Editor:

In a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the March 2 edition of The Farmville Herald, Supervisor Jim Wilck suggested that the Prince Edward County government establish a three-supervisor audit committee to formally oversee the county’s annual audit process. This recommendation comes on the heels of disturbing audit findings relating to the Piedmont Regional Jail Authority Board.

Supervisor Wilck’s recommendation is reasonable, appropriate and maybe even a bit overdue. I would anticipate that all members of the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors would see the wisdom of such action and would move quickly to appoint a new Audit Committee in time to oversee the next audit.

On the most fundamental level, an audit is nothing more than a third-party assurance to the stakeholders (the citizens of Prince Edward County in this case) that the financial information presented on the county’s financial affairs is true, accurate and free of material misrepresentations. The standards to be performed by the independent auditor are set by the state and/or federal government. All local units of government are required to meet these minimum standards. An audit should be reassuring to the citizens and taxpayers and usually is.

However, financial audits have weaknesses and limitations that belie an appearance of infallibility. Local government financial audits almost never evaluate or even touch on the efficacy of the various services and programs provided by local government. Specifically, are we the citizens actually getting our money’s worth from our county government?

The standard local government financial audit doesn’t know and doesn’t care to address this question. There are other tools available for local governments to measure and evaluate services and program efficacy but in too many cases there is little interest in pursuing those avenues of inquiry… too much trouble and maybe the findings will be less than ideal.

Another fundamental limitation of the standard local government audit is that the auditor can analyze and evaluate only that information which is presented to him or her by the local officials who prepare and keep the records. In cases where too much financial control is placed in the hands of too few officials, and especially if those officials are clever, skilled enough, and working in concert, it is possible to present an appearance that all is well… even if it is not.

I know this limitation is a real danger from my own three decades of service with several different governmental/public agencies in different states, and also from directly participating in dozens of government/public agency audits. Mistakes, oversights, and intentional misrepresentation can and does happen.

An Audit Committee will not completely eliminate the risk of material misrepresentations in county financial matters. Nor does it necessarily guarantee the reduction of waste, fraud and abuse. (There is no such guarantee that I know of).

However, the appointment of a Prince Edward County Audit Committee, accompanied by other appropriate procedural policies, can help reduce the risks associated with misrepresentations of financial data including waste, fraud and abuse. This can be accomplished by the division of responsibility among several independent members of the Board of Supervisors and by putting more eyes on the process.

Seemingly, we see the appointment of committees for many things great and small in Prince Edward County. The county audit is a good cause worthy of the effort.

Efficacy of services and programs. That is another matter for another day.

Jack Houghton

Prince Edward County