Lee County finance committee accepts clean audit, moves report to full board

The Lee County Finance Committee accepted the county's fiscal 2024 audit and voted to forward the audit and related communications to the county board's executive committee for final acceptance.

Auditor Josh, a senior manager with Wipfli, told the committee the firm issued a clean, unmodified independent auditor's opinion on the county's financial statements and clean opinions on internal control and compliance under Government Auditing Standards (the Yellow Book) and on federal single-audit requirements. "No findings," he said about the audits. "Everything's clean."

The audit presentation highlighted several matters of note for the committee: the county expended $5,400,000 in federal awards for fiscal 2024, which required a single-audit test because it exceeded the $750,000 threshold; the state and local fiscal recovery funds (ARPA) were selected as the major federal program this year ($3,100,000 tested); and the Reagan Mass Transit District operations were reported as a county fund for seven months because its transfer to a separate entity occurred July 1, 2024.

Josh said the county had no audit findings for the county, the circuit clerk, or the federal compliance testing. He told the committee the IMRF net pension liability decreased from $5,600,000 to $2,700,000 and that the county's cash balances were fully collateralized as of Nov. 30, 2024. He also noted net investment income of $6,800,000 for fiscal 2024 and explained that pension numbers are reported on a lag.

Committee members asked about off-book accounts and an accounting reclassification recorded this year under GASB 100. Josh described off-book accounts as bank accounts not processed through the county's primary accounting controls and classified his comments as business advice rather than audit findings. Reid explained the reclassification involved accrued compensated absences and the presentation difference between fund financial statements and government-wide statements.

After the presentation, the committee voted to accept the audit and to move the audit package and required-communications letter to the executive committee for the county board. The committee recorded the motion and vote: motion to accept and forward moved by Tim Bivens, seconded by Jennifer Dallas; motion carried.

The finance committee also approved routine monthly financial reports and the quarterly report during the meeting.

The county will receive copies of the separate Reagan Mass Transit District audit addressed to that board; future single-audit needs will depend on next year's total federal expenditures and the anticipated increase in the single-audit threshold to $1,000,000 (effective date not specified).