Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Financial Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
External audit: Sandoval County receives unmodified opinion for FY24; no current-year findings
Summary
The county’s FY2024 financial audit received an unmodified (clean) opinion, auditors reported no current‑year findings and said federal single-audit testing produced no exceptions; auditors noted the statewide PERA unfunded liability but said that is outside the county’s control.
Sandoval County’s fiscal year 2024 audit was presented to the Board of County Commissioners and auditors reported an unmodified opinion for both the financial statements and the federal single-audit, with no findings required under New Mexico’s expanded state audit rule.
Why it matters: An unmodified opinion signals the auditors found the county’s financial statements materially correct under auditing standards. The absence of current‑year findings reduces near‑term compliance risk for the county and means staff did not need to record audit adjustments.
Auditor’s summary: Chris Garner of the audit firm (identified in the meeting as Patio/Patton Brown and Hill) told the commission the audit was performed under U.S. auditing standards and New Mexico’s state audit rule (Yellow Book). Key points included:
- Opinion and single-audit: Auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the county’s financial statements and an unmodified opinion on the federal single-audit required for entities that expend more than $750,000 in federal funds.
- Internal controls and testing: Under the state auditor’s expanded testing requirements, the firm reported they found no exceptions and no current-year findings related to expanded state audit items (procurement, travel/per diem, federal reporting and the like).
- Adjustments and record quality: Auditors reported they did not need to propose any adjusting journal entries; they described county financial records as provided in good order and timely.
- PERA and long‑term liabilities: The auditor discussed the larger statewide public‑employee retirement (PERA) unfunded liability and noted it appears as a long‑term liability in government financial statements; the auditor referenced the statewide shortfall (reported in the meeting as $6 billion) and said that liability is not directly controllable by the county but must be disclosed in the statements.
Timing and next audit steps: The auditor explained the county submitted required materials and that the state auditors’ review timing can affect public release; the firm said the county must submit annual reports by the state deadline (December 1) to avoid a late-filing finding.
Commissioner reaction: Commissioners asked clarifying questions about audit timing and the PERA liability; the auditor confirmed the $6 billion figure for statewide PERA underfunding and said the county’s audit process was smooth despite being a first-year audit for some staff processes.
Quote: "We issued an unmodified opinion — a clean opinion — and we did not have any findings this year," Chris Garner told the board.
What the transcript records: The presentation was informational; no board action was required on the audit report beyond acceptance of the report as presented.
