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Auditor tells Buffalo County commissioners controls were inadequate; unassigned fund exceeded statutory cap by about $230,000
Summary
An external auditor reported material accounting adjustments and weaknesses in Buffalo County's 2023'2024 financial reporting, including missing vouchers, unreconciled auditor/treasurer accounts and an unassigned general fund balance about $230,000 over the figure cited in 'SDCL 07/2001.'
Brandy, the auditor who presented Buffalo County's 2023'2024 audit, told commissioners the county's internal accounting controls over financial reporting were inadequate and that auditors had to make multiple formal adjustments to correct inaccurate financial statements. "This is just acknowledging that we performed our audit for the years 2023 and 2024," she said during the presentation.
The auditor said the county's total unassigned general fund balance exceeded the amount described in the transcript reference 'SDCL 07/2001' by approximately $230,000, and urged the board to assign or restrict more funds to avoid an excess unassigned balance at year end. She also cited immaterial violations and operational lapses: sample vouchers lacked physical copies or signatures, one employee's salary was not published in the minutes, and two published voucher amounts did not match supporting documents.
Commissioners and staff discussed monthly reconciliation procedures for the auditor and treasurer. The auditor recommended either signing individual vouchers or using an inclusive list that board members can review and sign. She noted the county could correct budget overruns with contingency transfers late in the fiscal year and recommended putting a concrete plan in place to assign the excess fund balance.
The auditor also flagged instances where state highway apportionments were not correctly apportioned in 2023'2024 and emphasized that documentation and signatures should be verifiable in future audits. She handed the board a management representation letter and asked that it be signed after the meeting.
The presentation concluded with the auditor saying there were no material disagreements with management and that most documentation requests had been met; the final audit report will include details and the schedule of current audit findings.
The board did not take immediate formal action on the audit findings during the presentation beyond acknowledging the auditor's recommendations; staff were asked to follow up on voucher practices, monthly reconciliations, and fund-assignment options ahead of year-end.
