Ward County will be preparing responses to findings of a financial audit after receiving a report Thursday that was clear of any fraud, waste or major operational issues.

The Ward County Commission commissioned a more in-depth audit for 2019 due to the transition from retiring Auditor/Treasurer Devra Smestad to newly hired Auditor/Treasurer Marisa Haman in August.

The audit by the Widmer Roel firm made recommendations on several items. The most significant related to a $300,000 discrepancy between county financial statements and bank statements due to the way data was inputted when the county switched to a different computer system. The Auditor/Treasurer Office has been investigating as time allows. The audit advised identifying the source of the discrepancy and reconciling financial statements with the higher amount in the bank balances within the next year, which the office indicated is feasible.

The county commission also voted to extend two bonds on the building construction projects by a year to ensure sales tax is adequate to cover them and avoid a mill levy subsidy.