Preliminary Follow-up - An Audit of Salt Lake County Behavior Health Payroll

Auditor's Letter

March 24, 2025

In line with generally accepted government auditing standards and the established policies of the Auditor's Office, as authorized by Utah Code Title 17, Chapter 19a, "County Auditor," Part 2, "Powers and Duties," we maintain our responsibility to monitor and ensure that audit recommendations are addressed by county agencies through appropriate corrective action, which is also instrumental in shaping future audits.

This communication serves as the preliminary follow-up report for An Audit of Salt Lake County Behavioral Health Payroll, following the original audit report issued in December 2023. The original audit identified five findings with 11 recommendations. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the progress made in addressing the findings and recommendations aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and compliance.

Our follow-up indicates that Behavioral Health Services Management has fully implemented eight of the 11 recommendations, one was closed, and two remain in progress.

• One recommendation was closed because the underlying risk was addressed by implementing a policy requiring background checks for all employees.
• Two recommendations remain in progress. For one recommendation, Management agreed to create an internal policy regarding retroactive payments but has not done so yet.
• For the other recommendation, there were no applicable transactions available for testing during the follow-up audit period. A second follow-up will be conducted to ensure the recommendations are implemented

We performed this audit in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions.

We extend our appreciation to Behavioral Health Services Management for their cooperation during this process. The enclosed follow-up audit report summarizes the current status of the recommendations. Should you have any questions or require further discussion, please do not hesitate to contact me at 385-468-7200.

Chris Harding, CPA, CFE, CIA
Salt Lake County Auditor