Auditors outline annual audit process; parish officials press about invoices and $52,000 fee

Auditors led by Mark Thomas presented Natchitoches Parish officials with the parishs annual audit process and answered questions about audit scope, sampling and billing.

Mark Thomas, who identified himself as one of the local certified public accountants working on the engagement, told officials that "the state of Louisiana requires all government entities in the state from fire districts all the way up to to the parent's buildings to have an annual audit" and that those audits produce a formal report due to the state by June 30 each year. He said auditors set a materiality threshold and then test a sample of transactions rather than examine every single entry, explaining that the work is guided by the legislative auditor and a standard audit program.

Why it matters: The parish distributes funds to several flow-through entities — including the library and fire districts — and officials wanted clarity on how much oversight the parish retains. Multiple speakers noted that while boards run day-to-day operations, the parish remains fiscally responsible for funds it disburses.

The auditors described additional work stemming from the Legislative Auditors "statewide agreed upon procedures," which Mark Thomas said increased the parishs audit work and added cost. A participant reported that the parish paid $52,000 for the prior years audit, "which includes the single audit," and auditors confirmed that certain extra procedures have increased fees by about $10,000 in past years.

Council members pressed the auditors about internal controls and invoice documentation. One attendee pointed to an invoice that, when scanned, had no total on the visible page and asked how auditors verify payments and coding. Mark Thomas and other speakers said auditors sample the check register, request specific invoices from staff and verify that invoices were approved, amounts matched payments and entries were posted to the correct account. They also said if exceptions are found in a small sample, auditors expand testing to determine whether a broader problem exists.

Speakers emphasized limits of the audits sampling approach. Thomas said the audit is not an investigative sweep that checks every transaction, but "when we find errors, we report on them," and described the process of expanding sampling when potential problems appear. Participants also discussed that some invoices under question may be dated after the parishs fiscal year end (the audit covers the year ending 12/31/2023), so they would not appear in that years audit testing.

The auditors said they receive a peer review every three years and follow consistent audit programs and disclosure checklists across Louisiana; that consistency, they said, explains why work papers for different governments often look similar.

The meeting concluded with thanks to the auditors and a reminder that another meeting would start at 10:30. No formal motions or votes related to the audit were recorded in the transcript.