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Audit committee cites two findings, asks financial managers to cost full consolidation and Kronos surge
Summary
Sumner County audit committee reviewed two audit findings including late year-end close and fixed-asset records, discussed consolidation options under competing acts ('81 and 2012), and unanimously asked financial management to cost a capital project to accelerate Kronos implementation and countywide purchase-order consolidation.
Sumner County’s audit committee reviewed this year’s audit findings and unanimously asked county financial managers to price out a capital-funded surge to complete Kronos timekeeping implementation and consolidation of purchase orders across departments.
The committee focused on two audit items. “Item b is actually the audit findings, and this year, you had 2 audit findings,” Finance Director Mr. Long said. He identified a failure to close the county’s books within 60 days of fiscal year end and problems completing fixed-asset entries as the principal open items.
The committee chair and members discussed a long-running policy question about full financial consolidation. Mr. Long said the state comptroller’s office considers “full consolidation is best practice,” and committee members repeatedly contrasted the county’s private Financial Management Act of 1981 (the '81 act) with the later 2012 public act and a 2019 amendment that changed school participation and timing.
Commissioners and staff debated implementation steps, resources and limits of the audit committee’s authority. One commissioner asked whether the county had made progress on bringing the highway department’s purchase orders into the county system; Mr. Long and others said progress had been hampered by competing priorities and staff capacity. “If we want this to go faster, you would need more personnel in the finance department,” one committee member said.
After discussion, a commissioner moved that the finance department prepare a modular project estimate showing the cost to surge-implement Kronos and consolidate purchase orders — for example as one-year and two-year capital project options — and return to the county with a timeline. The mover modified the request to ask the financial management committee to coordinate the work. The committee voted and the motion passed unanimously.
The committee also debated whether it has authority to direct other offices or only to shine a light and make recommendations. Members agreed to route the request to the financial management committee so that the budget committee and finance staff could develop cost estimates and policies for possible adoption.
Background: audit materials in the packet show historically higher numbers of findings (21 in an earlier year) and a substantial reduction over time; this year’s two findings contrast with several prior years of fewer or no findings. The long-running consolidation discussion has a complex history in Sumner County, with prior attempts to centralize purchasing and timekeeping interrupted by policy choices and a 2019 amendment that excluded schools from the public 2012 act.
The committee set a target for staff to produce the cost-and-timeline estimates after the current budget work is complete, with staff suggesting a January return for a detailed project plan if the budget cycle permits.
