Commissioners authorize 2025 audit engagement with state auditors

Lincoln County commissioners voted to approve and authorize the chair and the county auditor to execute an engagement letter with the South Dakota Department of Legislative Audit covering the calendar year audit for 01/01/2025 through 12/31/2025. South Dakota Department of Legislative Audit representative David Weidler told the board the work will include an opinion on the basic financial statements and related notes, budgetary comparison schedules and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards.

Weidler flagged management responsibilities tied to a non-audit service the auditors will provide: preparing notes to the financial statements and certain supplementary schedules. He told the commissioners that management — the auditor and the board — remains responsible for all management decisions about those items and for maintaining internal controls. "We are here to conduct a fiscal, compliance audit for calendar year ending 12/31/2025," Weidler said. He also disclosed the auditors' billable rate for state fiscal year 2027 is $99 per hour and asked whether the commission was aware of any fraud, waste or abuse to examine during the audit. The motion to authorize execution of the engagement letter passed on a roll call vote.