City of Wausau auditors report clean 2024 opinion; GASB 101 prompted a material adjustment

CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) representatives gave the City of Wausau Finance Committee an overview of the city’s 2024 financial audit on Oct. 14, reporting an unmodified, or “clean,” opinion on both the city’s financial statements and the federal/state awards tested.

John Trautman, principal at CliftonLarsonAllen, told the committee: “The city achieved an unmodified opinion. That’s a clean opinion.” He said CLA issued a single material weakness related to adjustments to the city’s financial records tied to implementation of GASB 101 (the Governmental Accounting Standards Board standard on compensated absences). Trautman said auditors made a material adjustment to beginning balances to comply with the new GASB 101 requirements.

Stuart Randall, audit manager for CLA, reviewed financial trends: the city’s governmental fund balances rose about $5 million over five years and the general fund increased to roughly $17.2 million by year‑end 2024. Randall noted a large increase in the water enterprise fund net position in 2024 tied to one‑time capital grants and principal forgiveness: approximately $8 million in capital transactions were identified (including water infrastructure grant awards and loan principal forgiveness), which inflated the 2024 increase in water fund position relative to historical years.

Auditors also raised two areas for management attention. One was continued improvement in year‑end close procedures and controls, a common issue amplified by staffing turnover. The other was a significant deficiency in documentation related to suspension and debarment checks on certain federal awards; auditors said the city lacked complete documentation of internal controls for those checks even though no problematic vendors were identified.

Trautman and Randall outlined upcoming audit‑reporting changes: the federal single audit major‑program threshold will rise from $750,000 to $1,000,000, and new GASB reporting changes (beyond GASB 101) are expected in 2026. The auditors also reminded the committee that American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024 and spent by 2026; the city had about $4.5 million unspent at year end 2024, and committee member Mary Anne later noted about $1.8 million remained to be spent.

Committee questions and next steps: Members asked about enterprise fund volatility (transit, parking and airport) and capital asset accounting. Auditors said depreciation and capital contributions (for example, replacement buses or grant‑funded capital) explain much of interannual fluctuation in net position for enterprise funds. CLA said it will continue to work with staff on year‑end processes and single‑audit readiness.

Provenance: CLA’s presentation began with introductions from John Trautman and Stuart Randall and concluded with auditor closing remarks and committee discussion about audit follow‑up and contract renewal plans.