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Bedford council accepts FY 2023–24 audited financial statements; audit firm gave unmodified opinion
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution accepting the independent auditor’s report and single‑audit report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024; staff said the finance department received an unmodified (clean) opinion and that the city will continue to monitor new GASB requirements and ARPA accounting.
The Bedford City Council unanimously approved a resolution on March 25 accepting the independent auditor’s report and the single‑audit report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024.
Karen Riggs, assistant city manager, presented the audit overview on behalf of auditor Jennifer Ripka, who had a scheduling conflict but presented to the audit committee the previous week. Riggs told the council the finance department “did receive an unmodified audit opinion, which is the highest audit opinion that you can receive,” indicating the auditors found no material misstatements in the city’s financial statements for the period.
The auditor’s work covered internal controls, revenue recognition, and compliance with grant requirements; staff noted the single audit is performed when federal expenditures exceed $750,000 in a fiscal year. Riggs described the audit as a six‑month process and explained that certain accounting rules affect revenue recognition for federal grants such as ARPA: “From an audit standpoint and governmental accounting standards practice is you only recognize that revenue when the expenditures occur,” she said, noting ARPA proceeds may sit in deferred revenue until spent.
Jennifer Ripka, the auditor, discussed areas of audit focus and risk, telling the council that management‑override‑of‑controls is a consideration in audits generally and that the firm focuses on charges for services and grants as higher‑risk revenue areas.
Councilmember Sable seconded a motion to approve and accept the audit report; the mayor called the vote and the resolution passed unanimously. No material audit findings were presented on the council floor; the materials before the council included bound copies of the single audit and the audited financial statements.
At the meeting staff and the auditors also highlighted upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board pronouncements that will affect reporting (discussed in the packet as GASB 100 and GASB 101) and said the city will work closely with auditors to implement necessary accounting changes in future reporting cycles. No additional council action was taken beyond adoption of the resolution accepting the reports.
