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Petra had been here before and demonstrated an understanding of the
county needs, and she knows the system, finance chairman Chuck Ruben
told the board last month. She would work with the treasurer's
office to assist in getting the figures from the new computer system
in a format that the auditor, Crowe Chizek, can process.
The board agreed to an initial project management fee of six
hours at $150, totaling $900, and ongoing process up to 80 hours at
$150 per hour, for a total $12,000, to start Petra.
Petra was in the treasurer's office to begin the work when the
ice storm hit. She stayed over in a Lincoln motel and worked from
there another day, and she is continuing as her schedule allows.
The next Tectura visit is anticipated on Dec. 20, 21 or 22. At
that time it is anticipated that there will be "a better handle on
ending," Ruben said. "It is taking longer than expected."
When John Stewart asked how the amount of task work order hours
was going, Ruben said that at this point it looks as though the
hours may need to be extended to complete the work.
The Logan County treasurer's office has struggled to adapt to the
use of the new Great Plains accounting software for two years.
Government accounting is different from general business accounting,
and it is up to the government office to identify and determine
adaptations to the software application. To date there are few
counties using this software, so its setup and use has been a
learning process for the software consultants from Tectura as well
as for Logan County Treasurer Mary Ellen Bruns and her staff.
This audit is the first to come off the new computer system that
has been in place two years. The changes that Petra is making will
also need to be applied to the fiscal year 2005-2006 in order for
next year's audit to work.
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Ruben told the board last month that there was one other option the
county was given, but it was not something that he thought the
county should consider. The auditor has said that he would come down
for a price paid and complete the audit, but then he would give an
unfavorable report. This is the last year of a three-year audit
contract with Crowe Chizek. The audit cost is $29,000.
Last year the state mandated that counties begin a depreciation
schedule on county-owned property, including equipment. This has
added to the auditing process.
The county's consultant, Andy Lascody, informed Ruben that audit
costs are going up. One preliminary estimate from another firm was
$55,000, and the work would not be done before August. According to
Lascody's research, other counties similar in size that began
three-year contracts this year are now paying an average of $45,000
per audit.
Bids for the next auditing contract are expected to be available
next month, Ruben said.
The audit serves as the most accurate assessment of the current
financial condition of the county, as a guide to the next year's
budget and is used in acquiring grants for the county, with the
health department being the agency relying most on state and federal
grants for its day-to-day operations and special programs.
[Jan
Youngquist]
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