Auditor reports clean opinion, flags sensitive pension and OPEB estimates

Randy of Bonadio LLP told the Steuben County Finance Committee that the county's audit "went very, very well" and that the firm plans to issue an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for the year.

Randy said the audit identified four sensitive accounting estimates that drive financial statement variability: other post‑employment benefits (OPEB), the county's share of the state pension liability, the allowance for uncollectible taxes, and the valuation of compensated absences. He pointed the committee to the financial statement footnotes for actuarial detail and said there were no disagreements with management during the audit.

The auditor summarized net position and operating changes: government‑wide net position was up about $20,000,000 at year end, while net investment in capital assets fell roughly $3.6 million because depreciation outpaced additions. Randy told the committee OPEB obligations decreased about $6.9 million year over year, driven by a discount‑rate change and several employees declining county health coverage, partially offset by higher post‑65 premium rates.

Randy described a small number of audit adjustments across funds—timing entries for restricted interest, custodial due‑to/due‑from reclassifications, and year‑end entries for ERS and self‑insurance—characterizing them as procedural rather than management error. He said the single‑audit testing required a few additional sign‑offs but reported no material weaknesses in internal control.

The presentation closed with comparative county metrics showing Steuben County has a higher concentration of state and federal aid and relatively low debt; the auditor recommended timing changes to produce trial balances before year‑end system closings to reduce future adjustments.