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Tulare receives unmodified audit opinion for 2024; auditors report two significant deficiencies
Summary
City auditors gave Tulare an unmodified (clean) opinion on its 2024 financial statements, while reporting two significant deficiencies—an incomplete bank reconciliation and an outdated overhead cost-allocation method. The board voted to accept the audit report.
Tulare received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion on its 2024 financial statements, auditor Anthony Gonzales of Price Page and Company told the board. Gonzales said the audit, performed under AICPA standards and Government Audit Standards, concluded the financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects.
The audit covered cash and investments, revenues and receivables (including utility billings), expenses and payroll, capital assets, GASB 54 fund-balance classifications, custodial activities and the net pension liability. Gonzales said the firm performed a risk-based audit focused on areas of greatest risk and issued the opinion after evaluating evidence and disclosures.
While the opinion was clean, the Government Audit Standards report identified two significant deficiencies. Gonzales described finding 2024-001 as an incomplete bank reconciliation in which certain items (for example, checks listed as outstanding) were not reflected in the reconciliation to the city’s books. The second finding related to an outdated overhead cost-allocation methodology. Gonzales said these issues were reportable but not material to the audit opinion.
A commissioner asked whether the incomplete reconciliation reflected missing invoices or accounting errors; Gonzales replied that testing showed differences between the bank statement and the city’s accounting records and that the process did not permit timely reconciliation, but the difference was not material and therefore did not change the audit opinion. He also reported no significant disagreements with management and said the audit identified no fraud or illegal acts.
Commissioner Ward thanked auditors and staff and provided additional context: the city changed audit firms after the 2023 audit, the 2023 audit took longer to complete, and the organization has increased both the volume of funds overseen and finance staffing in recent years. Ward said the city had about $18 million in ARPA funds and roughly $30 million in other new funding sources that have increased complexity. He characterized the two findings as anticipated items the city was already working to address.
After the presentation and questions, the board voted to accept the 2024 financial-statement audit report.
