Audit shows clean opinion but flags cash reconciliations and receivables follow-up

Paul, a partner at McManon Associates, told the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners the firm—s audit produced a clean, unmodified opinion and covered roughly 900 workpapers used to verify cash, investments, receivables, capital assets and debt. "When we do an audit, we schedule basically six people for two weeks," he said, describing the firm—s fieldwork and confirmation steps.

The audit team found no items that rose to the level of a material misstatement and said journal entries posted during the audit were largely one-time corrections rather than systemic errors. Paul noted the audited statements are routinely included in bond sale documents and used by rating agencies and banks: "When you issue debt, they will include the most recent audited financial statements in the sale document that goes to all the bond holders," he said.

But the auditors recommended several management improvements. The highest-priority items were strengthening cash-reconciliation processes and involving the county—s internal auditor more directly in reconciliations to reduce duplicate payments and misposted transactions. Paul pointed to an example where a payment went out twice, once by ETF and once by check, and said timely reconciliation and oversight could prevent those mistakes.

The audit also recommended improved follow-up on delinquent landfill accounts receivable and suggested converting certain custodial fund activity (for example, school district service-road funds) to a special-revenue presentation to better reflect operational treatment. "We noticed there are stale checks and landfill receivables increased last year," Paul said, urging better software tracking and timely collection.

Finance Director Liz Woods thanked the audit team and noted the county will work with staff to implement recommendations and to schedule follow-up reporting. Board members asked whether the audited statements would be used in upcoming bond issuances; staff said the timing of individual bond closings will determine whether the 2025 audited report is included. The board asked staff to provide a year-over-year status or "scorecard" on recommended items at a future meeting so the commissioners can track corrective action.

The board did not take a formal action on the audit during the session. Staff said they will incorporate audit recommendations into management plans and can return with progress updates in a subsequent meeting.