Outside auditor gives township a clean 2024 opinion, urges stronger separation of duties

Anastasia Devlin, an outside auditor with B Bergvall and Company, told the Wilson F. T. Township Board of Supervisors on June 18 that the township's 2024 financial statements received an unmodified, or "clean," opinion. Devlin said governmental revenues were outpacing expenditures and noted that about "64% of your revenues come from your various taxes," a figure that fluctuated from year to year depending on grant receipts.

Devlin summarized the audit for the board and public, saying the audit uses a risk-based approach and sampling rather than a forensic review. "An audit gives you relative assurance, not absolute assurance," she said, and added that auditors would report material issues in an internal control letter if they arose. She flagged two minor disclosure items that did not materially affect the statements and noted forthcoming Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) changes that will require new disclosures on concentration and presentation.

On controls, Devlin recommended clearer segregation of duties where practical. "Someone does reconciliation and then someone else reviews the reconciliation and notes that they reviewed it," she said, and suggested limiting direct access to bank accounts as a safeguard while acknowledging the cost-benefit trade-offs for a small township. She also described audit timing and procedures: engagement letters are issued before work begins, some testing may take place in December, but most audit work waits until the books are closed and auditors often confirm revenues with independent sources.

Board member Lou asked whether the auditors had corrected the township's financial statements in recent years; Devlin said she had not had to correct the township's financials and that prior restatements were driven by changes in accounting standards rather than audit-detected errors. She also explained that the township typically keeps a target general fund balance (about $250,000) and transfers excess into a capital fund for future use. Devlin noted past uses of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for sewer upgrades and a Montgomery County grant that affected year-to-year revenue composition.

During the meeting a public commenter raised procedural concerns about the materials: "The document that's in the package that we can see has a date of March 27. The document the full audit that's posted is April 22," the commenter said, adding that the presentation slides were not provided in advance, which made following the synopsis difficult. The chair said staff would follow up and work with the commenter to answer outstanding questions.

The chair closed the workshop after the audit presentation and asked for a motion to adjourn; the transcript records a motion to adjourn and a brief pause before the board began its business meeting, but no formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff were asked to work with Devlin on any follow-up questions and to provide additional materials as needed for members and members of the public.