Moab's fiscal 2025 audit: payment coding changed after approval without an audit trail

Moab's independent auditors reported one internal control finding for the year ended June 30, 2025: some city payments were recoded in the general ledger after they had been approved, with no record of the change. ^[1]

Gilbert & Stewart, CPA, PC, classified the finding, item 2025-1, as a significant deficiency in its Dec. 19, 2025 report on internal control. The firm said it did not identify any deficiencies it considers material weaknesses. ^[2]

What the auditors found

While testing cash disbursements, the auditors noted that certain disbursements were originally coded to the general ledger through the system, but the coding of the general ledger accounts was later adjusted manually with no audit trail, according to the schedule of findings. ^[1]

The finding says the adjustments were made after the transactions had been authorized and approved, and were made without authorization, review or approval. It states that the review and approval process for disbursements was not being followed, which increases the risk of error and fraud. ^[1]

The finding does not say how many disbursements were affected or their dollar amount. ^[1]

Recommendation and response

The auditors recommended that the city require a journal entry to record any change to a posted general ledger account, and that those entries be reviewed and approved by someone outside the function. ^[1]

In its response, management said it concurred and will implement internal control procedures to ensure that adjustments to coded disbursements have a proper audit trail and are reviewed and approved. ^[1]

The rest of the audit

The same audit gave an unmodified opinion on the city's fiscal 2025 financial statements. ^[3]

The city's fiscal 2026 audit has not been published.