County auditor presents clean opinion on 2024 financials; commissioners acknowledge report

Shawnee County commissioners acknowledged receipt of the 2024 audited financial statements and single-audit report after an external auditor delivered a summary on Sept. 29.

Jennifer Sauer, financial administrator, introduced Jacob Holman, the external auditor who led the audit. Holman told commissioners the audit team issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the county’s financial statements and found no material audit adjustments.

Holman said the county received about $16 million in federal funds during the period; the firm performed a control-based single-audit and tested the Coronavirus Relief Fund as a major program. He reported no control-related findings that required reporting to the federal clearinghouse. He also advised the commission that two new Governmental Accounting Standards Board statements were adopted in the period — GASB 101 on compensated absences and GASB 100 on accounting changes and error corrections — and described modest presentation changes tied to those adoptions.

Holman said auditors had focused on several significant estimates, including depreciable lives of capital assets, property tax collections, actuarial assumptions for pension and post-retirement healthcare liabilities, and accruals for health and workers' compensation costs; the auditors were comfortable with management’s estimates. He thanked management and department staff for their cooperation during the audit.

Commissioner Kevin Cook moved to acknowledge receipt of the audit reports; Commissioner Bill Rippon seconded. The motion passed, 3-0.

No formal audit findings, control exceptions requiring federal reporting, or significant disagreements with management were disclosed during the presentation.