External auditors give Adams County clean opinions but flag recurring control issues and one-time landfill expense

Amber Danialski, signing director for state and local government audits at CliftonLarsonAllen, told the Adams County Board of Supervisors that the firm issued unmodified opinions on the county's financial statements and on required federal compliance testing for 2024. "That audit opinion is unmodified," Danialski said.

Danialski described the audit as risk-based: auditors read board and committee minutes, reviewed trial balances and internal controls, and tested a sample of receipts and disbursements. She said the financial-statement opinion is "clean" but the audit identified a material weakness and a significant deficiency that are similar to prior years. The material weakness relates to financial statement preparation; the significant deficiency relates to audit adjustments that met qualitative and quantitative thresholds.

The auditors found no federal-award findings but flagged a significant deficiency in state awards related to some Department of Natural Resources reimbursements that lacked a secondary review before submission, a step the auditors recommended to reduce clerical errors.

Danialski also summarized accounting changes that affected 2024 numbers. The county recorded an increase of about $218,000 in liabilities tied to a new GASB standard on compensated absences. Separately, an updated engineer's cost study for landfill closure and long-term monitoring increased the county's landfill liability and produced a $4,000,000 expense in 2024 under GASB requirements. Danialski said the $4,000,000 is an accounting expense tied to updated estimates and inflation, not a current cash payment.

Board members asked how the landfill liability will be funded. Danialski and county staff said the expectation is that user fees, interest on funds set aside for closure, or transfers (including an advance from the general fund or debt if necessary) will cover the costs over time. Engineers estimate closure work could cost about $5.3 million and post-closure monitoring about $3.8 million over 40 years, the auditor said. Danialski noted GASB 18 landfill accounting has been in place for years and the increase reflects the updated engineering study that included newer cells and inflation in costs.

Danialski closed by reviewing upcoming reporting items for 2025'26, including federal premium-pay reporting, 1099 threshold changes, and forthcoming GASB presentation changes that will affect financial statement footnotes and management's discussion and analysis. She also flagged uniform guidance changes that raise cybersecurity expectations for grant recipients.

The board did not take action on the audit at the meeting.