Agenda - 11-19-2002-6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 19, 2002 Action Agen a Item No. - SUBJECT• 2001-2002 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) DEPARTMENT: Finance PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): CAFR and Single Audit Reports (Under Separate Cover) INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Chavious, ext. 2453 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To receive the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and Single Audit Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002. BACKGROUND: The CAFR covers all financial activity of the County for the 2001-2002 fiscal year and the Single Audit Report focuses on grant compliance for the same fiscal year. Both reports result from an annual audit of the County's financial records, which occurred during the past several months. The audit was performed by Cherry Bekaert & Holland, the firm of independent Certified Public Accountants hired by the Board last fiscal year. Presentation of these reports is necessary in order to fulfill the requirements set forth in Chapter 159-34 of the North Carolina General Statutes. The results of the 2002 audit were very good. 2002 marked the first year implementation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statement 34. This new pronouncement by GASB dramatically changes the financial statement presentation to make the traditional government statements read more like those of private industry. With the assistance of the auditors, the implementation was very successful. The Finance Director will discuss the major impacts and changes to the financial statements resulting from GASB 34 in more detail during the presentation. Undesignated fund balance in the general fund at year-end was 10% of general fund expenditures. This amount exceeds the Local Government Commission's recommended minimum of 8%. This percentage is less than prior year levels due to economic and state budgetary impacts. The County's ability to absorb those impacts and remain above the 8% minimum reflects the commitment on the part of management and the Board to insure that fund balance levels are sufficient to address unforeseen circumstances. The auditors found no instances of material weakness in the County's internal control structure and have issued an "unqualified" (good) opinion on the County's financial statements. In fact, there were no material audit findings related to the audit of the CAFR or the single audit. The auditors did, however, make some minor recommendations. These recommendations along