State auditors issue clean financial and federal-grant opinions for Okanogan County

Jake Santas and Kathleen Lentz of the State Auditor’s Wenatchee team presented the results of this year’s financial and federal‑grant audits. Santas said the office issued an unmodified (clean) opinion for the county’s financial statements on the county’s chosen cash‑basis regulatory framework, and it also issued an unmodified opinion on major federal programs examined this year.

The auditors explained an adverse opinion relative to full‑accrual GAAP reporting is an informational observation — Washington local governments may report under a cash or special‑purpose framework. The auditors reported no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control and no material instances of noncompliance for either the financial statements or the major federal programs tested.

Auditors highlighted a recurring technical area — reporting of compensated absences under evolving GASB guidance — and noted that county staff had identified and begun correcting a related presentation item in the annual report. The team said the county’s prior finding had been corrected and that staff had already implemented most low‑level recommendations.

The auditors also told commissioners their next accountability audit will be a two‑year cycle covering fiscal years 2024–25, and provided an estimate for audit costs tied to that expanded scope.

What’s next: auditors will publish the report and coordinate federal clearing‑house filings; staff will finalize minor presentation corrections and continue to work with the auditor’s office on the compensated‑absences methodology.