Lake County, OH – For twenty consecutive years, Laketran has earned a clean audit from Ohio’s Auditor of the State.

To earn a “clean” audit report and receive an award, agencies must file timely financial reports in the form of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that meets strict standards of the Government Finance Officers Association.

The accountability and financial statement audits for fiscal year 2015, evaluated areas such as general revenue and expenses, public procurements, contract management, state grants, lease agreements, effective internal controls over financial reporting and effective controls to prevent and detect fraud.

The audit covered the 2015 fiscal year, ending December 2015.  The operating cost for the agency in 2015 was $13 million.

Laketran’s CFO Lisa Colling issued Laketran’s CAFR, which was completed by James G. Zupka, CPA, Inc.

It is the 20th consecutive year Laketran received an unqualified opinion with no material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Single Audit findings, or any questioned costs.  This is the best opinion available for this type of audit.

“Our staff and leadership team work very closely to be prudent and thorough in our financial practices.  These audit findings confirm that we operate with high ethical standards and have necessary internal controls to ensure an accurate and accountable use of public funds that comes from the local sales tax levy, the State of Ohio, federal grants and our riders,” commented Colling.

Nationally, Laketran has also received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the 2016 budget. This award reflects Laketran’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

“Here at Laketran we recognize we are stewards of the public’s trust and resources, and we strive to uphold the highest level of integrity in all our operations,” stated Ray Jurkowski, general manager of Laketran. “A clean audit is key to assuring tax payers that we take our fiduciary duties seriously, and that we are using the taxpayers’ funds to provide the services the community expects of us.”

Laketran Board President, Brian Falkowski praised Colling for her leadership, “Twenty years of consistently clean audits is no small accomplishment.  Laketran is proud of our talented staff that is dedicated to the responsible management of public funds.  The Laketran Board of Trustees appreciates the management team’s commitment to excellence.”

Laketran’s CFO Lisa Colling and the Finance Department will be presented with the “Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction” Award, by David Yost Auditor of State at the Laketran Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday October 24, 2016.

News release from GFOA is attached. New release from Ohio Auditor of State can be found here: https://ohioauditor.gov/news/pressreleases/Details/3162