Muskego finance committee gets clean 2024 audit but seeks detailed Hillandale ARPA ledger

Wendy Unger, a partner with Baker Tilly, told the Muskego City Finance Committee on Aug. 26 that the firm issued a “clean, unmodified opinion” on the city’s 2024 audited financial statements but identified a material weakness related to a year-end journal entry.

The committee voted 2-1 to direct the finance director to provide the council a detailed, line-by-line ledger and supporting account numbers for the Hillandale Road project and the final report submitted for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding; the council may request additional auditor work afterward.

Unger opened the presentation by summarizing Baker Tilly’s scope and materials. “I am very happy to say that the audit results, the opinion that we've issued is a clean, unmodified opinion,” she told the committee, calling that “the highest level of assurance” her firm issues. She said Baker Tilly also prepared the audited financial statements and a separate reporting-and-insights document that lists recommendations and any material weaknesses.

Unger said the audit uncovered a single material journal entry that required correction during the audit and that the reporting document flagged segregation-of-duties issues in the finance function tied to 2024 staff turnover. She recommended improved documentation of journal-entry review and approval and regular reconciliations. She also noted upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards to monitor.

On specifics of the material adjustment, Unger…