FY2021 audit: Rising Sun shows stable reserves but discloses one material internal-control weakness

Karen Goshen of WCS accounting presented the Town of Rising Sun’s fiscal year 2021 audited financial statements and related reports, saying the audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards required for USDA-funded recipients.

Goshen said the independent auditor’s opinion is that the financial statements are materially correct for the year ended June 30, 2021. She reported the town had $31,873,000 in assets, $23,186,000 in liabilities and a net position of $8,687,000; cash increased by $617,000 to $2,337,000, which she characterized as roughly six months of expenditures.

Total expenditures for the year were $4,637,000 (about $1.7 million for governmental activities and $2.7 million for water and sewer), with total revenues of $3,862,000. Goshen noted the town’s net position decreased by $525,000, mostly reflecting depreciation of capital assets. She also identified one material weakness in internal control related to required adjustments: certain receivables and liabilities had not been recorded in the books presented to the auditors but were posted to the audited financial statements. On compliance, she said there were no findings.

Goshen cautioned that a financial-statement audit is not designed to detect every instance of fraud or misappropriation, but added that nothing came to the auditor’s attention that warranted further investigation. She thanked town staff for assistance and said the audit reports were completed before the state due date.