City of Ocoee receives clean audit opinion for fiscal year ending 2024

The City of Ocoee received an unmodified — or clean — opinion on its audited financial statements for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024, auditors told the City Commission on June 3.

The conclusion came during a presentation by Tim Westgate, audit partner on the engagement, who said the firm had "issued a clean opinion, an unmodified opinion that is the highest level of assurance" and that the financial statements meet requirements of Florida statutes, the Florida Auditor General, lenders and federal and state grant programs.

The audit also produced clean compliance reports on investment rules and on the city—s federal single-audit. Westgate said the coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery fund program (the city—s identified major federal program for the audit) was examined and auditors issued an unmodified compliance opinion on that program.

Why it matters: a clean opinion is the strongest assurance an external auditor gives that statements fairly present a government—s financial position, and compliance findings can affect future grant eligibility and bond market access.

Key findings and management recommendations: the auditors reported no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in financial reporting. They did note items for management attention, including a continuing deficit in the solid-waste fund (an $843,000 deficit improved from the prior year) and an instance of one department exceeding its general-fund budget by about $78,000. Westgate described the $78,000 instance as a late discovery that could not be corrected by a budget amendment because the allowed timeline had passed; auditors recommended reviewing budget-monitoring and amendment timeliness.

The audit presentation included highlights of fund balances: most major governmental funds (general fund, road impact fee, ARPA funds) increased in fund balance except the capital projects fund, which decreased as budgeted. On the proprietary side, net position increased overall. Employee retirement trust positions showed an overall $22 million increase: the general-employees plan was roughly 94% funded and the police-and-fire plan was just under 96% funded, Westgate said.

Auditors also recommended continued IT risk assessment and some policy updates to strengthen cybersecurity posture, noting ransomware and other IT threats in the current environment.

Discussion and next steps: Commissioners asked about the GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) recommended reserve levels and whether the audit team evaluates that metric. Westgate said the GFOA recommends a minimum of about two months of reserves for cash-flow needs and that the city—s ratio was in a "healthy position," roughly "50%" on a metric he referenced during the presentation. No formal commission action was taken; the presentation was informational and the audit package will serve as the city—s final audited financial report for external filing.

The auditors thanked city finance staff for their cooperation during the audit and invited questions at the end of the presentation.