Lee County auditors issue clean opinions; finance team earns GFOA recognitions

Lee County commissioners on Jan. 16 accepted a year-end audit that auditors said included unmodified opinions on both the county's financial statements and its federal‑fund compliance testing. The auditor told the commission the county received a "clean opinion," that there were no findings under New Mexico's expanded state audit rules, and that finance staff provided supporting documentation in a timely, organized manner.

"We're issuing an unmodified opinion, which is exactly the type of report that the county wants to receive. It's a clean opinion," the county auditor said during the exit presentation. The auditor also noted the county applied both standard auditing procedures and the state's more extensive testing requirements, and still had no exceptions to report.

In the presentation the auditor highlighted key financial statement balances and accounting drivers, describing roughly $990 million in reported assets and about $89 million in liabilities on the accrual‑basis statements and emphasizing that a large portion of the liabilities stem from state pension and retiree health care allocations calculated by the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA). The auditor noted New Mexico's reporting rules require those PERA‑related items to appear on local government balance sheets even though the county does not control the state plans.

Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the audit report and publicly recognized the county's finance staff. The auditor also told the commission that Lee County recently received Government Finance Officers Association recognitions, including multiple award categories often described as a high standard for local governments.

The commission recorded no objections and thanked staff for the work that supported the audit and award submissions. The county manager and finance director will continue to provide routine financial updates as the board moves into the FY25–26 budget process.