Grand County auditors give clean opinion but flag budget and deficit fund issues

Larson (audit firm) presented the county’s 2024 external audit to the commission on Sept. 2 and reported an unmodified (clean) audit opinion on the financial statements and no material weaknesses in internal control. The firm also reported an unmodified opinion on specified state compliance requirements and on federal single-audit testing of major programs, with the Airport Improvement Program identified as the largest federal program the county spent in the period.

The auditors told the commission that although the opinion was clean, they identified two matters needing corrective action. First, several departments within the general fund and a few other funds were out of budgetary compliance. The auditors recommended quarterly or monthly budget-to-actual reports to the commission and timely budget amendments so departments remain within appropriation authority.

Second, the debt-service billing-authority fund incurred a deficit balance during the year. Under state requirements, the county must eliminate the deficit either by reducing it by 5% of the fund’s revenue or eradicating it in full; the auditors recommended that the county include a deficit-reduction line item in the 2025 budget to cure the deficit.

The auditors said the county qualified as a low-risk auditee for federal purposes, meaning fewer federal tests in the next audit cycle, and thanked county staff and the finance committee for thorough management responses and timely review. No formal action was taken during the presentation; the auditors asked the commission to note the findings and incorporate corrective steps into routine budget processes.