Audit committee accepts FY2025 financial report after auditors give "clean" opinion; members flag reserve and investment issues

The Churchill County audit committee voted unanimously on Jan. 5 to accept the county's FY2025 comprehensive annual financial report after auditors issued an unmodified ("clean") opinion on the county's financial statements.

"We issue an unmodified or a clean opinion on the financial statements that is presented materially correct in our opinion, and that is the highest opinion that we can provide," Kelly Jones, audit director presenting the report, told the committee. Jones said the auditors found no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control and no instances of noncompliance among the federal programs tested; she described Churchill County as a "low risk auditee."

Committee members commended staff for the work and for receiving recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association; one member said it was the twentieth year the county received the GFOA certificate. At the same time, members pressed staff and auditors about several financial details, notably a substantial decline in the general fund and differences in investment yields across funds.

Why the general fund fell

Committee member Alan asked about a roughly 25% drop in the general fund, noting the fund was at a 10-year low. Auditors and county staff attributed the decrease primarily to the expiration and spending-down of ARPA/COVID-era intergovernmental funds that boosted revenue in prior…