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City audit returns unmodified opinion; federal-award findings, corrective plan noted
Summary
Auditors from Raven Robson told the Battle Creek City Commission the city's financial statements received an unmodified opinion, but the single-audit found one significant deficiency and four material noncompliance findings across federal programs; management produced a corrective action plan.
An independent auditor told the Battle Creek City Commission that the city's 2024 financial statements received an unmodified opinion and that management has prepared corrective steps for issues found during the federal single-audit.
Nathan Balderman, principal at Raven Robson, presented the audit and told commissioners the firm issued “an unmodified opinion” on the financial statements and commended the city’s comprehensive annual financial report and recurring certificate of excellence in financial reporting.
Balderman said auditors review internal controls only for purposes of forming the financial-statement opinion. The audit disclosed one significant deficiency related to internal controls; the city included a corrective action plan in the audit report. Because the city expended more than $750,000 in federal funds, auditors also performed a single-audit and selected three federal programs for testing: the Community Development Block Grant program, a lead-abatement program, and fiscal-recovery (ARPA) funds. Raven Robson reported four findings the firm characterized as material noncompliance spread across those programs and described them as “relatively small on the scale of things,” with reporting and new-program learning cited as common causes.
Balderman said management has submitted the corrective action plan to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse and that the items should be cleared once the plan is implemented. He noted the audit package includes the financial-statement report, the single-audit report, and a separate letter to those charged with governance that lists management-letter comments and other matters that do not rise to the level of a significant deficiency.
Interim City Manager Ted (first name listed in the meeting record as Ted) and the city’s fiscal staff were thanked during the presentation for preparing materials for the audit. Balderman also flagged upcoming accounting-standard work for 2025, including a disclosure change related to compensated absences that the city will need to implement.
The commission had no questions after the presentation and accepted the report as presented.
