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Independent auditor issues unmodified opinions for Matthews County; one VRS attestation finding noted
Summary
Robinson Farmer Cox delivered a draft FY25 audit with three unmodified (clean) opinions — financial statements, internal control over financial reporting, and federal program compliance — and reported a single VRS attestation finding on census data reconciliation.
Robinson Farmer Cox (RFC) partner Taylor Stover presented the draft FY25 audit to the Matthews County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 20, reporting three unmodified opinions: a clean opinion on the county’s financial statements, a clean opinion on internal control over financial reporting, and a clean opinion on compliance for audited federal programs.
Stover said RFC issued the draft report and expects to finalize the audit in about a week, acknowledging holiday timing and a delay caused by a late Office of Management and Budget (OMB) compliance-supplement release that affected single-audit testing. He outlined applicable standards (generally accepted auditing standards, the Yellow Book for governmental auditing, and Uniform Guidance for federal programs) and noted the standards that guided the engagement.
The audit produced one finding in the VRS attestation performed for both the county and the school board: census or personnel data (such as date of birth and date of hire) did not agree with supporting documents in some instances. Stover characterized the management-letter issue as immaterial to the audit opinion but noted a variance of roughly $4,300 that RFC monitors and encourages staff to tighten.
Stover also summarized the effects of recent accounting pronouncements: implementation of GASB 101 (compensated absences) required changes in how leave liabilities are estimated and resulted in a restatement of prior balances. He previewed upcoming GASB 103 (financial-reporting model improvements) and advised the board that required supplemental information will need more narrative and variance explanation beginning with FY26 reports.
Financial highlights shared by RFC included an approximate $1 million increase in net position (to just over $22 million) and improvements in several fund balances. Stover noted several funds that exceeded appropriation levels (special revenue fund, school operating fund, school capital projects fund) and explained the school operating fund now shows a fund balance because certain receipts must be recognized when received even if not yet spent.
Stover closed by thanking county staff and the school system for cooperation and said RFC will present the final audit at the January meeting.
