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County fiscal staff outline audit and financial-statement timeline ahead of 2026 reporting
Summary
Franklin County fiscal staff described the year-end closing, financial-statement preparation, the federal single-audit requirement, and plans to issue an RFP for audit services after the current contract ends; auditors from Zelenovsky Axelrod were reported on site for the 2025 audit.
Theresa Beckner, Franklin County chief financial officer, and Janelle Fes, fiscal director, briefed the board on the county's financial-statement and independent-audit process and the steps that lead to finalized reports.
Beckner and Fes explained that the audit process documents what already happened with public funds: year-end closing, preparation of governmentwide and fund financial statements, supplementary notes and schedules, and an independent audit that provides an opinion on whether statements present fairly. They emphasized that federal funding requires a separate single audit when an organization spends more than $1 million in federal awards.
Key points: county staff prepare reconciliations, capital-asset updates and supporting schedules; the auditors use a PBC (prepared-by-client) list that collects the documents auditors need. The county's current auditors, Zelenovsky Axelrod, were on site for portions of the 2025 audit, Beckner said. Staff also noted a new government accounting standard affecting the management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) that will be effective for the county's 2026 financial statements and will require updates to reporting to improve clarity.
Beckner framed the audit as the county's "final report card," saying an unmodified (clean) opinion is the goal and that it supports bond ratings, satisfies state and federal reporting requirements, and informs future budget decisions. She also explained that component units (legally separate entities that meet certain criteria) must be disclosed and incorporated in footnotes when applicable.
Next steps: staff will prepare required documents for the ongoing 2025 audit close-out and will issue an RFP for independent audit services for the 2026 fiscal year onward, as the current multi-year contract with Zelenovsky Axelrod concludes.
Direct quotes at the meeting included Beckner describing the audit as the county's "final report card" on financial management and internal controls.
