Casino earns top grade on audit for second consecutive year

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Spirit Mountain Casino was awarded an “A+” grade for a recent external audit conducted by Las Vegas-based REDW LLC.

It’s the second year in a row that the casino has received a no-finding audit, which is considered a rarity in the industry, according to REDW Principal for Audit and Assurance Adam Smith.

“Typically, every casino we’ve auditing, we usually have about 15 findings where the casino’s not complying with best practices and that could be for a range of different reasons,” he said. “Out of all the casinos we audit annually, there are probably three that don’t have any findings at all.”

Spirit Mountain Casino CEO Camille Mercier said she was “incredibly proud” to have two consecutive years of zero findings.

“This outstanding result is a direct reflection of the professionalism, attention to detail and pride our employees bring to their work every day,” she said. “Not only are we meeting casino industry standards—we are exceeding them. Moments like this remind me how fortunate I am to be part of such a dedicated and high-performing organization and Tribe.”

Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board Chair Andy Jenness gave credit to the casino’s executive team and staff for their efforts.

“Spirit Mountain Casino’s clean external audit for 2024, marking two consecutive years with zero findings, underscores our unwavering commitment to integrity and sound business management, ensuring trust and excellence in serving our Tribal members, community and guests,” he said. “I again applaud our staff, executive team and CEO, Camille Mercier.”

 He added, “When I inquired about our performance from REDW, our external auditors, they enthusiastically awarded Spirit Mountain Casino an ‘A+’ for the 2024 audit, affirming our exceptional standards of integrity and operational excellence.”

Tribal Council member Kathleen George, who also serves as SMGI Board Vice Chair, discussed the audit briefly during a Tuesday, May 20, Legislative Action Committee meeting.

She said that the auditors noted that while the gaming industry nationally is down 5 to 10% in revenue, the audit showed that Spirit Mountain Casino’s profit margin is 4% higher than the 30% industry average, which demonstrates, “our ability to hold our own is really doing very well.”

“Not only was our staff cooperative and easy to work with, but year over year they continue to have no findings,” George said. “They said we’ve developed a clean way of doing business and it was a pleasure to work with our staff.”

REDW LLC performs internal control audits for approximately 100 casinos nationwide, both Tribal and commercial, as well as financial audits for 80.

Spirit Mountain Casino had both internal and financial audits conducted.

Smith said that in general terms, a casino audit includes examining and reviewing various documents and processes and is governed by multiple regulatory and professional authorities.

“There’s two parts to what an audit involves,” he said. “One part is to audit internal controls, essentially the policies and procedures of how it operates. We do live observations and make sure the casino is counting cash correctly, and all kinds of things of that nature. The second part is a financial audit. That entails getting financial statements from the casino and testing those to make sure they’re accurate…Tribal leadership wants to confirm these financial numbers from the casino are accurate and can be trusted.”

That work began in fall 2024 with live observations and interviews onsite. Then, planning began for the financial audit which begins after the fiscal year closes at the end of December. A final report is completed in April.

The firm performed the casino’s 2022 and 2023 audit as well, and also conducts the audits for other Tribal casinos in Oregon and throughout the United States, Smith added.

To receive an A+ rating, a casino must be compliant with policies and procedures, show a commitment to best practices and make a concerted effort to comply with various regulations.

According to Mercier, the audit also noted that the casino did a “great job maintaining revenue while the industry was down 5%-10%. SMC was 4% better than (the) industry average.”

Additionally, it notes that, “expenses rising without revenue rising is the biggest issue moving forward. SMC has a strong management team and gaming commission, (a) major strategic advantage both in operations and in compliance.”  

Smith credits the casino’s continued emphasis on best practices and strong internal controls as some of the reasons for the consecutive no-finding audit.

“The management there genuinely cares and wants to do the best they can and the Tribe should be proud of that,” he said.