members, the Mayor, the Comptroller, and the Speaker of the City Council. According to funding reports prepared by the City’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), total City appropriations for the NYPL for Fiscal Year 2014 were $108,381,279. In addition, the NYPL received $21,144,174 in State funds, $840,781 in Federal funds, and $35,765,378 in private donations.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

The NYPL has adequate controls over its financial and operating activities through the use of various levels of oversight and review.Specifically, the audit found NYPL established and followed clearly defined policies and procedures for its operations.The audit also found that City, State, and federal funds received by the NYPL, as well as fines and fees collected and sampled private donations, were properly recorded in the general ledger.Finally, expenditures were properly supported and charged to the appropriate fiscal year, appeared to be for appropriate business purposes, and contained the required approvals.

Because we found no material weaknesses in the NYPL’s internal controls over its financial and operating activities, we make no recommendations in this report.NYPL officials did not have any additional information or comments to add in their response to our draft report.