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Auditors give Palos Park a clean FY2024 opinion; general fund up about $213,000
Summary
Lauterbach & Amen told the Village of Palos Park council on Feb. 24 that it issued an unmodified opinion on the village's fiscal year 2024 financial statements, reported an approximate $213,000 increase in the general fund and listed no current audit recommendations.
Brad Porter, principal at Lauterbach & Amen, told the Village of Palos Park Council on Feb. 24 that the audit of the village's fiscal year ended April 30, 2024, received an unmodified opinion and included no current audit recommendations.
Porter said the firm's SAS 114 communication contained "no such disagreements or difficulties noted," and that the village's financial statements for the year ended 04/30/2024 were presented fairly in all material respects. "For the fiscal year ended 04/30/2024, we have issued an unmodified opinion," Porter said.
The auditors flagged a roughly $213,000 increase in the village general fund balance, which Porter said is about 5% over the prior fiscal year. He also pointed the council to the management's discussion and analysis section (pages 17'28 of the audit packet) as the most useful narrative summary of the year.
The firm provided the annual comprehensive financial report and a management letter; Porter said there were no current recommendations arising from the FY2024 audit and that prior recommendations from fiscal 2023 or earlier have status updates included in the letter. The council was told the village previously received a certificate of achievement for financial reporting for the period ending 04/30/2023, and the auditors said they expect no obstacles to applying the FY2024 report for the same award.
Commissioner Reid introduced the auditors and thanked the village finance staff for their work. Porter specifically thanked the finance director and staff for accommodating the audit during a software conversion and year-end work. After the presentation, Porter offered to answer questions; council members had no substantive follow-up during the meeting.
Why it matters: An unmodified (clean) audit opinion and an increase in fund balance are indicators the village's financial statements were prepared in line with accounting standards and that basic reserves grew year over year. The lack of current audit recommendations suggests auditors did not identify material control weaknesses requiring immediate corrective action during FY2024.
The auditor remained available to the council for questions and follow-up; no formal action or vote on the audit report was recorded during the meeting.
