Supervisors demand corrective action after UHY audit finds pre-2023 record and control gaps

Northumberland County, Virginia — The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 23 received an audit and recommendations from UHY advisors that identified weak record retention, limited segregation of duties, and procurement control failures affecting county and school finances for fiscal years 2019–2023. The board voted to require a corrective action plan and approved new directions on grant notifications and paying overspent category charges.

The audit, presented by Jack Regan and a colleague identified in the presentation as Heather, covered payroll, time and attendance, procurement, accounts payable, purchasing-card activity, treasury and revenue management and the schools’ grant accounting from 2019 through 2023. "There is a gulf… a difference between stuff we found pre fiscal year '23 and post fiscal year '23," Jack Regan said, citing improved documentation and processes beginning in fiscal 2023.

Why it matters: The auditors told the board that missing or disorganized documentation for earlier years limited their ability to test transactions and reach firm conclusions about whether improper activity occurred. Regan said the firm "could not conclude one way or the other" on allegations of fraud, waste or abuse because supporting records for 2019–2022 were incomplete or not located. The board directed immediate follow-up steps to reduce future operational and…