Richmond auditor issues clean opinion on city financial statements but disclaims on housing authority; auditors note payroll control weakness

Richmond City Council received the city's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 2024, and heard an audit presentation Feb. 4 from Badawi & Associates that issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the city's government-wide financial statements while disclaiming an opinion on parts of the Richmond Housing Authority (RHA) records that remain incomplete.

The independent auditor, Ahmed Badawi, told the council the city's financial statements are "fairly stated in all material respects" for most funds but that the firm could not issue an opinion on RHA business-type activities because key records were not available for audit. He said the RHA audit work is ongoing and that the city has been writing off unsupported balances as part of a multi-year reconciliation effort.

The audit matters matter because the ACFR is the city's official, audited record of resources, liabilities and performance for the fiscal year. Voters, creditors and grantors rely on the ACFR to assess fiscal stability. Badawi said Richmond ended the year with an unrestricted general fund balance that…