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Hardee County auditors issue clean opinion; county reports $22M general fund balance
Summary
CliftonLarsonAllen issued an unmodified opinion on Hardee County’s FY2024 financial statements but flagged four reportable findings (two internal control clerical errors and two grant-reporting items). Auditors reported an approximately $22 million general fund balance; the board approved the audit unanimously.
The county’s independent auditors, CliftonLarsonAllen, presented a high-level summary of the FY2024 audit and recommended steps to address identified weaknesses. Julie Fowler, signing director with CLA, told the board the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the county’s financial statements and unmodified opinions on the major federal and state programs tested in the single-audit work.
Fowler explained CLA reported two internal-control matters related to the preparation of financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards; those were clerical in nature and required corrections before issuance of the unmodified opinion. CLA also reported two grant-related findings: an administrative-cost calculation error on a disaster assistance grant and reconciliation/reporting errors on a state hurricane-recovery grant. Fowler said management had been given corrective recommendations and the county is developing additional review procedures to reduce recurrence.
On budget trends, CLA said the county’s combined general fund balance totaled about $22,000,000 at fiscal year end, with roughly $5,000,000 restricted for disaster recovery and about $17,500,000 unassigned and available for appropriation. The board asked staff about grant review and staffing; county staff indicated steps are already under way to add review resources and restructure grants administration. The county approved the audit ending 09/30/2024 by unanimous vote.
"We issued an unmodified opinion on the county's financial statements," Fowler said, adding the findings were clerical and manageable with improved review procedures. The board asked staff to return with details of process changes and staffing plans to reduce repeat findings.
