Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Finance Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City auditor issues unqualified opinion on Weatherford's 2023 financial statements; single-audit required for federal funds
Summary
City CPA Jenna Walker told the Weatherford City Commission the fiscal year 2023 audit resulted in an unqualified opinion on modified-cash-basis financial statements, noted repeated internal-control weaknesses and triggered a single-audit for federal awards totaling about $1.8 million.
Jenna Walker, the City of Weatherford's contracted CPA, told the City Commission on an unspecified date that her audit of the financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023, resulted in an unqualified opinion on the city's modified-cash-basis statements.
Walker said the audit covered governmental and business-type activities and each major fund. "We were able to give an unqualified opinion," she said, noting that the report clarifies the work was performed on a modified cash basis rather than full GAAP accrual accounting.
The audit highlights the city's cash and investment position and identified repeated internal-control weaknesses. Walker said the report shows combined cash at the top of the statements and summarized revenue sources, including sales tax receipts of about $13,200,000 for the year. She reported an ending net position figure of roughly $18,300,000 and noted capital outlays of about $5,600,000.
Why it matters: the commission will use the audited totals and the auditor's internal-control findings when preparing the 2026 budget, addressing recurring control gaps and planning a transition to full-accrual reporting.
Details and findings
- Modified-cash basis and transition goals: Walker emphasized the audit is on a modified-cash basis and said the city's goal is to move toward full GAAP/accrual reporting in future years to provide a more comprehensive view of assets, liabilities and long-term obligations.
- Federal awards and single audit: the city exceeded the single-audit threshold for federal funds. Walker said total federal-award expenditures subject to the single-audit were about $1,800,000 for the year. She said auditors did not identify any questioned costs in that review.
- Repeated internal-control findings: Walker identified recurring issues including segregation-of-duties weaknesses (noting municipal court records as an area that had prior findings), inconsistent approvals in the utility department and a lack of formal controls to monitor personal use of city-owned assets such as vehicles. She recommended policy review, clearer approval procedures and better documentation of exceptions.
- Other disclosures: the audit includes note disclosures on long-term debt and pension participation and actuarial assumptions that readers can use to understand future liabilities.
Walker praised city staff for cooperating during the first-year engagement and said the audit team has already begun gathering records for the 2024 audit. "The first year is always the worst," Walker said. She told commissioners the work should go more quickly next year once processes are in place.
Commission follow-up
A city official asked whether the commission needed to approve the budget now; another replied that the budget approval is scheduled in November. Walker and staff said they will deliver updated financial statements and additional information to the commission as the transition to accrual reporting proceeds.
Ending
Commissioners expressed appreciation for the work and the staff assistance cited by Walker; the commission raised no formal objection to the audit report as presented.
