Finance staff report audit prep progress, Questica budgeting rollout and investment planning

Polk County finance staff and consultants reported progress on 2024 audit preparation, the Questica budgeting rollout and early-stage planning for county investments.

A consultant said the 2024 books are in final review and will be submitted to auditors next week; auditors are expected on-site mid- to late August and will contact departments for testing dates. Staff described cleanup work that untangled prior transfers and consolidated documentation, and said the 2024 process will set a new standard for future audits.

Staff also updated the board on Questica budgeting software being rolled out to departments. The software allows multi-year budgeting, attaching documentation to line items, and more contextual reporting for department heads. Staff demonstrated examples showing department views, membership dues entries and personnel projections, and said they will use Questica for 2026 proposed budgets.

On investments, staff reported the board previously approved an investment policy and that staff have met with an investment advisor to begin creating a cash-flow analysis and training for county staff. The goal is to identify liquid funds available for safe, short-term investments to improve returns while safeguarding county cash. Staff said the work will include fixed-asset reconciliation, debt cleanup and clarifying finance-staff responsibilities and cross-training.

The presentation included a request that the board continue to support staffing and process changes to reduce audit costs and improve transparency; no formal action was requested — the report was informational.