Finance director says staffing gaps slowed audits, expects current audit in January

David Little, the city’s director of finance, told the Finance Committee on Nov. 18 that long-running staffing shortages and new Governmental Accounting Standards Board requirements have contributed to delays in producing the city’s annual financial statements. Little said the city previously issued audited statements in March (2021 and 2022) but this year’s audit slipped and he now expects issuance in January rather than the typical December timeline.

Little detailed the finance department’s core responsibilities — reviewing and reconciling bank activity, processing weekly payroll and direct-deposit files, inputting vendor invoices, preparing RFPs and bid tabs, and supporting the annual budget and third-party audit. He said the department recently added a grant-writer…