County auditor gives Patrick County an unmodified opinion, reports three noncompliance findings

Scott Wickham, partner in charge of the county audit at Robertson Farmer Cox Associates, presented the county's fiscal year 2024 audit to the Patrick County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 1 and said the auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements.

Wickham told the board the independent auditor's report concluded the financial numbers in the report are materially correct. He described a management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) section that compares prior-year data with current-year activity and highlighted multi-year trends showing growth in assets and a reduction in liabilities.

Wickham said the auditors reported three findings:

- A compliance finding involving records for CSA (Court Services Act) testing; auditors encountered a staff transition and could not locate requested documentation for some testing periods.

- A federal compliance finding related to the school board and Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage requirements: the auditors did not find documentation from the contractor that demonstrated compliance with prevailing-wage rules for selected contracts.

- ARPA reporting inaccuracies: audit testing found timing differences in ARPA reports submitted through the required portal; totals were accurate in aggregate but not accurate for the reporting deadlines, which triggered a finding that the county intends to correct in the final report.

Wickham said the county received a separate management letter containing nonmaterial recommendations and urged consideration of integrated software between the treasurer and county administration to provide real-time collection activity and better five-year trend information.

On fiscal condition, Wickham showed the auditors' five-year trends: assets grew about 3.5% annually, liabilities decreased about 4.5% annually, and net position rose about 20% per year over the period presented. He also pointed to increases in general-fund revenues (about 10% growth per year) and cautioned county leaders that some growth was federal-grant driven (ARPA) and could slow.

Wickham explained pension and VRS liabilities are actuarial estimates and described forthcoming accounting standards (Statements 101 and 103) that will change certain financial reporting but not day-to-day operations.

Board members asked questions and Wickham said the audit process went well overall and that the findings are correctable. The audit material was filed and presented; no formal board action on the audit opinion was recorded in the meeting minutes beyond the presentation.