Burnet County gets ‘clean opinion’ in annual audit
Burnet County’s finances are in good health, according to a fiscal year 2022-23 audit. The annual checkup showed the county has continued to grow its ample fund balance and departments remained within or under their budgets.
“I’m happy to report that we’ve issued what is called an unmodified opinion,” said Todd Pruitt, a lead CPA with accounting firm Pattillo, Brown & Hill, during his presentation to the Commissioners Court on March 26. “You’ll often hear it referred to as a ‘clean opinion.’ It is the highest form of opinion that you can receive.”
The county receives a third-party audit every year of its financial statements. Pruitt’s presentation was based on months of work by the office of Burnet County Auditor Karin Smith and PB&H that resulted in a 114-page report detailing the county’s financial position.
“(The financial statements) have been audited by our firm, and they are free of any material or misstatements and adhere to compliance in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as they apply to local government,” Pruitt said.
A strong measure of Burnet County’s fiscal health is its ever-increasing fund balance, he continued.
The current fund balance stands at $47.4 million, an increase of $13.6 million, or 37 percent, from the previous fiscal year’s balance of $33.8 million. This new fund balance is more than double FY 2020-21’s balance of $22 million.
Of the $47.4 million in the fund, $17.7 million is available for discretionary spending, representing 82 percent of the county’s total general fund expenditures for the year.
“(County) departments stayed under their budgeted amounts and our revenues exceeded expectations,” Smith told DailyTrib.com. “When the departments stay within or under their budgets, it leads to a strong fund balance.”