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Columbia County finance manager explains budget, funds and audit process
Summary
Finance manager Angie Russell described the county finance office’s duties — payroll and vendor payments, management of 55 funds including SPLOST and enterprise water/sewer funds, and internal and external audit schedules — in a county public-relations video.
Angie Russell, Columbia County finance manager, outlined the finance department’s responsibilities and processes in a county public-relations video, saying the office handles payroll and vendor payments, oversees 55 separate county funds, monitors enterprise utilities and leads the county’s audit and financial reporting work.
Russell told Cassidy Harris, public relations manager, “We are a relatively small office. We have 10 total employees, including our director, Miss Reese.” She said the office “process[es] all payroll here. We also process all invoices for vendor payments here. And we also process revenue that is collected by the various departments within the county.”
Russell said the department helps county administration prepare the annual budget and presents a balanced budget to the county commission for a vote in June. “We have a total of 55 funds within the county,” she said, and added that “the general fund is our largest fund. It supports the daily operations of the county, such as roads and bridges, all your recreation services.”
On capital and project funds, Russell said the county currently manages three active SPLOST funds and two bond funds and also maintains a TAVT fund and other project funds. She said the finance office meets monthly with project managers “to make sure we stay on track, make sure everything is accounted for and properly recorded.”
Russell described water and sewer as an enterprise fund that bills customers and manages collections independently, while the finance office monitors its budget. She also outlined the department’s audit work: “We have both internal auditors and external auditors. Our external auditors are annual. They come every year. Our internal auditors are different departments around a 3 year rotation.” She said external audit preparation begins in July or August and is typically completed by December.
Russell said the department prepares the county’s annual financial statements and a popular financial report and told viewers the county has received recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association for its financial reporting for more than 20 years. “They are issued through GFOA,” she said.
The video is part of a county information series; viewers interested in the county’s reports can find them online at ColumbiaCountyGA.gov under Government > Reports, the host said.
