Carlisle audit: clean opinion, no findings; ARPA spending tested in single audit
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Summary
Auditors from Smith Valley Kearns presented the borough'024 audit and single-audit results, reporting an unmodified opinion, no findings, positive net changes in fund balances, and that the ARPA/Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds were the major program tested.
Auditors from Smith Valley Kearns told the Borough of Carlisle council on Nov. 5 that the borough received an unmodified (clean) opinion on its 2024 financial statements and that no audit findings were reported. The auditors also said the borough had positive net changes in fund balances and that the single-audit procedures this year focused on the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA).
Why it matters: An unmodified opinion indicates the auditors found the financial statements to be materially correct based on the procedures performed. The single-audit testing and absence of findings on the ARPA program reduce near-term compliance risk for federal funding that the borough used in 2024.
Tina Kernow, the engagement partner for Smith Valley Kearns, summarized the materials provided to the council, including the annual comprehensive financial statements, the management letter and required communications to those charged with governance. "In summary, for the borough, you have an unmodified audit opinion," Kernow said during the presentation. She noted there were no findings and described upcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards the borough will need to implement over the next several years.
Auditors reported total federal expenditures charged by the borough in 2024 were about $4.7 million and that the ARPA/state and local fiscal recovery funds were selected as the major federal program for testing under the single-audit rules. Kevin (Smith Valley Kearns) told the council that the single-audit procedures resulted in no findings.
The presentation included program-level and fund-level details. Kernow noted the intergovernmental revenue variance between budget and actual was driven largely by the timing of ARPA receipts and when the borough recognized that revenue against expenses. The auditors also described pension disclosures and said the borough—mployee pension position is "just over being fully funded," while a 10-year debt-margin chart showed the borough at approximately half of its legal limit.
Kevin summarized graphical trend analyses of cash and investments, revenues and expenses, and net position across funds, showing general increases in cash and positive surpluses in multiple funds over recent years. He reiterated that there were no disagreements with management and no significant recommendations in the management letter for 2024.
Auditors made themselves available for follow-up questions and the council thanked them for the work. Kernow and Kevin said they would assist management with implementation of any new GASB standards as they become effective.
