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<br />The key pages of the CAFR which the council may wish to review are pages 11-12 and pages 147-148, <br />where two of the auditors' reports are found. In the first report, the auditors have issued a “clean <br />opinion” on the City’s basic financial statements, indicating that the City has prepared these statements <br />in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). GAAP for state and local <br />governments is promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to ensure <br />consistency in accounting and comparability in financial reporting among state and local governments. <br />A clean opinion is a fundamental financial goal for every government, as it represents the highest level <br />of opinion a government can receive from its independent auditors. A clean opinion is an important <br />indicator of sound financial management and creditworthiness to the citizens, other governmental <br />jurisdictions (state and federal), credit rating agencies, investment bankers, bond holders, and other <br />private sector entities. <br /> <br />In the second report, the auditors state that nothing came to their attention that caused them to believe <br />that the City was not in compliance with appropriate state and federal regulations, with one exception <br />where the City exceeded its legal budget (page 47). The Facilities and Fleet Internal Service Fund <br />exceeded the Central Services operating budget of approximately $6.1 million by $9,002. Although <br /> <br />Facility staff closely monitoredtheir expected expenditures to appropriation amounts particularly toward <br />the end of the fiscal year, some fiscal year 2006 invoices for fiscal year 2005 obligations incurred by the <br />City, were expensed back to fiscal year 2005, and caused the over-expenditure. The overage is less than <br />one-tenth of a percent; however, ORS require that all over-expenditures be brought to the attention of <br />the governing body. <br /> <br />Two additional reports, beginning on page 151, specifically address compliance with Federal laws, <br />regulations, contracts and grants, and indicate that the auditors found no material instances of the City's <br />noncompliance with these requirements, nor were there any findings or questioned costs noted in <br />relation to Federal awards made to the City. <br /> <br />For fiscal year 2005 audits, the auditors have submitted a memo to the governing body for each of their <br />clients that addresses any concerns or findings they encountered in such audit-related areas as fraud, <br />accounting estimates and policies. Their memo addressing these issues is attached and it states that <br />there were no concerns that required communication to you. <br /> <br /> <br />RELATED POLICY ISSUES <br /> <br />Policy B.1 of the City’s Financial Management Goals and Policies states that “The City will maintain an <br />accounting and financial reporting system that allows reporting in conformance with Generally <br />Accepted Accounting Principles and Oregon Local Budget Law and will issue a Comprehensive Annual <br />Financial Report each fiscal year.” This action signifies formal completion of this process for the fiscal <br />year ended June 30, 2005, and demonstrates Council’s compliance with the Policy. <br /> <br /> <br />COUNCIL OPTIONS <br />Not applicable. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060109\S0601093D.doc <br /> <br />