State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced today that a performance audit of Shannon County will begin this month. The audit is part of the regular schedule of county audits conducted by the State Auditor's Office, but was prioritized to begin this month in order to address concerns raised by Shannon County residents and officials. The audit of the southern Missouri county will commence Monday, October 20 when auditors conduct an entrance meeting with county officials.

"Concerned taxpayers and officials in Shannon County have raised a number of red flags with our office in regard to the performance of their county government and this audit provides a good opportunity to provide them with the answers they want and deserve," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "We’re eager to get to work on behalf of the people of Shannon County as we seek to give them a better understanding of how their government is operating, and how it can improve."

The Missouri State Auditor's Office last issued a performance audit of Shannon County in 2018. The audit gave the county a rating of "fair" and found several areas where county officials needed to make improvements. The report found the county's General Revenue Fund was in weak condition, with disbursements exceeding receipts in three of the four years audited and an outstanding balance owed to the Special Road and Bridge Fund. In addition, county officials had not sufficiently reduced the property tax levy collected in order to meet the legal requirement of off-setting sales tax monies the county received.

Individuals may provide information confidentially for consideration during the audit of Shannon County to the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline by calling 800-347-8597, emailing moaudit@auditor.mo.gov, or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.