Grayson County Commissioners Court on Tuesday accepted the county's annual financial report and single audit for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024, after a presentation that highlighted a clean audit opinion and stronger-than-budgeted fund balances.

The county's independent auditor issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements, meaning the auditor determined the statements were materially correct. County staff told commissioners the general fund ended the year with a $16.6 million balance, equal to about 32% of operating expenditures and about 120 days of operating costs, above the county policy target of 20%.

The audit also included the federally required single-audit review of major programs. County staff reported the auditor reviewed three major award programs: WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and the Rural Law Enforcement Grant (Senate Bill 22). The presenter said the county received full cooperation from fee offices and other staff and that there were no audit findings related to those programs.

County staff summarized budget variances that contributed to the positive fund balance: an $884,000 net positive change in the general fund compared with a budgeted $2.1 million deficit, and a combined $1.3 million positive change in road-and-bridge precincts (which had been budgeted to show a $400,000 deficit). Staff attributed those results to intergovernmental grant receipts and underspending in salaries and benefits due to turnover and vacancies.

During the presentation, a county finance staff member described the audit firm's long relationship with the county and explained the significance of the unmodified opinion: "Clean opinion on financial statements. That's the main thing. It's called an unmodified opinion," the staff member said.

The commissioners moved to accept the report; the court approved the motion by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The acceptance places the audit and single-audit report on record and authorizes the county to submit required documents to federal awarding agencies and state compliance reviewers. County staff said the audit was completed in late May and that the county had invited auditors to present but, because of weather, county staff presented the findings to the court.