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Independent audit gives Lancaster County an unmodified opinion while flagging accounting restatement
Summary
Robinson Farmer Cox presented an unmodified FY2025 audit opinion, noted a restatement tied to new accounting for compensated absences and reviewed fund-balance and debt figures, emphasizing $76.6 million in school-related long-term debt and no federal-findings.
Robinson Farmer Cox partner Jay presented Lancaster County's fiscal-year 2025 audit to the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 29, delivering an unmodified opinion and outlining a restatement required by a recent government-accounting standard change.
"We're giving the county what's called an unmodified opinion, which means these financial statements are materially correct," Jay said. He told the board the restatement reflects a new standard for accounting for compensated absences and that the restatement adjusts beginning balances to align with the new GASB approach.
Key audit takeaways
- Unmodified audit opinion: Jay said the audit produced an unmodified (clean) opinion for the county’s financial statements. - Fund balance and liquidity: Exhibit 3 on the modified-accrual basis showed an ending fund balance of about $50.5 million (down from $69.0 million in the prior year), with an unassigned fund balance of $8.6 million, up from $7.5 million the year before. Unrestricted cash and investments totaled $12.2 million. - School contribution and long-term debt: The county made $12.4 million in contributions to schools in FY25. Jay reported county long-term debt of about $5.8 million and school long-term debt of roughly $76.6 million, with debt-schedule details through 2057 included in the audit package. - Federal awards and controls: The auditors reported no findings in internal control or federal-program compliance; the county was classified as a low-risk auditee for the single federal program tested.
Jay walked the board through revenue and expenditure variances versus budget and highlighted that additional bond proceeds and school construction timing affected some restricted balances. He noted a subsequent-event disclosure about bond issuance after year-end and explained that the report contains schedules that are more useful to citizens for assessing county financial health on a modified-accrual basis.
Board response and next steps
Board members asked clarifying questions about restricted balances and timing. Jay said auditors will remain available for follow-up and provided contact information to the county. The board later moved to accept the audit package as presented by staff.
Note on minutes
The audit presentation included multiple exhibits referenced by page number; citizens or members seeking detailed figures should consult the formal audit packet (exhibits and schedules) included in the county meeting materials.
