Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Draft county audit flags record‑keeping and procurement gaps; final report due this week
Summary
County audit firm UHY has delivered draft findings that cite missing contracts, unsupported payroll adjustments, duplicate entries and procurement documentation gaps; the firm is finishing a quality check and the county expects a final report by Friday or, at latest, Tuesday.
Neeta, county staff overseeing finance, told the Essex County Board on March 24 that the county's annual audit — prepared by UHY — is undergoing a final quality check and that a final report was expected by Friday or, at the latest, next Tuesday.
She said staff already received the audit firm's findings and will prepare management responses. "They are running the annual audit through their quality check process as one last moment of making sure everything is correct," Neeta said, adding that staff hoped to have the final by Friday or Tuesday at the latest.
According to the draft findings Neeta summarized for the board, the audit raised multiple record‑keeping issues: duplicate entries, missing employee contracts, unsupported payroll adjustments, commingling of child welfare trust funds, late submission of the annual school report, unsupported procurement documentation and an apparent non‑compliance with the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Several items were described as recommendations rather than material findings, Neeta said; many items stem from missing paperwork rather than confirmed intentional error.
Board members asked that the auditor present the final report to the board when it is available; Neeta said the firm could attend the April meeting to review the findings and that staff will circulate the draft and the auditor's findings to board members for review. The board directed staff to assemble any follow‑up questions and forward them to county administration so the auditor can address them at the presentation.
Why it matters: the findings highlight process and documentation weaknesses Treasury, schools and social services must address; management responses will spell out corrective steps and timelines before next year's audit.
Next steps: the county will distribute the final audit and the auditor will present findings at an upcoming board meeting, likely April 13–14, so departments can implement corrective actions.
