Adams County completes audit without findings

The Washington State Auditor’s Office completed an exit conference with Adams County regarding the audit for the 2015 fiscal year. The report included both a financial and accountability audit for the county.

The exit conference was completed on Dec. 19, before the audit reports were published for public review on Jan. 3.

As an audit highlight, the State Auditor’s recognized and thanked the Adams County Auditor and Treasurer for their assistance in providing the necessary documentation to perform the 2015 fiscal year audit.

The scope of the audit included review of internal controls over major systems, compliance affecting the financial statements, financial statement opinion and additional procedures.

For compliance, the State Auditor’s performed a variety of tests for noncompliance, including reviewing correspondence from oversight agencies, grant audits and bond requirements.

The State Auditor’s also performed additional review procedures, at Adams County’s request.

During 2015, a major area of focus included a new account standard in regards to pensions. The Auditor’s reviewed the plan, and did not identify any issues with the implementation of the required pension standards.

The Auditor’s also completed required special areas of focus students, which included risk of management override of controls. This includes testing of journal entries, additional evaluation of managerial estimates, consideration of any other unusual transactions, and review of legal matters.

In this category, the Auditor’s did not identify any unusual transactions during the 2015 fiscal year. The Auditor’s also expressed their gratitude for Adams County, as they notified the Auditor’s Office of all legal matters prior to the financial audit.

With the financial statement, there were no sufficient deficiencies or material weaknesses reported. There were also no concerns noted in regards to compliance with grants, law or policies that could affect financial statements.

The Auditor’s also reported there were no material misstatements that needed to be corrected within communications.

In regards to the financial audit, the Auditor’s reported no findings, management letters or exit recommendations.

The accountability audit focuses on the use of public resources, compliance with state laws and regulations, and internal controls over those matters.

In the payroll section of the audit, the Auditor’s reviewed significant increase in salaries and new employees. They concluded all payments were adequately supported and accurate.

The accountability audit also includes review of disbursement, including new vendors, duplicate vendors and the accounts payable process. The Auditor’s concluded all payments to vendors were valid, supported, and approved.

The Auditor’s also reviewed credit card expenditures and determined all were adequate and allowable.

Adams County also developed and implemented a cost allocation plan, which was reviewed by the Auditor’s. They determined all expenditures were adequately supported, and appreciated the effort the county put into properly implementing the plan.

During the review of the financial condition of the county, the Auditor’s stated they did not identify any concerns with Adams County’s financial situation. This was determined by reviewing the cash balance sufficiency, operating margin, change in cash position and the debt load of the county.

The highlights for the audit includes no findings for the 2015 fiscal year, no management letters for the 2015 fiscal year, and no financial statement recommendations for the 2015 fiscal year.