Buncombe County board authorizes outsourcing internal audit, adopts federal "Green Book" controls

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted to outsource its internal-audit work and to adopt the federal Government Accountability Office's Green Book standard for internal controls, as county leaders said the change is meant to provide continuity after recent staff turnover.

Assistant Finance Director Mason Scott told the board the county's internal-audit function had been "in fits and starts" and that outsourcing would help "ensure continuity of the internal audit function," provide scalable resources and restore a predictable audit schedule. Audit Committee Chair Bill Christie summarized the committee's recent work and recruitment challenges and said the committee recommended engaging an outside firm to perform scheduled audits and respond to initial fraud tips.

The audit committee recommended contracting with a national firm identified in the transcript as "Beckert" (the transcript contains inconsistent renderings of a first name). Scott described the contract structure as a master services agreement (MSA) with individual project scopes overseen by the audit committee. He told commissioners the county expects not to exceed about $40,000 through the end of the fiscal year for onboarding and an audit risk assessment, and estimated that scheduled audits would average roughly $50,000 each thereafter.

Scott also said the recommended contractor could assist with initial fraud investigations via the county's established hotline; if an investigation warranted deeper work the audit committee would discuss further action. The board's proposed changes also include replacing the county's COSO-based guidance with the Green Book standard for public-sector internal controls and updating the audit charter to make clear the audit committee would have oversight of outsourced audit services as well as any in-house auditors.

Commissioner Parker Sloan moved to adopt the resolution authorizing the changes and to empower the county manager to execute the MSA; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript records a voice vote with the chair saying the "resolution passes," but individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the minutes provided.

County staff said the next steps are to finalize the MSA under the county's standard review process, complete an audit risk assessment and develop an audit plan with work to begin in July. The audit committee will continue to oversee external and internal audits and the implementation of audit recommendations.

The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; a voice vote approved the resolution. The board also approved updated audit-charter language aligning oversight responsibilities with the adopted Green Book standard.