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Finance Committee hears audit update, staff targets January financial statements
Summary
City staff told the Finance Committee auditors are on-site to complete testing, airport lease present-value GASB work is finished, and staff still targets issuing the city's financial statements in January unless significant findings or scheduling conflicts arise.
City finance staff updated the Finance Committee on Dec. 16 about the 2024 audit timeline and work in progress.
Unidentified Staff (S2) said auditors were on-site for several days to finish testing related to community and economic development and that the airport present-value requirements under GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) had been completed: "They have nearly 50 of them, that extend out multiple years," staff said, describing the complexity of lease calculations. Staff reported some outstanding questions remain with the school department, which the auditors will review next, and stated the goal—assuming no significant findings or scheduling conflicts—is to issue financial statements in January.
Committee members asked about anticipated challenges and staff said the chief operational risk is staffing shortages in the finance department and potential auditor scheduling conflicts because fewer municipal audit firms now serve Maine municipalities. Staff said the city is evaluating software for lease management and anticipates a future bid for a new financial package that may improve reporting and reduce manual workloads.
Ending: Staff will continue on-site work with auditors and return updates if testing uncovers additional questions; the committee was told to expect the financial statements in January unless new obstacles emerge.
