Meriwether County audit returns clean opinion; staff flags $1.83 million surplus

Auditors told the Meriwether County Board of Commissioners on April 28 that the county’s fiscal statements for the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, received an unmodified opinion.

"we did issue an unmodified report, which is a clean opinion," said Will Derzis, director with Malden Jenkins, while presenting the annual comprehensive financial report. Derzis summarized the government‑wide totals the audit covered: approximately $46,000,000 in total assets, about $5,800,000 in liabilities and a year‑end net position in the neighborhood of $40,000,000. He said general fund revenues were about $23,000,000 — roughly $2,000,000 higher than the prior year — and the general fund balance increased to about $16,000,000.

County staff later reviewed the audit booklet and identified a surplus figure tied to the audited statements. "This item is for discussion of the annual comprehensive financial report, also known as the ACFR, specifically regarding the fund balance and identify a surplus amount of the $1,829,483," the county administrator told commissioners. The administrator also walked through the calculation showing the required six months operating reserve under county ordinance and the resulting unassigned funds available for discretionary use.

The auditors reported three documented findings. They said one repeated finding involved segregation of duties issues across smaller entities (the industrial development authority and the water and sewer authority) and several elected‑official departments where small staffing limited independent reviews. A second finding dealt with capital asset completeness — auditors identified land and other assets that had not been fully reported historically and required valuation and ledger adjustments. The third finding related to an omitted year‑end entry for tipping fees in the water and sewer fund that required correction.

Derzis framed the audit’s reported issues as control deficiencies tied largely to staffing and historical reporting gaps rather than material misstatements: auditors proposed adjustments that were posted, noted one past uncorrected misstatement that did not materially affect prior statements, and included management recommendations for improved reconciliations and controls. The presentation concluded with a reminder that certain new accounting standards had created an emphasis of matter in the report.

The board asked clarifying questions about whether recommended corrections carried specific statutory deadlines; auditors and staff said the items were recommendations and that management had provided the standard written representations requested during the audit. County staff pointed to the ACFR on the county website for public review and noted that the surplus and fund‑balance detail would be part of broader budget and work‑session conversations scheduled for May.