Yuma County gets clean audit, auditors flag repeat IT control issues

Yuma County’s financial statements were clean, but auditors again warned that the county’s information-technology controls were not strong enough to protect operations, data and other sensitive systems if the problem stays open.

The Arizona Auditor General said the county’s processes for managing and documenting IT risks and control procedures were insufficient, a repeat finding first reported in fiscal 2018. In plain terms, that means the county has not yet shown auditors that it has fully locked down the systems that support payroll, public records, financial reporting and day-to-day county operations.

The FY2025 audit, conducted by Fester and Chapman, PLLC under contract with the Arizona Auditor General, was dated March 23, 2026. Auditors issued an unqualified opinion, which means Yuma County’s reported financial information was reliable, but they still identified two internal-control deficiencies, 2025-001 and 2025-002, as significant deficiencies. Similar significant deficiencies were flagged in the prior year’s audit as 2024-001 through 2024-002, showing the IT-control issue has persisted across multiple reporting cycles.

For fiscal 2025, Yuma County reported $305.9 million in total revenues and $248.8 million in total expenses, leaving revenues $57.1 million higher than expenses. That increased total net position to $580.6 million as of June 30, 2025. Even so, none of that net position was unrestricted. Some assets were not in spendable form, and the rest was restricted by outside parties, limiting how freely county leaders can use the money.

Federal and state grants and programs were the county’s largest revenue source at $116.5 million, followed by county property taxes at $60.8 million. On the spending side, general government was the largest expense category at $89.4 million, with public safety next at $72.3 million. Those figures put a dollar value on the very systems the IT-control finding is meant to protect, from finance and administration to law enforcement operations.

The FY2025 annual report lists the Board of Supervisors as Martin Porchas, chairman for District 1, Jonathan Lines of District 2, Darren Simmons of District 3, Marco A. “Tony” Reyes of District 4 and Lynne Pancrazi of District 5. Ian McGaughey served as county administrator, and Rosa Castillo was listed as chief financial officer for Yuma County Financial Services.

The audit leaves Yuma County with a strong financial opinion and an unresolved management problem. The next annual report will show whether county leaders have finally closed the gap auditors have been flagging since 2018.