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James Moore & Company gives Wakulla County an unmodified audit opinion but flags a material adjustment and late invoices
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Summary
Auditors reported a clean (unmodified) opinion on Wakulla County’s FY25 financial statements but identified a material audit adjustment tied to capital assets and noted late vendor invoices — including one near $900,000 — that forced post‑close adjustments and prompted recommendations for process and budgeting changes.
Brenna McKittrick, a partner with James Moore & Company, told the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners that the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the county’s financial statements but communicated a material weakness related to a material audit adjustment for capital assets and a prior‑period correction.
"We do have what's called an unmodified opinion or a clean opinion," McKittrick said, adding that the firm issued separate required reports including a single‑audit report and an internal control and compliance report. She said the single audit had no findings but the internal control report included the material audit adjustment.
The audit presentation included several finance highlights: the county reported roughly $29,000,000 in capital asset additions for FY25 and an overall governmental fund balance of about $16,400,000. McKittrick noted the county remains above the Government Finance Officers Association guidance floor (about 16.7 percent of expenditures) for fund balance.
Commissioner Russell asked staff to "dumb it down" for the public, seeking a plain‑language explanation of the material weakness. County staff said the auditor identified two items. One was a budgeting omission for debt‑service principal payments that can be fixed with a budget amendment. The other — described as the larger concern — was a set of vendor invoices that arrived after the county’s financial cutoff, including one totaling nearly $900,000, which required adjustments after the books had been closed for audit.
"We need to get those invoices in faster from the vendors," a staff member said, adding that some invoices were received as late as March though the county's cutoff for financials is November 30. The county administrator and staff said they are exploring software and process changes to reduce late invoice submissions and to capture owner‑purchased project costs earlier.
The auditor also recommended the commission consider debt service budgeting within the annual budget process and tighten timing on grant invoice reimbursements to avoid similar audit adjustments in future years.
No formal action on the audit itself was recorded beyond the presentation and the question‑and‑answer exchange. Commissioners thanked the auditor for the presentation and discussed next steps for budgeting and procurement process improvements.
