Lafourche Parish auditors issue unmodified opinion; procurement documentation for a few vehicle purchases flagged

Auditors briefed the Lafourche Parish Council on the parish's 2024 financial audit, saying they issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and did not identify material noncompliance for the federal programs they tested.

The auditor (Matthew) described the audit scope—financial statements, federal awards, and internal controls—and said sampling is used for large accounts such as payroll. He noted a single exception related to documentation for vehicle purchases where the state contract used as the procurement basis could not be located; he said that issue affected roughly 2 or 3 vehicle purchases among the sample of about 50—60 items tested for that compliance element.

Key numbers presented included total governmental revenue of about $93,000,000; total expenditures of about $121,000,000; an aggregate fund balance of about $149,000,000; and the general fund taking in roughly $15,800,000 and spending about $17,500,000 with a residual of about $2,000,000 for the 2024 year. The auditor said most spending was for capital projects and infrastructure and that debt service had declined as refundings and prepayments from prior years normalized.

Council members asked whether the auditor's tests were random and how many purchases were affected by the procurement documentation problem; the auditor explained the sampling methodology and reiterated the limited scope of the exception.

What to watch: The auditor recommended retaining procurement documentation for state-piggybacked contracts; councilmembers signaled interest in ensuring enforcement and clearer recordkeeping to avoid similar exceptions in the future.