Highland Village receives clean audit, finance team praised for fiscal 2023–24

Jacob Bowman, an audit supervisor with Pattillo, Brown & Hill out of Waco, told the Highland Village City Council on March 25 that the city27s annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) for fiscal year 20232D24 received a clean opinion and that auditors found no internal control deficiencies.

The auditor summarized the single-audit testing required for entities that spend federal funds, noting that Highland Village27s ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) spending was tested and found compliant. "No issues, no noncompliance," Bowman said of the federal grant testing. He also praised the city27s finance staff and the audit firm27s professionalism.

Why it matters: a clean audit reduces immediate legal and fiscal exposure, supports creditworthiness and shows the city27s financial statements conform to generally accepted accounting principles. The auditor also presented key fund metrics that will inform budgeting and capital planning decisions.

Bowman walked council through highlights of the ACFR: the general fund ended the year with a fund balance of roughly $11.6 million and unassigned general fund balance of about $9.3 million, representing roughly 38% of annual spending. "You27re at 38%, which is good," Bowman said, noting that the Government Finance Officers Association recommends at least 30% and that the city27s adopted target was lower (20% to 25%). He also described the utility fund as "healthy," with about 75% of a year27s worth of unrestricted fund balance after excluding debt and capital assets.

Bowman explained the difference between governmental fund accounting on a modified-accrual basis and the governmentwide statements on a full-accrual basis, and encouraged council and residents to review the management27s discussion and analysis and the statistical tables for additional context. He said the ACFR27s 10-year schedules help show trends in revenues, expenditures and debt-service ratios.

Heather (finance staff) and the city27s audit coordinator were thanked repeatedly during the presentation. Bowman said the audit process went smoothly because of the documentation the finance team provided: "You've a very clean set of books that is very easy to audit so y'all make it easy on us."

Council action: the ACFR was on the consent agenda (item 13) and was approved as part of a blanket consent motion. The consent motion carried 72D0.

What council members asked and next steps: council members asked clarifying questions about asset classification (for example, why storm sewers appear under wastewater on a particular schedule) and about a typographical page-number error Bowman noted; staff said they would correct the page number before submission to the GFOA. Council members also discussed how certain capital and lease transactions are reported in governmental fund statements versus governmentwide statements.

For readers who want the details: the single-audit section in the smaller-bound report lists federal programs tested and the auditor27s findings; Bowman said ARPA-related testing was performed for the last time for the period ended Sept. 30, 2024. The ACFR and single-audit documents were provided to council and are on file with the city.

Ending: council accepted the ACFR and thanked the finance team and outside auditors for the work. No further formal actions were taken at the presentation beyond the consent approval recorded on the council27s March 25 agenda.