About the Division

The Division of County Audit is responsible for performing audits of Tennessee county governments as part of the powers and duties of the Department of Audit pursuant to provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-3-304.

The division is headed by Richard V. Norment, Assistant to the Comptroller. Mr. Norment, a Certified Government Financial Manager and Certified Internal Auditor, is a native of Hardeman County and a graduate of Memphis State University. He has been with the division since February 1967 and was appointed Assistant to the Comptroller in 1993. A member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the Nashville Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), and the Nashville Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Mr. Norment has served as president of the latter two organizations. He also is active at the national level of AGA and GFOA, serving as AGA's National Treasurer in 1997-98 and as National President in 2001-02. Mr. Norment has served as a member of the Special Review Committee of the GFOA since 1986.

The division director is Jim Arnette, a Nashville native and graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. Mr. Arnette was appointed director in July 2007. He has been with the Comptroller’s Office since August 1983. A Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Certified Computing Professional, Mr. Arnette is a member of AGA and has served as president of the Nashville AGA chapter and as a regional AGA Vice President.

An administrative group is located in the Nashville office to provide support to the audit staff, who are located throughout the state. The division performs various audit-related activities, which are discussed below.

Financial & Compliance Audits
The division audits 89 county governments related component units, two special school districts, and one landfill. Certified public accountants audit the remaining six counties under contracts approved by this office.

The audit staff are divided into four geographical areas with a regional office in each area: West (Jackson), Middle (Nashville), Mid-East (Cookeville), and East (Knoxville). An audit manager is responsible for audit planning and supervising in each area. The division director is in charge of financial and compliance audits and supervises the audit managers, who assign audits to auditors who work as a team under the manager's supervision. In addition, the audit managers plan and direct special audits and assignments.

Contract Audits & Research & Review
The division's activities related to audits conducted by certified public accountants include approving contracts, reviewing audit reports, and reviewing and monitoring working papers. The objective of our review is to ensure that, in addition to those standards prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, certain standards prescribed by the Comptroller of the Treasury have been followed in performing these audits. The monitoring function is a more detailed review of the accountant's audit. This function includes various monitoring procedures during the audit and when necessary, detailed audit procedures performed by either division staff, the certified public accountant's staff, or both staffs.

The division maintains a four-year monitoring plan for six (6) counties audited by certified public accountants and each year reviews 300 audit reports submitted by certified public accountants for audits of county governments, authorities, boards, commissions, agencies, and special school districts.

Information System (IS) Reviews
The IS review staff reviews the automated accounting systems of county government offices and agencies. An assistant director heads this section and supervises the IS audit staff. IS reviews consist of a review of the general and application controls of a county's computer hardware and computerized accounting information systems. Findings resulting from an IS review are discussed with the appropriate officials and included in the county's comprehensive annual financial report.

General and application control reviews on computer systems and financial software applications in 89 Tennessee counties, related component units and two (2) special school districts will be performed each year.
 
Reviews of Funds Administered by District Attorneys General
The division conducts annual reviews of Fraud and Economic Crime Funds, Judicial District Drug Task Force Funds, and other funds administered by the district attorneys general in the state's 31 judicial districts. The scope of the review is limited to the transactions of the individual funds and does not include the overall operation of the district attorneys' offices.

CCIP Reviews
This area of activity involves conducting reviews of the County Correctional Incentive Program (CCIP) in counties participating in the program. The purposes of the CCIP are to mutually benefit state and county governments by helping to alleviate overcrowding in state correctional facilities and reduce high operating costs, and to assist counties in upgrading local correctional facilities and programs. Counties participating in the program may be reimbursed at either a minimum statutory daily rate or a rate based on a county's "reasonable allowable cost" to house convicted felons. In this review, the division tests the county's records and other supporting documentation pertaining to various reports required by the program. The division reviews the largest detention facilities each year and reviews a sample of the other detention facilities while ensuring that each facility is reviewed once every six years.