CliftonLarsonAllen principal Doug Holst told the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 2 that the county’s draft fiscal year 2025 audit will carry an unmodified — or "clean" — opinion.

Holst said the audit is nearly complete and that auditors found no material weaknesses, no significant deficiencies required for reporting, and no material audit adjustments. "We're on track to issue an unmodified opinion," Holst said during the presentation.

Holst reviewed high-level fiscal figures he said are unlikely to change in the final report: general fund balance of about $42,000,000 with roughly $27,000,000 unassigned; a year‑over‑year general fund decrease of about $3,200,000 attributed in part to one‑time capital spending such as jail security and Axon body cameras (Holst cited approximately $1.5 million for those projects); rural services and secondary roads fund balances were up, by about $600,000 and $500,000 respectively.

He said the county’s governmental funds netted a roughly $3.6 million increase (about a 4% rise) and that capital projects fund balance rose about $5.7 million, noting the county issued $5 million of bonds in 2025 that were largely unspent at year end. Holst also said auditors tested federal grant spending — reporting approximately $210,200,000 in federal expenditures for the year and about $8,800,000 in state and local fiscal recovery funds — and found no reportable compliance problems.

Holst praised county staff for preparing documents and making the audit run smoothly. "There are no difficulties or disagreements with management," he said.

The board thanked Holst and county staff; the audit remains in draft pending final quality review and completion of closeout steps, which Holst said staff expected to finish within weeks. The board then moved on to other agenda items.