Weber County staff report ‘perfect score’ on annual fraud risk assessment

The Weber County Commission heard a staff presentation on the county’s annual fraud risk assessment on Monday and was told the county again received a perfect score.

Ken Young, introduced by the chair as the staff presenter, said the county annually reevaluates its control environment and fraud-risk controls and ‘‘we were counting it gets a perfect score every year, this year included.’’ He said the assessment uses questionnaires about controls already in place and that the county meets or exceeds the state’s minimum requirements. Young said some items identified opportunities for ongoing improvement and requested one CAO signature so the county can file the assessment with the state auditor and remain in compliance.

Commissioners responded with praise and a request to make the results available. One commissioner noted, during a related procedural comment, that ‘‘the sheriff has said he’s saved $595,000 of ongoing expenses,’’ a point raised during the minutes approval discussion. Commissioners asked where on the document to sign for the CAO signature and staff confirmed the CAO signature line is at the bottom and that Ricky Hatch will be listed as CFO for the filing.

The presentation emphasized that the assessment largely reflects routine internal-audit and finance best practices rather than new policies; Young said the questionnaire covers high-level best practices typical of accounting and finance functions. No formal policy change or funding was proposed during the presentation; staff requested the one signature required to complete the state filing.

The commission approved the previous meeting minutes earlier in the session and scheduled the fraud-risk filing to be signed and posted as part of routine compliance steps.