Last updated: Dec 31, 2025

General Information – ChatGPT Internal Control Programs County Level

Internal Controls – Prevention of Waste, Fraud, Abuse, and Mismanagement.  Both the state and federal governments have Internal control-related statutes, policies, and processes to provide assurance to citizens that tax dollars are used effectively and efficiently.

County – Need for a Management Internal Control Program (MICO). Unfortunately, at the County level, the State Board of Accounts’ (SBOA) scope of review of internal controls is primarily focused on finances rather than operations. Compliance by county offices is generally voluntary.  This puts the burden on county citizens to expect the county to develop and review internal controls, including providing an annual statement of assurance that the controls are adequate and identifies the need for a County Management Internal Control Program (MICP). 

Brown County – 2025 Credit Rating and Audit Reports

• • Credit Rating: The two-notch downgrade reflects our view of heightened vulnerability in management following continuous and numerous internal control findings.
  • Audit Report: 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 and Unmodified Opinions section of our report, the financial statement referred to above does not present fairly, the financial position and results of operations of the County as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
  • Audit Report: Opinion on “Regulatory” Basis of Accounting  (1)
    • In our opinion, the accompanying financial statement referred to above presents fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position and results of operations of the County, as of and for the year
      ended December 31, 2024, in accordance with the financial reporting provisions of the Indiana State Board of Accounts described in Note 1.

State Board of Accounts (SBOA). Special Investigation Report  – Previous Surveyor – Dave Hardin – 84071I  Note: The Surveyor’s Office is among the areas that are outside the scope of audits by the State Board of Accounts unless a problem is reported.  A viable internal control should have prevented the problems.

• • This is a special investigation report for the Brown County (County) Surveyor’s Office, for the period November 1, 2018 to December 31, 2024, and is in addition to any other report for the County as required under Indiana Code 5-11-1. All reports pertaining to the County may be found at http://www.in.gov/sboa/.
  •  We performed procedures to determine compliance with applicable Indiana laws and uniform compliance guidelines established by the Indiana State Board of Accounts and were limited to records associated with the Surveyor’s Corner Perpetuation Fund. The Results and Comments contained herein describe the identified reportable instances of noncompliance found as a result of these procedures. Our tests were not designed to identify all instances of noncompliance; therefore, noncompliance may exist that is unidentified.

State.  Indiana’s internal control statutes were derived from federal guidance.  “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, known as the “Green Book.”   “The Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)  requires that federal agency executives periodically review and annually report on the agency’s internal control systems.”

• • Updated Green Book Standards (Executive  Overview)
    • “The Green Book may also be adopted by state, local, and quasi-governmental entities, as well as not-for-profit organizations, as a framework for an internal control system.”
  • Indiana – Internal Control Standards, State Board of Accounts (SBOA).
    • Indiana – Office of Inspector General (OIG)
  • Counties.  “Internal controls are designed by the county offices based on the identified risks of not achieving their objectives and the available resources to address those risks.”

Federal. At the federal level, statutes and policies include the following:

• • Federal Managers  Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)
  • The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
  • Office of Management and Budgets (OMBs) Circular A-123 – Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control.
  • GAO WatchBlog