Osage County moves to correct payroll and accounting gaps after ADP/CIC conversion; hires outside auditor

Osage County commissioners spent much of their Jan. 20 meeting on the county's payroll and accounting conversion issues, hearing a detailed update from BT & Co and approving steps to reconcile the books while safeguarding internal controls.

The most immediate problem, Miranda of BT & Co told the board, was that a number of ACH transactions had been processed by banks but never posted into the county's CIC accounting system. Miranda said preliminary counts showed about $500,000 in unposted items for 2024 and roughly $5,800,000 for 2025, a total she described as a "preliminary number" that would be broken down by vendor and date. She recommended closing the fiscal period, preparing documented past-period adjustments and reconciling to bank records instead of running many period-13 AP batches that could produce a weaker audit trail.

Miranda, the project lead on the county's post-conversion work, told commissioners: "Our recommendation is go ahead and close the period and get 2026 up and running so that you're also not starting to put 2026 at risk of not being able to record transactions properly" and that detailed supporting reports would be prepared to show exactly what the adjustments represent.

A member of the public, Rhonda Harmon, used the public-comment period to press the board on when it had learned that CAPERs and other payroll items had not been paid properly during the transition to ADP and Paycor. Harmon said taxpayers were bearing costs and asked who was responsible for the conversion. "If it's ADP's problem, they're a global company. Make them pay the penalties," Harmon said. Commissioners and staff said the project had been led through the clerk's office and that BT & Co and county staff were working to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.

County staff described a multi-step approach: identify unposted ACHs, build a detailed report that ties each adjustment to an account and fund, and then record a single, auditable past-period adjustment with supporting documentation so auditors can verify the changes. Gordon CPA's representatives and BT & Co agreed that documentation showing the vendor, dates and amounts would be essential.

Commissioner discussion focused on how to preserve institutional knowledge while the corrections proceed. Several commissioners urged the board to retain Linda Smith, who has been working inside CIC and helping the county restore accurate ledgers. Commissioner (speaker 2) argued that "we've had her here for the last few years getting this to where it's at," and several members supported drafting a short-term extension. The board asked for a proposed contract and tabled final action until next week's meeting so members could review details and budget impacts.

At the same meeting the commission also acted on audit oversight: it voted to engage Gordon CPA to perform the 2024 audit. Sean Gordon, the firm's representative, told commissioners the audit cycle normally involves fieldwork and a state filing deadline; he requested the county provide the 12/31/2024 trial balance, general ledger and bank reconciliations to start work.

Votes at a glance

- Engagement with Gordon CPA (2024 audit): motion to sign engagement passed by voice vote. - FMLA application (employee leave of up to 12 weeks): approved. - Purchase order 4060 to Motorola ($390,005.67) for equipment paid from inmate-housing revenue: approved. - Tax accrual corrections (2022'2025): approved. - Payroll for pay period ending 01/10/2026 (gross/net and employer items noted): approved ($346,692.58 pay run reported).

What happens next

Miranda and county staff will produce the detailed reports supporting the past-period adjustments and work with CIC experts (including Linda Smith, if retained) to import corrections. Gordon CPA indicated auditors will want to review those reports and related bank reconciliations as work proceeds. The board asked staff to return a proposed short-term contract for Linda Smith for consideration at the next meeting.