An audit released Tuesday revealed Old Mill - the county's No. 1 cash cow for links courses - registered simultaneous overages and shortages in financial receipts during its 2004 peak season.

The sloppy bookkeeping - 48 sleeves of golf balls were unaccounted for - was blamed largely on employee error and the lack of a "robust" point-of-sale system.

In the same financial review, Internal Audit Director Jim Wightman cited a potential for identity theft at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex and Steiner Aquatic Center near the University of Utah. The audit suggests a third-party processor should be used for payments to help ensure the safety of credit-card transactions.

According to the report, budget constraints led to the inadequate technical systems. But Wightman told the County Council the shortfalls should not be ignored.

"There has been a lukewarm reaction to what I consider a very critical problem," Wightman warned.

Yet interest on the council appeared mild.

"This seems to be on the order of being a little bit sloppy as opposed to some big, heinous problem," Councilman Mark Crockett said.

Even so, Crockett offered to examine the county's financial commitment - currently operating on a $2 million annual subsidy - to golf.

The Old Mill audit focused on May 1 to Aug. 31, when overages or shortages exceeded 00 on 28 out of 121 days.

The inconsistency makes it difficult to detect embezzlement and determine if receipts are being recorded, the report concludes.

It also calls on the county's Parks and Recreation Division to place renewed emphasis on instructing employees how to handle cash and account for inventory.

djensen@sltrib.com