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Independent audit gives Burke County unmodified opinion; auditors urge procedural tweaks
Summary
Thompson Price, Scott Adams & Co. presented Burke County’s fiscal year 2023–24 audit and issued an unmodified opinion. The auditor highlighted stronger fund balance and falling long-term debt, but recommended improved secondary review controls, corrections to overtime approvals and tighter ACH authorization controls.
Allen Thompson, CPA with Thompson Price, Scott Adams & Company, presented Burke County’s fiscal year 2023–24 audit to the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 17 and said the firm issued an unmodified ("clean") opinion on the county’s financial statements.
Thompson summarized key takeaways: no uncorrected misstatements; no disagreements with management; no difficulties encountered in performing the audit. He reported the county’s general fund balance increased to about $41.0 million, compared with $26.8 million five years earlier, while certain debt totals fell (auditor-provided figures showed debt declining from about $60.3 million five years earlier to $38.4 million). Thompson said those trends reflected healthy fiscal management.
The audit included recommendations and findings. Walkthroughs identified secondary review processes lacking in planning, inspections and environmental health; Thompson said departments had responded and corrective actions were underway. Testing of overtime revealed two sampled employees without proper sign-offs and the EMS department lacked secondary approvals for timesheets; the auditor said those items have been corrected. The report also recommended a secondary authorizer for manually entered ACH transactions.
Thompson noted an upcoming accounting standard change (the presenter referred to a new standard described as "101") that will require accrual of compensated absences on government-wide statements and could increase liabilities on balance sheets, and he advised the county to prepare for that change.
The commissioners voted to accept the audit report as presented, 5–0.
Why it matters: an unmodified opinion affirms that the county’s financial statements present fairly in accordance with accounting standards. The auditor’s internal-control recommendations are procedural and require action by county departments to reduce operational risk.
