Liberty County auditors issue clean opinion on FY2024 financial statements

Liberty County, Texas — Auditors from Patillo, Brown & Hill, LLP told the Liberty County Commissioners Court on Aug. 12 that the county's fiscal year 2024 financial statements received an unmodified (clean) opinion and the single-audit review disclosed no instances of material noncompliance.

Cameron Aaron, audit supervisor with Patillo, Brown & Hill, said the firm's independent auditors' report states, "in our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly in all material respects" the county's position as of Sept. 30, 2024. He also told the court the single-audit procedures for federal and state awards disclosed "no instances of noncompliance" and the firm found "no internal control deficiencies, no material weaknesses." Aaron added the audit included separate testing of federal and state award schedules and related programs.

The audit package provided to the court includes: the audited financial statements, a separate single-audit report, and a written communication letter from the auditors. Aaron noted an emphasis-of-matter paragraph describing adoption of GASB Statement No. 100 (Accounting Changes and Error Corrections) but said the change's implementation was not problematic for the county.

Why it matters: A clean opinion indicates the auditors did not identify material misstatements in the basic financial statements, a standard benchmark for public-sector financial reporting. Aaron told commissioners the county's general fund ended the year with about $25,000,000 in fund balance. He compared that to a rough annual general-fund expenditure figure of $56,600,000 and said that equates to roughly five months of operating reserves under current spending levels.

The auditors' single-audit work covered federal and state grant programs the county expended above testing thresholds. Aaron said the county's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) had roughly $2,600,000 remaining that was spent during the audit period and that the firm tested both federal awards and state programs (including funds associated with Senate Bill 22 for rural law enforcement) without finding reportable issues.

The auditors also provided a communication letter describing the auditors' responsibilities and management's responsibilities, and Aaron said the firm will follow up on routine internal-control suggestions. "We will continue to mention those little things to whoever we come in contact with," Aaron said, citing small operational improvements such as securing cash drawers and safes.

The presentation concluded with no formal vote; the audit documents were provided to the court for the record and for management follow-up as appropriate.