The Town of Grundy received a clean financial report during the Town Council’s Aug. 11 meeting, with auditors reporting no significant deficiencies, material weaknesses or compliance concerns.
Claude Crigger of Owens CPA, a Buchanan County accounting firm, presented the town’s audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. He thanked town officials for allowing the firm to perform the audit and described serving the town as “a privilege and an honor.”
The audit resulted in an unmodified opinion on Grundy’s basic financial statements. An unmodified opinion, commonly called a clean opinion, means the auditors concluded that the financial statements fairly represented the town’s financial position in accordance with accepted accounting standards.
“First and foremost, the first thing is, we’ve gotten an unmodified opinion,” Crigger told council members. “We didn’t find any kind of issues. There’s no significant deficiencies.”
The audit’s schedule of findings and questioned costs reported no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the town’s internal financial controls. Auditors also found no material noncompliance affecting the financial statements.
No findings were reported relating to the town’s financial statements, federal awards or its compliance with Virginia laws, regulations, contracts and grants. The report also listed no findings from the previous year.
The town had no major federal programs subject to testing under the audit. The report listed $750,000 as the threshold used to distinguish between Type A and Type B programs.
Grundy also qualified as a low-risk auditee under Section 530 of federal Uniform Guidance.
“You can go down this page and you can see, you know, the town right now is in pretty good shape,” Crigger said. “We didn’t come across anything that would raise any concerns.”
Crigger walked council members through the report’s different sections. He explained that the government-wide statements present the town’s overall financial position using generally accepted accounting principles, while the fund statements provide a closer look at activity within the town’s individual funds.
Although a significant amount of work goes into preparing and reviewing an audit, Crigger directed council members to the final page, which provided a summary of the findings.
The audit determined that Grundy’s internal financial controls were appropriate for a municipality of its size.
“You know, it’s a small town,” Crigger said. “Internal controls are good, you know, for the size that you are.”
When asked whether auditors made any adjustments during the process, Crigger said the only changes involved pension-related figures. Those amounts, including deferred inflows, deferred outflows and net pension assets, were obtained through actuarial reports prepared at the state level.
The figures reflect Grundy’s portion of the assets and liabilities associated with Consider clarifying as ‘the Virginia Retirement System, the state’s pension plan’ — but flag for reporter to confirm intended meaning. Crigger said no other audit adjustments were necessary.
He also credited Donna Smith, the Town of Grundy’s Finance Director among other roles, and the third-party firm responsible for the town’s pre-audit work with keeping its financial records in order and converting the town’s fund-accounting information into the format required under generally accepted accounting principles.
“Donna (Smith) does a good job,” Crigger said. “She’s good at what she does.”
Crigger told council members that Owens CPA remains available throughout the year to answer questions and provide additional information. He said the firm looks forward to serving the town again for its 2026 audit.
Grundy’s financial statements were fairly presented, its internal controls were functioning properly, and auditors found no issues requiring corrective action.
