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County audit finds 10 deficiencies but gives unmodified opinion; officials outline hires, training and ERP to fix problems
Summary
Washington County received an unmodified opinion on its annual audit but auditors identified 10 findings, including a material weakness in the Housing Authority; county leaders laid out hiring, training, new software and policy work to address issues and said there were no signs of fraud.
Washington County officials on June 24 reported that external auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the county’s annual consolidated financial report but identified 10 audit findings, including a material weakness in the Housing Authority’s financial controls.
Chief Financial Officer John Stabb told the Board of Commissioners that auditors Talbot, Barbola & Warwick completed the audit on May 23 and returned their review on June 4. Stabb said the unmodified opinion indicates the financial statements present a fair view of the county’s position, but the audit identified internal-control and reporting issues that county staff must address.
Why it matters: The audit affects transparency, federal grant compliance and the county’s financial controls. County officials said addressing the findings is part of a broader improvement plan that also supports upcoming capital financing and the county’s bond issuance process.
Key findings and county response - Total findings: 10. The auditors reported issues across several areas including staffing and training, recording certain transactions in the wrong fiscal year, capital-asset and grant reporting, deficiencies in voucher and rent-reasonableness processes at the Housing Authority, delayed public-housing inspections, and incomplete documentation of the 25% match requirement for HUD’s Continuum of Care program. - Material weakness: The Housing Authority control environment over financial reporting was identified as a material weakness; county housing leaders said they are already hiring a controller, retraining staff, using consultants to clean up books, and implementing secondary review procedures. - No fraud identified: County officials emphasized the audit did not identify fraud or misuse of funds; the findings were described as control and documentation issues to be corrected. - Corrective steps: County leaders outlined a plan including finalizing controller recruitment, additional hiring to fill finance positions, increased staff training, new workflow checklists and secondary-review procedures, a forthcoming enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and a human resources classification and compensation study to align staffing and job descriptions.
Bond rating and finances County officials said Moody’s has been reviewing the county for a bond rating and that the county expects a high rating; the CFO noted the rating process and a public announcement were imminent, and officials said maintaining strong management practices and addressing audit findings are important for favorable financing terms.
What officials said "RTKW (the auditors) provided an unmodified opinion," John Stabb said, summarizing the audit result and the need to implement a corrective action plan. Molly Rogers, director of housing services, outlined the housing authority’s steps to add inspections capacity and control improvements. County leaders said a plan of action will be included on the consent agenda to notify the state audit division how the county will remedy the findings.
Outlook County staff told the board the work to fix deficiencies is underway and will take months: hiring, training, ERP rollout and policy revisions are multi-month tasks. The county placed a corrective-action plan on the consent agenda for formal submission to the state audit division.
