Clemson receives clean FY2025 audit; auditors flag inventory control issue in water fund

Malden Jenkins presented the City of Clemson’s FY2025 audited financial statements to the council on Jan. 12, 2026, and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion. Auditor David Yusfer said the audit found no material weaknesses in internal controls, but did report one significant deficiency related to inventory reconciliation in the water fund.

Key financial figures provided by the auditors: total assets $193 million (including $103 million in capital assets), liabilities $80.6 million, and net position $114.5 million, of which $25.3 million is unrestricted. The general fund had a fund balance of $20.3 million (2.2 million restricted; $1.5 million committed), leaving an unassigned fund balance of about $16.5 million — roughly 10.4 months of expenditures by the auditors’ calculation.

Auditors explained the significant deficiency arose during the annual inventory count when a pallet of water meters was omitted from the departments’ count and later adjusted. Audit staff and finance discussed the potential value of an inventory-management system and a single gatekeeper responsible for inventory reconciliation; city staff said funding and budgeting decisions will determine whether to procure such a system.

The auditors also reported no findings in the single-audit work related to federal COVID-era ARPA funds referenced in the statements and confirmed implementation of new GASB pronouncements affecting disclosure of compensated absences and other items.

Councilors asked about grant accounting and were told most grants are reimbursement-based and recorded in the fund that operates the related program; some grant inflows may not appear until project expenses are incurred. Finance staff said they will present any recommended internal-control improvements during budget and work-session follow-ups.