Utah’s Office of the State Auditor has released the findings of a 2020 financial audit of Uintah County after the Auditor’s Office received what they called a whistleblower tip about potential misuse of funds. 13 findings were identified by the audit team that included what was classified as a lack of effective financial controls, procedures, and reporting; improper spending of Coronavirus relief fund monies; County officials not disclosing conflicts of interest; and ineffective federal program management and reporting, among other findings. Regarding the findings, State Auditor John Dougall stated that “both the Uintah County Commission and Clerk/Auditor share responsibility for overseeing the finances of Uintah County. They should take immediate steps to significantly improve internal processes, procedures, and adherence to state and federal guidelines.” The 128 page report includes details about the 13 findings as well as recommendations for each. The report also includes responses to each finding from Uintah County Clerk-Auditor Michael Wilkins and the Uintah County Commission from page 111 to page 127. The responses ranged from disagreement to acknowledgement and instances of landing somewhere in the middle. Visit BasinNow.com to link to the full audit report. Evans Family Media is preparing and will distribute several follow up news stories over the next week regarding specific topics within the audit.
https://reporting.auditor.
