External auditors report clean opinion on Seaford9s FY24 draft financial statements

SB Company representatives presented the City of Seaford9s draft FY24 financial statements and audit results during the Aug. 12 council meeting and said they plan to issue an unmodified (clean) opinion. Engagement partner Toby Hollander and advisory partner Bill Seymour told council the auditors performed a risk-based approach across treasury, payroll, revenue, expenditures and other control processes and found no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control. They reported no matters of fraud discovered or made known to them during the audit procedures. Hollander summarized key figures from the draft statements: governmental activities showed a small decrease in net position (from roughly $15.0 million to about $14.9 million); business-type activities (electric, sewer, water, golf) showed increases in capital assets and an overall net position increase (from about $29.7 million to about $32.8 million). The general fund9s top revenue sources were taxes (about 41%) and intergovernmental revenue (about 26%), while proprietary funds derived roughly 93% of revenue from charges for services. Auditors highlighted upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board pronouncements that will affect future years9 reporting, including GASB 101 (compensated absences) and GASB 102 (certain risk disclosures), and said they would assist management with implementation. Hollander said the audit team received full cooperation from management and that the final report would be issued after the city signs the management representation letter. Council thanked SB Company and city finance staff for their work; Finance Director Merritt and staff were recognized for dedicating significant time to complete the statements. Why it matters: a clean opinion signals auditors found the statements free of material misstatement and no internal control failures that would rise to a material weakness. The presentation included discussion of revenue drivers, net position changes, and forthcoming accounting standard changes that may affect FY25 reporting. Council did not take a formal vote on the audit presentation; Hollander said the final documents would be issued after the representation letter was received.