PUD Receives Clean Audit Report

The Jefferson County PUD Commissioners received the results of the PUD’s 2015 financial audit from Kendra Huson, Assistant State Auditor and Amy Strzalka, Assistant Audit Manager of the Washington State Auditor’s Office at a special meeting on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The State Auditor’s Office issued an “unmodified opinion” of the PUD’s 2015 financial records. An “unmodified opinion” is a “clean” audit.

The auditors praised the PUD staff for the progress they have made in the short period of time since the auditor’s exit meeting regarding the prior year’s audit. The auditors noted that the PUD is continuing to work on educating staff and establishing procedures for work orders and developing internal controls for capital asset balances. Both items were mentioned in a management letter issued to the PUD by the audit team.

Jim Parker, the PUD’s General Manager, also praised the staff for their efforts. “Our staff has been working diligently to improve our practices and utilize our new software to the fullest extent possible. We have made considerable progress and are committed to continued improvement, especially in the area of our finances.”

The full audit report will be available from the State Auditor’s website at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch on Monday, February 13, 2017. The Washington State Auditor’s office will charge the PUD $47,000, the cost of the 2015 audit expenses. The 2016 audit will begin in October 2017 and will include a full accountability audit and is expected to cost the PUD approximately $56,000.