After a state commission that monitors municipal finances and approves borrowing pressured three towns to file long-overdue audits, two of those towns said the accounting firm they used was a source of the delays.
Wilkesboro and Ronda were years late in submitting annual audits and both used Rives & Associates for audit services. Rives & Associates changed its name this year to RH CPAs.
Accountants who used to work for the company told the Ronda town clerk in emails that management changes and company departures caused delays.
Initially, RH CPAs partner W. Leon Rives told Policy Watch the company had trouble getting financial information from the towns. Company spokesman Monty Hagler attributed the delays to complications that included “client factors that were beyond our control.”