Board hears audit and accounting-software update; FY23 audit complete pending signature

Town staff updated the select board on the town’s audit and accounting-system conversion during the April 21 meeting, laying out a timetable for completing fiscal-year work and integrating records into the MRI system.

A staff member said the FY2023 audit is complete but the town is awaiting final signature; QuickBooks files for 2023–24 are currently being converted and transmitted to MRI. The staff member said auditors will perform a walkthrough the week of May 12 and that an on-site FY24 audit is expected in June or July, describing the process as a stepwise conversion that requires responses to auditor questions and paperwork before the physical audit occurs.

Board members discussed the implications for budgeting and borrowing, with one member noting that certain financial prerequisites are required to obtain bonds. The staff member said reconciliations connected to a prior staff departure have been completed and that policies and chart-of-accounts work are under way to make the town’s financial house healthier.

"I emailed Christian Pearsall at MRI to make sure he knew that the QuickBooks files 4 24 are now with Sanderson, so they are converting the files as we speak," the staff member said, describing the migration process. The staff member emphasized that having FY23 completed will allow some accounting work to proceed while the FY24 audit follows the staged schedule.

The board noted the audit will produce recommendations and findings that will require follow-up and that staff will continue to provide updates as conversion progresses. No formal action was taken other than recording the update in the meeting minutes.