Comptroller’s office discovers concerns in Decatur County after audit

DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn.– A county’s audit raises concerns after certain findings.

“When you see an audit report like this with so many findings related to the management of the county’s finances, it might give citizens cause, wondering if the county is doing a good job with the money being taken from them,” John Dunn, the director of communications for the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, said.

Dunn said a recent audit on Decatur County discovered 10 findings related to issues within county government.

“Some of those include expenditures, exceeding appropriations approved by the county commission. There were a number of accounting deficiencies within the county’s finance office,” Dunn said.

Other issues include not submitting bids after purchasing a used fire truck, and not maintaining adequate employee leave records.

Another significant concern in the audit is the hospital.

The last audit for the hospital was during the 2016 fiscal year.

“Without a clear audit or understanding of the finances of that hospital, it’s very difficult for us to get a true picture of how the county is doing financially,” Dunn said.

Dunn also said the hospital is responsible for having an outside audit from a CPA, and hospital officials have not been able to get their financial records in shape for an auditor to look at.

Despite the problems, Dunn said the county’s audit commission can meet to work on those issues.

However, they haven’t met in a couple of years.

“We would encourage the audit committee to begin holding meetings so they can address these audit findings, and put in place corrective actions plans to solve the problems,” Dunn said.

The Comptroller’s Office also has not yet approved the county’s 2020 fiscal year budget.

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