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LaSalle County board places 2024 financial audit on file after auditor cites repeated oversight and grant-tracking weaknesses
Summary
Mac and Associates presented LaSalle County's 2024 audit, reporting a larger year-end net position, federal single-audit findings related to ARPA spending, and several repeat internal-control weaknesses; the county board voted to place the audit on file for review.
The LaSalle County Board on May 8 received the county's 2024 financial audit from Mac and Associates and voted to place the audit on file for review.
The audit shows the county's total assets increased to about $189,000,000 in 2024 from $180,000,000 in 2023 and reports a higher net position at year end (reported in the audit as $63,100,000 for 2024 versus $44,900,000 in 2023). Auditor Tanya Mac told the board the first three pages are the audit opinion and the subsequent pages contain detailed financial statements and schedules.
Mac said the report includes both government-wide statements (which incorporate capital assets and pension obligations) and fund statements that county leaders commonly review. The audit noted a general fund balance of $93,077,000 at year end and identified the nursing home's net position as about $4,500,000 in 2024.
Mac also reviewed federal award spending and single-audit results. The audit identifies the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as the major federal program for 2024, with $9,400,000 expended, and lists total federal dollars spent at about $10,400,000. The report cites repeated findings and recommendations in several areas, including financial oversight, preparation of financial statements and accruals, significant audit adjustments, grant tracking and reporting, self-insurance trust accounting, and segregation of duties at the nursing home.
On the meaning of the audit opinion, Mac said an unmodified opinion is a "clean opinion" but cautioned that the opinion does not eliminate the need to correct the findings listed in the report. "If we were to qualify our audit opinion, it basically means that we are not able to issue a clean opinion because of these items that we're qualifying to," she said.
Board members asked clarifying questions about higher miscellaneous nonoperating revenues and specific nursing-home results; Mac said miscellaneous could include reimbursements or one-time proceeds such as asset sales or insurance recoveries and offered to investigate specific line items. She also told the board that several prior-year findings remain but that some items have been resolved, including corrected investment valuations and several other previously reported issues.
After discussion, the board voted to place the 2024 LaSalle County financial audit on file for review. The motion was made by Mister Emmett, seconded by Mister Gadsden, and carried by voice and roll call vote.
The auditor and the board said steps remain to implement corrective action plans, with responsibility shared among management, the auditor's office, and the finance committee to strengthen policies, oversight, and monthly accounting processes.
What the board will do next is to develop and track corrective action plans for the repeat findings and ensure timely filing of federal and state reports; the auditor said she expects outstanding 2024 filings to be completed in the coming weeks.
