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State Auditor reports no material findings for Leavenworth; issues unmodified opinion on cash-basis statements
Summary
Auditors from the Washington State Auditor's Office told Leavenworth City Council they found compliance "in all material respects" in an accountability audit and issued an unmodified opinion on the city's cash-basis financial statements, with no material misstatements or findings.
Jake Santastevin, team manager of the Wenatchee branch of the Washington State Auditor's Office, and Jamie Cook, the audit lead, presented exit results for two audits covering accountability (01/01/2023–12/31/2024) and the 2024 financial statements. Jake said the auditor’s office performs these exit presentations routinely and summarized the office’s role.
Jamie Cook reported the accountability audit’s results: "the city operations complied in all material respects with applicable state laws, regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public resources," and that the team selected audit areas using a risk-based approach (hotel-motel tax uses, billing adjustments, accounts payable and receivable, credit-card disbursements, deposit completeness, open-meetings compliance, and indicators of financial distress).
On financial statements, the auditor said the office will issue an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements prepared on a cash-basis method, and noted that because the city elected cash-basis reporting instead of US GAAP, the firm also issues a second, dual adverse opinion for nonconformance with GAAP (a standard disclosure when governments choose non-GAAP reporting). Jamie told council the audit identified no uncorrected or material misstatements and no evidence of management override of controls.
Why it matters: An unmodified opinion is the audit result that provides the most assurance that financial statements are presented fairly under the chosen reporting basis. The accountability-audit finding of compliance reduces immediate procedural risk and avoids required corrective actions.
Follow-up: Auditors said they plan to publish the accountability and financial reports on their website the following week and invited the city to complete the audit-survey feedback form. Auditors reminded council that the federal single-audit threshold changed and that if federal expenditures exceed the updated threshold for the next cycle, an additional federal audit may be required.
Representative quotes from the presentation: Jake Santastevin: "We are the auditor of all public accounts in the state of Washington." Jamie Cook: "We are issuing an unmodified opinion." Council members thanked auditors for a smooth process and noted the cost was lower than estimated this cycle.
