Goochland County receives clean FY2024 audit; no federal or internal-control findings

An auditor from PB Mares told the Goochland County Finance and Audit Committee on the meeting's opening agenda item that the county's fiscal year 2024 financial statements received an unmodified opinion and that the audit turned up no findings for internal controls or for federal programs.

The auditor said the firm issued "an unmodified opinion on the financial statements, so that's the clean opinion" and reported "no findings for internal controls and compliance, and as well as a report with no findings for your federal dollars." The presentation also noted the audit required no adjusting entries for the county, the school board or the economic development authority.

The committee asked clarifying questions about audit scope and timing. Staff confirmed remaining deliverables include the VRS examination report, a federal data-collection form and a DEQ landfill update; those items will be completed and submitted to state agencies as required. Committee members praised staff for cooperative responses to auditor requests and for completing required materials in a timely fashion.

Why it matters: A clean audit and no federal findings reduce the risk of state or federal follow-up actions and support the county's financial assertions as it moves into the next budget cycle. Auditors said some line items in the statements rely on outside specialists (engineers for landfill estimates; actuaries for pension and OPEB estimates), and the firm reviewed those inputs as part of its procedures.

The committee then approved routine minutes and continued to a separate, longer discussion about the county's fund-balance policy; the audit will be submitted to the state as required.