Auditors give county an unmodified opinion; committee defers final 2024 audit and fund-balance changes to August

External and county finance staff told the Marathon County Human Resources, Finance and Property Committee that the county's draft 2024 financial statements received an unmodified ("clean") opinion, but officials asked the committee to delay formal acceptance until supplemental schedules and an annual comprehensive financial report are finalized.

The county's administrator, Lance Leonard, and outside auditors from Baker Tilly reviewed the draft statements during the meeting and recommended returning to the committee on Aug. 13 for final acceptance. Leonard said staff will submit the audit in July as required but that the packet contains draft financials while the annual comprehensive financial report is finished.

The clean opinion is the most important takeaway from Baker Tilly's audit work. John, an audit partner with Baker Tilly, told the committee, "we did issue a clean opinion." He also noted the audit incorporated implementation of two new Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards, GASB 100 and GASB 101,…