2008-085A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

JEFFREY K. BARTON Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller 1 801 27, h Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960-3388 Telephone (772) 226-1945 March 6, 2008 To the Citizens of Indian River County: The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of Indian River County, Florida for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, is respectfully submitted. State law requires that every general-purpose government publish a complete set of audited financial statements within six months of the close of each �. fiscal year. This report was prepared by the Finance Department under the supervision of the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Responsibility for both the accuracy of the presented data and the completeness and fairness of the presentation, including all disclosures, rests with the Finance Department and is contingent upon the internal control established for this purpose. Since the cost of internal control should not exceed anticipated benefits, the objective of the financial statements is to provide reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance that they are free of any material misstatements. Section 11.45, Florida Statutes, requires an annual audit of all County agencies. The County has directed that the annual audit be more extensive than that required by Florida Statutes by requiring that the annual audit be a single audit covering all the funds and account groups of the County. The unqualified opinion of the auditors, Harris, Cotherman, Jones, Price and Associates, Certified Public Accountants — Chartered, of the County's financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2007 has been included in this report. The independent auditors' report is located at the front of the financial section of this report. The audit was also designed to meet the requirements of Government Auditing Standards, the Florida Single Audit Act, the Federal Single Audit Act of 1984, the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, and revised OMB Circular A-133. Readers of this report are encouraged to read Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), which provides basic financial information about the County and an overview of the County's activities. The MD&A immediately follows the independent auditors' report. Profile of the Government w. Indian River County, established on June 29, 1925 by an act of the Florida Legislature, is on the central Atlantic coast of Florida, approximately 100 miles southeast of Orlando and 135 miles north of Miami. The County is bordered by Brevard County to the north, St. Lucie County to the south, and Osceola and w Okeechobee Counties on the west. There are approximately 100 miles of waterfront land in the County, including 23 miles of Atlantic beaches. The City of Vero Beach is the seat of County government. The functional (seasonal plus resident) population reaches approximately 160,000. Like the rest of the state of Florida, the County has experienced significant population growth. Government and the service industry remain the largest sectors of employment in the County with other major sources of jobs found in retail trade and agriculture. Indian River citrus is a well-recognized name and product throughout the United States and internationally. i