Stacy Carpenter
Robbinsville – At long last, it appears the county has emerged from a treacherous storm and is beginning to tread water.
At a continued board of commissioners meeting June 3, senior audit manager TD Hill with Lexington-based RH CPAs, PLLC presented the 2022-23 Graham County audit. This was RH CPAs inaugural foray into a Graham County audit.
The address served as a bit of closure for the finance department of the county, which has reimagined itself in the last two years following the departure of Becky Garland in February 2023. Stacy Carpenter was permanently hired as her replacement two months later.
"My goal is to get you guys back on-track," Hill said.
Hill, Carpenter and more have rolled up their sleeves to play catch-up. The delayed audit submission was a huge item to check off the list of tasks and many were eager to find out the results.
"It was very educational and things I needed to learn, but now I know," Carpenter said. "I have a library built and documents built, so it'll be good going forward. But it was definitely challenging."
Among the 145-page report was a list of "significant deficiencies" – defined as either a single or combination of deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that merits attention by those responsible for oversight. Many of the deficiencies were attributed to the finance department being revamped. Hill and Carpenter both commented during the audit presentation on the respective deficiencies, as well as the corrective actions taken:
* Late submission of audit. Per North Carolina General Statute 159-34, a local government should have its accounts audited each fiscal year and have a copy of the audit submitted after the closing of the fiscal year to the Local Government Commission. The reason for the delay was attributed to significant turnover in the Graham County finance department and the corrective action was to properly staff the department with the "appropriate skill level to perform required governmental financial duties. One of those duties is preparing and assisting an external auditor with the required annual audit in the specified time frame," per the audit report.
* Prior period adjustments. Certain transactions in both the general and emergency telephone system funds were not properly recorded during the 2022-23 fiscal year, which left both balances understated. The recommendation for corrective action was "to perform a detailed review of transactions and account balances to ensure all balances are properly presented."
* Preparation of financial statements. Journal entries were not made (or made incorrectly), which led to the need for "significant adjustments to correct account balances and reflect transactions accurately." This deficiency was directly linked to staff turnover and general-ledger postings at the end of each month was cited as the corrective measure.
* Excess of expenditures over appropriations. The county frequently adopts budget amendments to ensure this does not occur and that was also the corrective action suggested by the auditor.
"You're in a much better place than before," Hill said of the corrective actions taken. "This is going to help you with the (2023)-2024 audit."
There were also procedural deficiencies noted within the Graham County Department of Social Services.
Of note, data entered incorrectly into NC FAST (Families Accessing Services through Technology) and computers left unattended while still actively logged in.