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Yankton County accepts state audit after auditors flag recurring reporting errors
Summary
The Yankton County Commission accepted an exit report from the Department of Legislative Audit that identified inadequate internal controls in financial reporting for FY2022–23, a third consecutive finding and 12 formal adjustments. Commissioners voted to accept the audit during the Oct. 7 meeting and discussed steps to strengthen controls.
YANKTON — The Yankton County Commission on Oct. 7 accepted the Department of Legislative Audit’s fiscal and compliance report for fiscal year 2022–23 after auditors said the county’s financial reporting controls were inadequate.
Jeff Schafer of the Department of Legislative Audit told commissioners the county’s internal controls over financial reporting were “inadequate, resulting in inaccurate information being presented to users of the financial statements.” He said the audit identified reporting errors that required 12 formal adjustments and noted this was the third consecutive audit with the same finding.
"This is the third consecutive audit for this finding," Schafer said, adding that the issues involve reclassifications and reporting errors rather than missing cash or suspected misappropriation. "We recommend the county strengthen its controls over the financial reporting." He also said the county has the option to submit a management response to the audit comment.
Commissioners discussed the nature of the adjustments and raised questions about classification errors (for example, interest expense recorded in the wrong function area and cash recorded as investments). Patty, the county clerk, confirmed the reclassifications did not change cash or fund balance but did require adjustments to presentation in the annual report.
After the presentation, the board moved to accept the audit report; the motion carried by voice vote.
The auditors said other items in the management letter were of lesser significance and had been discussed with appropriate staff. Schafer noted the county’s ARPA reporting had been reviewed and was "good to go." The county did not announce immediate, specific corrective actions at the meeting; commissioners and staff discussed the need to strengthen controls and follow up with department-level reviews.
Next steps: the county accepted the audit record and will receive the final report; any formal management response or corrective-action plan was not detailed at the meeting.
