External auditor issues clean opinion; three findings and management recommendations highlighted

Malden & Jenkins director Will Derses told the Meriwether County Board of Commissioners on July 22 that the county’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, received an unmodified (clean) opinion, while auditors identified three findings and issued four management recommendations. Derses said the county reported roughly $43.5 million in assets offset by approximately $6.0 million in liabilities, producing net position of about $37.4 million; roughly $17.0 million of that is invested in capital assets not available for spending and about $15.0 million was unrestricted net position available to be spent at Sept. 30, 2024. He said total general fund revenues increased about 15% year over year to approximately $21.2 million, with taxes representing about 70% of general fund revenue. Derses summarized the audit: “we issued an unmodified report or a clean opinion for this year, and that means that, in our opinion, the respective financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects.” He told commissioners there were three findings, one of which was a repeat related to segregation of duties affecting the Industrial Development Authority and the Water and Sewer Authority, and others involving an adjustment for land held for development within the IDA and a classification change in the general fund opening balance that required a material adjustment. The report included four management recommendations: timelier deposit practices for probate court cash, adoption of a budget for the Sheriff’s Drug Forfeiture Fund, retention of original invoices for IDA expenditures, and review of accrued vacation balances that exceeded county policy caps for some employees. Derses also noted that county federal expenditures did not exceed the single-audit threshold for the year (under $750,000), so a single-audit was not required for FY2024. Commissioners asked about the repeat segregation-of-duties finding and whether more staff or compensating controls could correct it. Derses and a finance staff member explained that in smaller governments segregation-of-duties is frequently a staffing issue but that process-based controls and digital workflows can mitigate the risk without hiring multiple additional staff.