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County auditor delivers clean opinion; fund balance remains strong, auditor flags minor reclassifications
Summary
External auditor Allen Thompson reported an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for Craven County, highlighted a strong general fund balance and noted minor classification recommendations and upcoming changes to audit deadlines and GASB pronouncements.
Allen Thompson, the county’s external auditor, presented the annual audit to the Craven County Board of Commissioners and said the audit received an unmodified—commonly called a “clean”—opinion.
Thompson summarized key fiscal figures from the audited financial statements: total general fund balance of about $65.5 million; an available fund balance of roughly $50.5 million; restricted fund balance near $15.0 million; total general fund expenditures of about $146 million; and a property-tax collection rate of 99.35 percent.
Thompson told commissioners there were no difficulties encountered during the audit, no uncorrected misstatements and no disagreements with management. He noted a few items for attention that did not rise to the level of audit findings, including some miscellaneous revenue reclassifications and HIPAA policy handling during testing. He also explained recent Local Government Commission timing changes: audits for fiscal year ends through June 30, 2025 are due by Dec. 31, 2025.
Commissioners asked about where school resource officers (SROs) appear in the budget; Thompson said SROs are recorded under public safety even though they also provide benefits to education, and one commissioner observed the county spends about $1 million to $2 million on SROs.
Thompson said certain GASB pronouncements and reporting refinements (for example, treatment of compensated absences and ARPA funds) are changing financial-statement presentation but did not indicate any adverse audit conclusions.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Thompson and county staff for the audit work and for maintaining a sizable fund balance; no board action was required beyond receiving the report.
