[Vision2020] Whitman County state audit a bust

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (May 20, 2014) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special thanks to a friend and fellow Viz subscriber for bringing this to my attention.

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Whitman County state audit a bust
Lack of internal controls, procedures and poor communication to blame for 2012 audit failure
The Washington State Auditor's Office was unable to express an opinion on financial activities by Whitman County in 2012 due to the county's inability to provide accurate and timely information.
"After all of the county's attempts to correct the financial statements and make an accurate representation of the financial transactions, we were not able to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to provide the basis of an opinion," said Debbie Pennick with the state auditor's regional office. She added such situations have been "infrequent" in her 20 years as a state auditor.
County officials received the news Monday in an exit meeting with members of the SAO audit team.
The finalized report comes months after it should - the state audit is usually finalized in September or October of the following year, but the process was delayed more than six months due to the state auditor's office inability to obtain the necessary records.
It also comes too late to keep the county's credit rating from being suspended, as it was last month by the Standard & Poor's Rating Service, which uses state financial audit reports in its analyses of a government body's ability to service its debt.
The SAO report identified deficiencies in accurate and timely bank reconciliations, journal vouchers and financial statements, which kept them from being able to make determinations on county finances.
Weakness in communication between departments, lack of internal controls to provide assurances of the reliability of financial reporting and lack of policies for, and understanding by, personnel responsible for recording those transactions with the county's accounting software, were all also identified as conditions that led to the findings. The report also indicated such weaknesses have been identified as issues during the state audit process with the county for the past decade.
Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker said the problems identified are consistent with issues previously identified in getting each of the departments within the county on the same page when it comes to using the accounting software.
Along with seeking help from the SAO Performance Center, which is designed to help local governments with problems such as those currently facing the county, Coker said one employee - Finance Administrator Cinnamon Brown - has been working full-time during the past weeks, with another currently being trained, to resolve the issues before the county submits its records for the 2013 year, which are due by the end of the month.
"We're working on it," she said in response to questions about the process, and said she believed it would be complete by the end of the month, though she admitted Brown's upcoming maternity leave could complicate the process.
With the SAO unable to provide an opinion on the county's financial status, Coker said it was unlikely the S & P's Rating Service would be able to reinstate the county's credit rating until the completion of the 2013 state audit, which she said she hopes will go smoother this fall.
Art Swannack, chairman of the board of county commissioners, expressed disappointment with the news from the state auditors. He said the board will continue working to develop new financial management policies for the county, which began last month after the news of the credit rating suspension was received, and pledged support to the county auditor department's efforts to resolve the issues identified in the SAO report once a strategic plan to address them is presented.
"I haven't seen a plan that was comprehensive and detailed out of the auditor's office," he said. "Once we see one, we'll take a look, see what the goal is and how it's going to be accomplished. We certainly don't have objections to improvements, but we only have so much money available."
A second portion of the SAO report indicated Whitman County was in full compliance with laws and regulations regarding the federal programs and grants it has received. At no point during the state audit process was evidence of suspicious or unlawful activity determined to be a concern.

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still.
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon
  
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