North Richland Hills receives clean FY2024 audit; one recommendation on year-end close

The North Richland Hills City Council voted 7-0 April 28 to receive the fiscal year 2024 audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the FY2024 single audit after a presentation by the city’s external auditors.

City finance staff said the city engaged Fortis Mazars LLP as external auditors beginning in FY2023. Rachel Ormsby, partner with the firm, presented the audit results and the audit package in the council packet. Ormsby told the council the auditors issued a clean, unmodified opinion on the financial statements. "A clean unmodified opinion that is an A, if you will, for that report," she said.

Ormsby said auditors issued no reportable findings related to compliance for federal and state grants, but they identified one recommendation on internal control over financial reporting tied to the year-end close process. "We did have one recommendation, a process improvement for year end close," she said, and noted the city had experienced turnover in the finance team that contributed to timing challenges.

Ormsby also highlighted long-running achievements: the city received the Government Finance Officers Association certificate of achievement in financial reporting for 40 consecutive years. She reviewed fund-balance metrics, saying that as of Sept. 30, 2024 the city had about $25.9 million in unassigned general fund balance — roughly 40.7% of the general‑fund 2025 budgeted expenditures — and that the city’s pension participation in TMRS was about 89.9% funded as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Councilmember questions focused on the single internal control recommendation and the timeline for corrective action; staff confirmed a corrective-action plan is in place with an intended completion date of Sept. 30, 2025. A motion to receive the audited financial report and single audit carried 7-0.

The council took no further action beyond receiving the audits and acknowledging staff’s corrective-action plan.