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Louisburg auditor: 2022 audit delayed by missing journal entries, staffing and recordkeeping gaps; draft expected within a month
Summary
An external auditor told the Louisburg Town Council that missing journal entries from 2022, incomplete capital-asset records and payroll documentation have delayed the town's audit but that a draft report may be ready within roughly a month.
At a Louisburg Town Council meeting, the town's external auditor said the town's 2022 audit has been delayed by missing journal entries, incomplete capital-asset records and payroll documentation, but that a draft report could be available within about a month.
The auditor said the firm found no evidence of fraud or illegal acts. "There has been no fraud or illegal acts," the auditor said. He detailed several factors that extended the audit timeline, including journal entries for the 2022 fiscal year that were not provided to the auditors until January 2025, capital-asset disposals that required reconciliation and payroll controls that lacked consistent supervisor sign-offs.
The auditor said the town's accounts-receivable reporting still showed more than $1 million in balances that required review. He also said personnel-action forms documenting salary changes and merit or cost-of-living increases were missing in some cases, and that inconsistencies in time-sheet approvals increased the scope of payroll testing. Those issues forced auditors to perform more extensive testing, including across three separate payroll calculations in some pay periods, he said.
The auditor warned the town is subject this year to a federal "single audit" under Uniform Guidance because federal funds (including ARPA-related expenditures) may exceed the threshold that triggers compliance testing. He recommended the town reduce reliance on a single accounts administrator who currently must assemble special reports and suggested the town consider updated accounting software to produce routine reports more reliably.
The auditor said the town has completed most audit areas and that the remaining work is concentrated in capital-asset records and an equipment inventory. He told the council he expects to provide a draft report for review within about a month.
Council members thanked the auditor for the update. No formal vote or final audit acceptance was recorded in the transcript.
