Buncombe County audit director summarizes procurement-card findings, announces departure; committee flags staffing and risk-register work

Rob Sticarcher, Buncombe County's internal audit director, delivered an update to the county audit committee on steps taken after a recent procurement‑card audit and said he has decided to step down from the position. Sticarcher told the committee that several audit recommendations are already moving forward and that he will remain available to support a transition before he leaves.

Sticarcher said the procurement‑card audit produced three primary recommendations: institute more frequent P‑card training, clarify and align the procurement policy and procurement manual on personal purchases, and require written justifications for all P‑card purchases recorded in Workday. On the last point he said finance “sent out a communication to all of our cardholders” and that the change “has been made,” requiring staff to enter a justification field in Workday before a transaction completes.

The committee heard that other audit recommendations are in progress: adding a second layer of approval where only one approver exists in small departments, updating how reimbursement documentation is stored so Workday is the official record, establishing a separate budget line for food purchased for meetings (completed in the last budget cycle), and moving the monthly P‑card transaction review from a purely random sample to a risk‑based sample that targets high‑dollar or high‑risk vendors.

On conflicts of interest, Sticarcher described a planned policy change to clarify what financial activities require disclosure. He said the updated policy will specify that activities creating taxable income must be disclosed and that the county intends to bring the revised policy to the commissioners for formal consideration in the coming months.

Sticarcher also addressed public questions about the audit outcomes. “Let me make very clear that during my time, I did not find any misuse of any of the county's programs that I audited, including the P‑card program,” he said. He added that the findings were about strengthening policy and controls rather than documenting misuse.

Separately, Sticarcher announced his intention to leave the internal audit director role to pursue another opportunity and said he will remain a resident and active community member. He told the committee he will stay in the job through the coming week and offered to meet with an interim or successor to support a handoff. Committee members asked about whether an interim will be named and whether the position has been posted; Sticarcher said he did not know the staffing plan and that those decisions rest with management and human resources.

Committee members and staff used the discussion to press broader staffing and structural concerns. Sticarcher and several commissioners said the internal audit office is understaffed relative to the county’s size and risk exposure. Sticarcher described earlier staffing analyses by a predecessor that estimated a need for seven to eight auditors plus a director (roughly eight to nine positions total). He and committee members discussed options including adding permanent staff, contracting for discrete work (for example, risk‑universe development), or appointing an interim director to preserve institutional knowledge.

Members and staff emphasized next steps: identify who will take on the committee secretary and coordination duties after Sticarcher leaves, determine whether to designate an interim or contract for specific deliverables (such as building an enterprise risk register), and continue finance’s implementation of the procurement recommendations. One committee member said they would inquire about outside help to develop the risk universe and risk register.

Votes recorded during the meeting included approval of the prior meeting minutes and a motion to adjourn. No votes were recorded on staffing changes or policy adoptions during this session.

The audit committee is expected to follow up at its next meeting on interim coverage, the staffing analysis and the status of outstanding procurement‑audit recommendations.