Mar 14, 2022.  Audit reports of Brown County (County), for the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. 

Facebook Post at Brown County Matters

Personal Assessment:  The purpose of internal controls includes ensuring the efficient and effective use of tax dollars.  The county identified their “corrective actions” – SBOA does not have the power to do much other than report.  Falls on the citizens to expect better quality but with a one-party monopoly on political power, needed improvements will remain unlikely. Power corrupts and the corrupted get to the point that they can no longer determine right from wrong.

Summary of some of the findings – Reported march 2022 for the years 2019 and 2020.

2019: The County did not have an effective system of internal control over financial close and reporting to prevent, or detect and correct, errors on the financial statement. Includes: Adverse Opinion on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. 

2020: There were deficiencies in the internal control system of the County Auditor related to financial close and reporting and disbursements.” The County did not maintain a complete detailed listing of capital assets. Asset records presented contained some of the County’s assets, but it did not include any additions or deletions for the current audit period. Additionally, the County had not completed a physical inventory within the last two years.  … some of the disbursements paid out of the MVH Restricted fund did not comply with the restrictions that monies spent be limited to the construction, reconstruction, or preservation of the County’s highways.

County Officials informed of the findings:

• • Official Term County Auditor – Julia Reeves
  • County Treasurer – Mary E. Smith, Andrea Bond
  • Clerk of the Circuit Court County – Kathy Smith
  • Sheriff – Scott Southerland
  • County Recorder – Judy Swift-Powdrill
  • President of the Board of County Commissioners: David Redding, Gary Huett

Source: State Board of Accounts  (SBOA) – Audit Reports

FEDERAL COMPLIANCE AUDIT REPORT OF BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020  B58846

Independent Auditor’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on Compliance and Other Matters Based on an Audit of the Financial Statement Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards

• • Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance for the Major Federal Program; Report on Internal Control over Compliance; and Report on Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards Required by the Uniform Guidance
  • Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards and Accompanying Notes: Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
  • Notes to Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
  • Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs

B58846 Corrective Actions

• • FINDING 2020-001 Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Julia Reeves Contact Phone Number: 812‐988‐5485 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: The federal schedule submitted to Gateway will be reviewed both Auditor and Bookkeeper to ensure that all federal grants will be reported accurately. Anticipated Completion Date: 04/01/2022 
  • FINDING 2020‐002 Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Julia Reeves Contact Phone Number: 812‐988‐5485 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: The financial information submitted to Gateway will be reviewed both Auditor and Bookkeeper to ensure that all information will be reported accurately. Disbursements for Self‐Insurance fund will be reviewed by both HR and Payroll and Initialed to insure both  health insurance claims and administrative fees are properly disbursed. Anticipated Completion Date: 04/01/2022

B58843 Financial Statement and Accompanying Notes: Statement of Receipts, Disbursements, and Cash and Investment Balances – Regulatory Basis

• • Financial Statement and Accompanying Notes: Statement of Receipts, Disbursements, and Cash and Investment Balances – Regulatory Basis
  • Notes to Financial Statement
  • Other Information – Unaudited: Combining Schedule of Receipts, Disbursements, and Cash and Investment Balances – Regulatory Basis .
  • Schedule of Payables and Receivables
  • Schedule of Leases and Debt, Schedule of Capital Assets ..

B58927 Supplemental

County Auditor: Audit Results and Comments:

• • Financial Transactions and Reporting. “There were deficiencies in the internal control system of the County Auditor related to financial close and reporting and disbursements.”
  • Capital Assets. The County did not maintain a complete detailed listing of capital assets. Asset records presented contained some of the County’s assets, but it did not include any additions or deletions for the current audit period. Additionally, the County had not completed a physical inventory within the last two years. 
  • Disbursements from the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) – Restricted Fund
    • The County properly established the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) – Restricted fund and receipted at least 50 percent of the distributions from the State Motor Vehicle Highway Account to this fund; however, some of the disbursements paid out of the MVH Restricted fund did not comply with the restrictions that monies spent be limited to the construction, reconstruction, or preservation of the County’s highways. Of the ten MVH Restricted fund disbursements selected for compliance testing, three were for fuel not allocated to any specific road or bridge project.

County Highway Department: Audit Result and Comment

2019

B58926 SUPPLEMENTAL COMPLIANCE REPORT OF BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019    Filed Mar 29, 2022.

• • Condition and Context.  The County did not have an effective system of internal control over financial close and reporting to prevent, or detect and correct, errors on the financial statement. The Bookkeeper entered, and the County Auditor reviewed and certified, the financial information entered into the Indiana Gateway for Government Units financial reporting system, which was the source of the Annual Financial Report (AFR) and the financial statement. There was no documented evidence of the oversight, review, or approval process to ensure that the information was accurate prior to submission. As a result of not having effective internal controls, there were material errors in the AFR and financial statement that went undetected. The Payroll Clearing fund receipts and disbursements were understated by $2,644,282 and $2,657,199, respectively. The Settlement fund receipts and disbursements were each overstated by $20,437,569. Additionally, the County Sheriff’s Cash Book was included as part of the County’s financial statement in error, which resulted in an overstatement of both receipts and disbursements by $150,734. Audit adjustments were proposed, accepted by the County, and made to the financial statement.

B58841  FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT REPORT OF BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019

Adverse Opinion on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.  In our opinion, because of the significance of the matter discussed in the Basis for Adverse Opinion on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles paragraph, the financial statement referred to above does not present fairly, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, the financial position and results of operations of the County for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Opinion on Regulatory Basis of Accounting.  In our opinion, the financial statement referred to above presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and results of operations of the County for the year ended December 31, 2019, in accordance with the financial reporting provisions of the Indiana State Board of Accounts described in Note 1.