HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05241988 - 1.32 1-032
TD: BOAR® OF SUPERVJSORS
FROM: DONALD L. BOUCHET,. AUDITOR-CONTROLLER Cwtra
By: Kenneth J. Corcoran,
Assistant Accounting Manager
DATE: May 4, 1988 Coirty
SUBJECT.: WRITE-OFF OF DELINQUENT GENERAL ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
I . RECOMMENDED ACTION
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors authorize the write-off
of delinquent accounts receivable in the amount of $6,577.52. This
includes.-the month of January through April , 1988.
II . FINANCIAL IMPACT
In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the County
maintains a 'Reserve for Bad Debt accounts. Delinquent and uncollectible
accounts receivable are charged against this reserve account when they
are written-off. As a result, there will be no financial impact on
current year revenue if this write-off is authorized.
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III. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
Approval of the recommended action will allow approximately 69 delinquent
accounts to be written-off and purged from the file of active accounts.
This will reduce computer processing time and will allow, more effort and
concentration to be focused on the collection of current accounts.
The reasons for. write-off recommendation can be..summarized"�as-.follows::,:
A. DETERMINED UNCOLLECTIBLE BY ORIGINATING `DEPARTMENT - $1 ,541 .63
These are accounts where the County department which originated the
billing has determined that the account should be written-off. The
main Ireason for this write-off recommendation is that the billing
statements are undeliverable by the post office and efforts to identify
the current location of the debtor are unsuccessful .
B. DETERMINED TO BE IN THE COUNTY'S' BEST INTEREST - $13.00
These are accounts where it has been determined: (primarily by
County Counsel ) not to be in the County's best interest to pursue.
i
CONT'I NUED .ON, ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: .
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR 'RECOMMENDATION OF OARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE S : _
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED � OTHER
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VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS 1S A TRUE
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS .ON ATTESTED MAY 2 4 THE DATE SHOWN.
198$
cc: County Administrator, _..__.__.......__
Auditor-Controller PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
,DEPUTY
M382/7-83 BY... ., -
�► - -2-
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
SUBJECT: Write-off of Delinquent General Accounts Receivable
C. BANKRUPTCY - $642.63
These are accounts where an order from the bankruptcy court requires
the County to .wri.te-off the account.
D. DETERMINED UNCOLLECTIBLE BY COLLECTION AGENCY - $2,172.62
These are accounts where, the County's outside collection agency
has returned them as uncollectible. This recommendation by the
collection agency is for various reasons, the most common including
that the debtor has "skipped" or has filed bankruptcy.
E. SMALL CLAIMS JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT - $2,228.98
These are accounts where the County has taken the debtor to Small
Claims Court, and all , or a portion of, the account has been ruled
in favor of the defendant.
F. BALANCE $10.00 OR LESS - ($21 .34)
Delinquent accounts with balances of $10.00 or less are recommended
for write-off because further collection efforts cannot be justified
on a cost-benefit analysis. This also includes accounts with credit
balances of $10 or less, which have been written-off rather than
refunded due to cost and inability to locate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Many County departments request the Auditor' s Office to bill for services
they have provided. This billing is accomplished through the General
Accounts receivable system. After three invoices have been sent out
with no response, additional collection efforts including court action
and assignment to a .collection agency, are initiated. For the reasons
noted in Section III , it is periodically necessary to formally write-
off certain accounts. Historically, authorization to write-off these
accounts has been done either quarterly or semi-annually.
It should be noted that the Board's authorization to write-off accounts
only. relieves the department originating the claim from further collection
efforts. The Board's action does not relieve "the delinquent debtor from
responsibility for,the debt. Therefore, the account may be reinstated
at any time if conditions with the debtor change.
V. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION
If the recommended action is not taken there will be a slight increase
in monthly General Accounts Receivable processing costs. Also, leaving
these accounts on the file will cause some decrease in clerical efficiency.