Board hears proposal to hire BerryDunn to finish FY24 cash reconciliations, staff seeks not-to-exceed $100,000

Warren County officials discussed awarding a purchase order to a consulting firm to complete cash reconciliations needed to close the county’s fiscal year 2024 audit.

Director Scott introduced the item and said reconciliations for bank accounts ending in 8443 and 2941 are essential to finishing the FY24 audit. County staff recommended engaging BerryDunn (represented by Katie Lucas, Alan Goodwin and Kirsten West) to complete reconciliation work for the period Jan. 1–June 30, 2024.

Barry Dunn team members described their experience supporting government clients, explained they had performed discovery sessions and reviewed county general-ledger records, and outlined an approach that emphasizes collaboration with county finance and treasurer staff, weekly check-ins and biweekly status updates. They said written biweekly memos would include hours to date and completed tasks so the county could monitor the spending against a "not to exceed" fee.

Board members, led by Rich Jamieson, asked whether the firm had actually seen county system data (the consultants confirmed they had reviewed records and discovery outputs), whether the firm would provide on-site work if needed (yes, on-site time is possible), and whether the firm could meet the auditors’ field-work schedule the week of Jan. 12 (the firm said it had capacity and planned to staff the engagement accordingly). The consultants justified a $100,000 not-to-exceed figure as a protective measure given unknowns and prior engagements where similar scopes required extensive hours.

No formal contract award was voted at the work session; staff said the engagement remains subject to formal procurement steps and the board asked staff to refine completion dates and keep the board updated via the proposed biweekly reporting cadence.