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Bay County auditors issue clean opinion on 2024 financial statements
Summary
Independent auditors presented Bay County's 2024 audit, reporting an unmodified (clean) opinion, steady fund balances and pension overfunding; commissioners voted to receive the report.
Doug Dieter, the principal in charge of Raymond's audit engagement, told the Bay County Board of Commissioners on July 15 that the firm issued an unmodified opinion on the county's 2024 financial statements.
Dieter said the county's general fund reported total assets of about $30,556,000, led by roughly $20.6 million in cash and investments, and a year-end fund balance of $23.5 million. He told commissioners property tax receipts increased versus budget and that total county revenues were about $45.2 million for 2024. "We issued what's called an unmodified opinion. This means the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with accounting principles," Dieter said.
The auditor reviewed pension and retiree health plans and reported strong investment returns. Dieter said the pension trust showed roughly $426.7 million in net position and that the plan was overfunded by about $41 million based on the 12/31/2023 actuarial liability. He also said the retiree health (VEBA) trust held nearly $104 million and is about 92% funded, with a net OPEB liability of about $6.06 million.
Dieter told the board the county was subject to a federal single audit because it spent more than the federal threshold on awards; auditors tested two major programs (ARPA/coronavirus state and local recovery funds and Title IV-D child support enforcement) and issued an unmodified compliance opinion. He reported one single-audit finding related to an incorrectly filed ARPA quarterly expenditure report that was corrected in a subsequent filing, and a separate internal-control suggestion for the Bay County Library finance unit to ensure journal entries have evidence of review.
Commissioners asked a small number of clarifying questions and thanked county staff and the audit team for meeting the audit deadline. A motion to receive the audit report passed on a voice vote.
The presentation also noted upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) changes that will affect disclosures in future reports. Dieter said the county implemented GASB 101 during the year, which required additional effort to account for accrued sick and vacation liabilities across many employment contracts.
The board voted to receive the audit report.
