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Council questions pace and scope of CliftonLarsonAllen review of city finances
Summary
Councilors pressed CliftonLarsonAllen on limited hours billed through December, timelines to finish 2024 reconciliations and procurement concerns for future audits; no formal action was taken.
The Woonsocket City Council held an extended discussion with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) on Jan. 21 about the firm’s review of the city’s finance department and its progress reconciling fiscal‑year records.
CLA representative Dave Hansen told the council that CLA provided about 62 hours of work through Dec. 12 and that staffing capacity limited the firm’s earlier availability. “We did not have any more capacity … we’re heavy in the municipal audit sector as well,” Hansen said, and added that the firm had increased resources in January to accelerate work. Hansen said CLA’s immediate target was to complete reconciliations for fiscal 2024 within about two months.
Councilors pressed for scope and deliverables: the council was shown a spreadsheet of billable hours and charges through mid‑December totaling roughly $13,199 against an approved cap of $35,000. The finance director (referred to as “Chrissy” in the meeting) and council members said they will monitor spending and, if needed, address engagement‑letter adjustments.
City Attorney Fung raised a procurement concern: because CLA has provided internal support on finance tasks, the city must avoid creating a perceived conflict that would preclude CLA from bidding on future audit work for fiscal 2025. Fung said the state auditor general’s office had discussed a waiver for the usual RFP process to let Markham finish fiscal 2023 and provide a base price for 2024, while the city plans to go to RFP for fiscal 2025 to remain compliant.
Councilwoman Fox requested a brief “look‑back/look‑ahead” memo summarizing CLA’s work to date and the primary outstanding issues; Hansen agreed to provide recommendations though a formal management letter was not in CLA’s current scope. No vote or formal action was taken on the CLA engagement at this meeting.
Ending: CLA said it will prioritize completion of fiscal‑year 2024 reconciliations in the coming weeks and provide recommended internal‑control improvements informally; the council asked administration and counsel to monitor spending against the engagement cap and to track procurement implications for future audits.
