Jackson County receives clean audit for fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2024

Cody Mitchell, CPA, the audit manager for the firm conducting Jackson County’s 2024 audit, told the Board of Commissioners that the auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the county’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024 — commonly described as a “clean” audit.

Mitchell said the audit team “noted no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls” and found “no matters of noncompliance” under Government Auditing Standards. He also said the single-audit work on federal funds — which this year included WIC and COVID-related programs — produced no findings and no deficiencies.

The auditors noted several large year-to-year variances to explain. Capital assets rose by more than $16 million because of multiple projects, Mitchell said, naming the Virgie project and HVAC and road projects as major contributors. Deferred outflows decreased by about $12 million as pension-related future costs declined; net pension and OPEB liabilities also decreased, driven mainly by OPEB, the auditors said.

Hannah Beddinghaus, audit staff, summarized enterprise- and fund-level trends: “revenues have stayed pretty consistent over the past 3 years with expenses pretty much consistently increasing,” and the principal increases from 2023 to 2024 were related to pension and OPEB expense. Beddinghaus flagged the medical care facility as a business-type activity that showed a swing from income to loss in 2024 and advised the county to consult the facility’s separate auditors for further detail.

Board members questioned several slides during the presentation. Commissioners asked whether increases in net position were driven by capital investments; Mitchell and Beddinghaus confirmed that net investment in capital assets — buildings, infrastructure and equipment — accounted for most of the change. Commissioners also questioned a delinquent tax revolving fund slide that appeared to show near-zero activity; auditors acknowledged a data-entry error on the slide and said the underlying financial statements show the fund remained “pretty much flat” year over year at about $2–3 million.

On audit reporting and process, Mitchell said the firm implemented recent Governmental Accounting Standards Board guidance during the audit (GASB statements related to accounting changes and recognition of compensated absences) and reported no disagreements or difficulties with management. Beddinghaus said the county’s fund-balance ratio exceeded the Government Finance Officers Association recommended range, noting the county’s general fund balance represented roughly 28% of annual general fund revenues, above the typical 15–20% target.

The auditors said they had no management-letter comments this year; Mitchell confirmed there were no suggestions requiring a formal management letter. Commissioners responded with thanks to the finance team and the auditors for the work.

The presentation concluded with auditors offering to provide page references in the full financial statements for commissioners who requested them and recommending the county consult the medical care facility’s auditors on that facility’s larger, business-type activity swings.