External auditor: 2023–24 audit nearly complete; grant compliance finding expected

Stafford — An independent audit partner told the Stafford City Council on Sept. 3 that auditors have finished most fieldwork for the city’s 2023–24 financial audit and expect to finish production and review in coming weeks, but that the audit will include a finding because the city missed a federal data-collection filing deadline.

Chris Pruitt, audit partner with Petillo, Brown & Hill, said the firm’s field work is complete and a draft product will be delivered to the firm’s review team early next week. “I will be getting a complete product on Monday,” Pruitt said. He added he expects the firm to finalize the audit work internally by about Sept. 17 and to present financial statements to council around Oct. 1.

Pruitt told council the interim work went “very well,” but that auditors will record at least one compliance finding related to grants. “You will have one for sure in regards to compliance with grants,” he said, citing a federal requirement to submit a data-collection form to the federal clearinghouse by June 30. Because that filing was not made on time, Pruitt said auditors must include a finding in the report.

Councilmembers pressed for schedule clarity. Pruitt said the firm has the city on its calendar for the next fiscal-year audit and described the timeline for the current engagement as: completed field work, production and internal review, then a presentation to finance committee and council. City staff confirmed the report will be routed to the finance committee after the auditor’s internal reviews.

No formal action was taken by the council on the audit update; the agenda record shows the item was for update and discussion only. Councilmembers and staff discussed the logistics of receiving the draft and timing relative to upcoming budget work, and asked that the auditor and city staff coordinate delivery to allow adequate time for review before any formal presentation.

Background: auditors said switching audit firms midstream contributed to some schedule friction this year, and Pruitt noted occasional delays in receiving requested reports during fieldwork. He also told council that, aside from the grant-related finding tied to the missed data-collection filing, auditors had not yet identified issues rising to the level of a material weakness or significant deficiency.

Staff and council members asked the auditor to share routine correspondence with credit agencies and to coordinate with the finance committee about timing. Council and staff also discussed the practical impact of the grant-finding: the finding reflects a missed regulatory filing, not a concluded finding of grant misuse. Pruitt said the finding is linked to the late submission of the required data-collection form and is a compliance issue auditors are required to report.

The auditor estimated that, if the council accepts the auditor’s projected schedule, the finalized financial statements would be available for council review in early October — a timing staff said they would try to align with budget planning.

Provenance: the auditor’s report and the council’s discussion appear verbatim in the meeting transcript during the audit update item. The agenda listed the item as “update and discussion regarding the status of financial audit”; council did not vote on the item.