Plante Moran finds 14 audit issues in Wayne Countyincluding 13 material weaknesses; corrective actions due

Plante Moran, the county—s external auditor, told the Wayne County Committee on Audit on July 1, 2025, that its audit of the county—s financial statements for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024, produced 14 findings for the financial statements—13 material weaknesses and one significant deficiency—and one finding in the federal single-audit related to the aging cluster.

The finding summary included long-standing issues and new problems that affect accounting, controls and compliance. Plante Moran highlighted recurring auditor-identified adjustments (including a decades-long misallocation of library penalty fines estimated at $3 million to $4 million), unreconciled cash differences of roughly $290,000 in inmate property accounts, weaknesses in online-banking controls that could permit wire transfers without secondary approval, incomplete or untimely bank reconciliations and gaps in payroll-conversion reconciliations. The auditors also flagged IT backup practices (full network backups only twice a year), data errors in the actuarial census used for retiree health-care (OPEB) valuation and the absence of a budget for the building authority special revenue fund.

"There are 14 financial statement findings. 13 of those are material weaknesses, and 1 is a significant deficiency," Plante Moran senior staff told the committee. The auditors said they issued a clean (unmodified) opinion on the county—s financial statements overall but reported the control deficiencies and the single-audit finding required under federal rules.

Why this matters: Material weaknesses signal a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement could go undetected, which can affect the county—s financial reporting, budgeting and public confidence. Several findings were repeats from prior years; auditors said the county requested and received an extension to file the audit with the state because of delays providing information and the report date was May 19, 2025.

Key details from the presentation - Scope and opinion: Plante Moran said it performed the financial-statement audit and the single-audit and rendered an unmodified opinion on the major federal programs tested. Auditors tested five major federal programs, including WIC, CDBG, state and local fiscal recovery funds, the aging cluster and child-support enforcement. - Findings count: 14 financial-statement findings (13 material weaknesses, 1 significant deficiency); 1 federal-program finding (material weakness in internal control for the aging cluster). - Notable amounts and items: an estimated $3$4 million misallocation of library penalty fines over roughly a decade; about $290,000 of unreconciled differences in inmate-property cash accounts; a reported $94 million net OPEB liability based on the actuarial valuation; and a $420,000 plug balance found and corrected in the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Fund during the audit. - Single-audit point: For the aging cluster, auditors identified that only one staff member reviews eligibility for a category of home-delivered meals and that six-month reassessments were not consistently documented for home-delivered and liquid meal participants. Auditors said they found no instances of noncompliance in program eligibility testing but classified the internal-control issue as a material weakness. - Repeats and follow-up: Several findings are repeats dating to prior audits (auditors specifically noted a repeat finding since February 2017 related to auditor-identified adjustments). Plante Moran said corrective-action plans (listed as the "views of responsible officials" in the report) are included with each finding and will be discussed with auditees at the committee's next meeting. The auditors also said they anticipate auditing the execution of any corrective actions and suggested potential quarterly progress reports from the county CFO.

What commissioners asked and the committee's direction Committee members pressed for more detail about the recurring auditor-identified adjustments, the misallocated library fines and the Unclaimed Property Act exposure for longstanding construction and performance bonds. Commissioners asked whether management—s written responses qualify as corrective-action plans; auditors said those written responses are the documented plans but execution remains management—s responsibility and will be tested. The committee directed that auditees return to the next meeting to present corrective actions and that staff follow up on the items the auditors flagged.

Formal actions recorded in the meeting - Approval of minutes from the June 25, 2025 meeting: motion moved by Commissioner Wilson, supported by Commissioner Killeen; voice vote; chair announced motion passes. (No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.) - Motion to "pass for the day" (to close or receive the audit presentation for the day): moved by Commissioner Killeen, supported by Commissioner Garza; voice vote; chair announced motion passes.

Next steps and closing Plante Moran and county staff will provide auditees—corrective-action plans and return to the committee at a later meeting to discuss implementation. Auditors emphasized that management—s responses are documented in the report but that the auditor will test whether the prescribed corrective actions are actually implemented in subsequent audits.