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Auditor: Norwood closes FY2025 with clean opinion, strong reserve position
Summary
Roselli Clark & Associates presented Norwood’s FY2025 financial-statement audit and issued an unmodified opinion, citing strong reserve ratios, an AA+ S&P debt rating and manageable pension/OPEB obligations; auditors flagged network-security and school-lunch balance items for ongoing follow-up.
Terenzio Bopicelli of Roselli Clark & Associates told the Town of Norwood Board of Selectmen on Jan. 27 that the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the town’s financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025.
Bopicelli said the audit identified no internal-control deficiencies that would require formal communications to the board and described the financial statements’ major components, including government-wide statements, fund financial statements and required supplementary information.
“This was a financial statement audit,” Bopicelli said, distinguishing it from a forensic review, and noted that management is responsible for accounting policies and estimates used in the statements.
The auditor highlighted several figures the board tracks: a reserve (unassigned and stabilization) ratio of about 30 percent; certified free cash of $24,900,000; stabilization funds of roughly $12,400,000; and combined reserves near $37,300,000 for a general-fund budget of about $160,000,000. On a statutory basis the town showed a small operating deficit of roughly $74,000, and the town carried about $2.7 million in articles into the next fiscal year.
Bopicelli said the town’s standalone pension plan was about 75 percent funded at the most recent valuation, and that its OPEB (other post-employment benefits) plan showed accumulated assets of about $8.2 million against an actuarial estimate of total OPEB liability near $168 million. He also reported that cash contributions and investment income supported fiscal-year results.
On creditworthiness, the auditor noted S&P currently rates the town’s debt at AA+, a strong rating that helps lower borrowing costs; he said achieving a AAA rating is unlikely given demographic and income factors that rating agencies consider.
Board members asked about items flagged in the auditors’ required-communications letter. Bopicelli said two informational items warranted follow-up: network-security practices and school-lunch balances. He told the board the firm completed a detailed IT questionnaire and recommended that management continue strengthening controls. Town finance staff said multi-factor authentication has been rolled out for email and that the treasurer’s office follows verification practices for unusual transactions.
The report and related documents were posted on the finance committee’s page of the town website for public review, the board was told. The Selectmen offered thanks for the audit work and for the finance team’s efforts to keep audits on schedule.
What happens next: auditors will include follow-up on the informational items in next year’s engagement, and the town will continue implementing IT and financial controls recommended during the audit.
