New finance director outlines audit findings and corrective actions for Northampton County

Northampton County’s newly arrived finance director presented findings from recent audits and financial performance indicators and described corrective steps the finance department is taking.

The director traced several findings to turnover in the finance department and the absence of a stable finance director. Audit findings reported in the meeting included: incomplete bank reconciliations (now current through December 2024), budget‑ordinance violations related to budget amendments not being completed or approved in a timely manner (several findings), negative fund balances in certain fire district and debt service funds, an earlier fidelity bond deficiency that the director said has been corrected, insufficient budgetary transfers related to an EDC capital reserve fund, and grant accounting matters involving federal funds passed through the state that required separate fund accounting. The director also identified Department of Public Instruction lottery fund procedures that had not been properly followed and said those were being corrected after meetings with school officials.

To reduce future risk, the finance director said the county will perform cross‑training, complete succession planning for critical finance roles, finalize outstanding budget amendments, separate motor vehicle taxes into a distinct department to avoid skewing ad valorem collection percentages, and forward corrected documentation to the Local Government Commission as required. Commissioners asked for a written summary of the corrective actions for public distribution; the finance director agreed to provide a one‑page written summary for the board and citizens.