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Independent auditors give Loomis a clean opinion for FY 2023-24; recommend written reserve and grant procedures
Summary
Richardson & Company issued an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for the town's FY 2023-24 financial statements, noting resolved internal-control weaknesses from the prior audit but recommending a formal reserve policy, grant-tracking procedures and written accounting manuals.
Richardson & Company presented the Town of Loomis's fiscal year 2023-24 audit to the council and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the town's combined financial statements.
Managing partner Ingrid Sheplein told the council the audit found material weaknesses identified in the previous year had been addressed following staffing changes and the addition of finance review processes. She noted the audit was delayed by staffing turnover during the prior year but said the town finished FY 2023-24 with a positive unrestricted net position of about $2.4 million after accounting for capital assets and liabilities.
Key audit highlights presented to the council included: - An unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial statements. - Unspent ARPA/COVID relief funds: about $904,000 recognized as unearned revenue, with $1.7 million of COVID-era relief originally received and being spent on improvement projects. - Pension liability: CalPERS actuarial valuations produced a pension liability of roughly $1.3 million, a modest increase from the prior year. - General fund: the town carried general fund reserves (reported at roughly $3.2 million) and used reserves to fund some capital projects; the town budgeted to use reserves but outperformed that carrydown.
The auditor recommended that the town: - Adopt a formal reserve (fund balance) policy to codify targets and uses currently reflected in the budget. - Develop written accounting procedures, a grant-tracking protocol and a maintained journal-entry file with supporting documentation to aid continuity and audits.
Town staff said the new ERP/accounting software and recent finance hires will assist with implementing the auditor's management-letter recommendations and improving long-term recordkeeping.
No formal council action was taken at the meeting; the report was accepted for filing and staff said they will work to address the recommendations.
