DALTON, Mass. — With the increased complexity of managing accounting operations and mandated compliance tasks, town officials are mulling if hiring a third-party accounting service would be fruitful. 

 

Town Manager Eric Anderson informed the Select Board on Monday that the town is about two years behind on financial reconciliations and related reporting.

 

Anderson will continue exploring third-party accounting services and will present cost estimates to the Select Board, which will then decide whether to proceed with hiring.

 

He highlighted several of the steps in reconciling the town's accounts, including reconciling bank account activity with the tax collector's receipts, aligning outgoing expenses and bills with the ledger, and reconciling the town accountant's books to the town treasurer's records. 

 

"We're doing most of the process. We're just not closing it out and frankly, I honestly think at this point, we don't have the manpower in that office to do that system," he said. 

 

Further delaying the process is the town's outdated accounting software that requires staff to duplicate efforts, because not everybody's on the same system. 

 

"That's part of the reasons why I'm pushing, eventually for technological solutions, and I want to get payroll under control, because we're just spending too many labor hours doing simple things," Anderson told the board.