Second Follow-up Audit of Countywide Petty Cash and Imprest Accounts

AUDITOR’S LETTER

In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by Utah Code, we have a responsibility to monitor and follow up on audit recommendations to ensure county agencies address audit findings through appropriate corrective action and to aid us in planning future audits.
This letter serves as the final follow-up audit report for Countywide Petty Cash and Imprest Accounts. The original audit report was issued in October 2022, followed by a preliminary follow-up report in July 2023. The original audit report identified 8 findings with 16 key recommendations for agencies within scope, resulting in 50 recommendations. In the preliminary follow-up, agencies fully implemented 20 of the 50 recommendations, 7 were in progress, and 11 were closed.

In this final follow-up, 19 recommendations remained to be tested. Agencies have fully implemented 5 of the 19 remaining recommendations, 4 were in progress, and 10 were not implemented. For 8 of the 10 recommendations that were not implemented agencies stated the accounts will be closed.

In regard to the Health Department disagreeing with our recommendations, we appreciate and understand the unique nature of their operations, specifically with regards to the undercover petty cash account. However, it is essential to maintain strong internal controls, even in unique and challenging circumstances, to ensure fiscal responsibility, accountability, and compliance with county policies.
This is our final follow-up audit, and no further follow-up work will be performed by our office. The onus is now on management and those charged with governance to implement the remaining recommendations and mitigate the associated risks.

We performed this audit in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

We appreciate the cooperation of all leaders and team members who contributed their time and knowledge to us during the audit. We continue to strive for effective use and management of petty cash across the county to promote fiscal responsibility. Please contact me at 385-468-7200 with any questions.

Chris Harding, CPA, CFE, CIA
Salt Lake County Auditor