Preliminary Follow-up Report: An Audit of Salt Lake County Council Tax Administration Payroll

Auditor's Letter

June 16, 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 the Audit of Salt Lake County Council Tax Administration Payroll, following the original audit report issued in January 2024. The original audit identified six 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 Council Tax Administration Management has fully implemented six of the 11 audit recommendations, with five still in progress. By implementing recommendations to develop written internal policies and secure personal identifiers demonstrates management’s commitment to addressing the risks identified in our preliminary audit.

Further work is critical to fully address risks related to approving timecards when supervisors are unavailable, documenting overtime agreements for non-exempt employees, and ensuring timely access termination in accordance with updated countywide policy. A secondary follow-up audit will be conducted no sooner than December 2025 to verify compliance in these areas.

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 Council Tax Administration 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