City auditor issues expected clean opinion; staff note fixed‑asset and depreciation adjustments

A contracted auditor told the Lauderhill City Commission on April 20 that the city’s fiscal 2025 financial statements will receive an unmodified (clean) opinion, but recommended a set of accounting adjustments and ongoing controls work.

Roderick Harvey of HCT, the city’s auditor, said the firm performed testing under generally accepted auditing standards and uniform guidance and found no matters of fraud, going‑concern issues or reportable noncompliance. "We are expecting to issue a clean or unmodified audit opinion, with today's date of April 20," Harvey said during the commission meeting.

City staff supplemented that picture with a current‑year snapshot showing the general fund roughly 50% through the fiscal year. Sean Henderson, finance staff, reported general fund revenues near $60 million against a $97 million budget and enterprise fund revenues approximating $23 million. "Year‑end revenue projections, all revenues and expenditures are on pace, and cash on hand is at $77,800,000," Henderson said.

But auditors identified several reportable matters in fixed assets and depreciation. Harvey said assets purchased in prior years were not capitalized or depreciated correctly, producing estimated variances of several million dollars and assets that appear to have stopped depreciating prematurely. He also flagged roughly $557,000 of ERP‑related fees that were capitalized under machinery and equipment but may meet the accounting definition of subscription‑based IT arrangements under GASB 96.

"We recommend management should recalculate, accumulate depreciation for the assets, record necessary adjustments, and look at some type of periodic review of depreciation schedule," Harvey told commissioners.

City Manager Kenny Hobbs and finance staff said they will work through the recommended adjustments and that some current‑year operational changes have improved performance in areas such as the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC). Hobbs said the city stopped using an external promoter and moved programming in‑house; that change, plus new rental and staffing practices, produced an estimated $300,000 net gain through the first six months of the fiscal year compared with prior annual contributions to the LPAC of $0.5 million to $1 million.

The commission did not take formal action during the presentation; staff said they will circulate the final audit report and follow up with one‑on‑one meetings to review specific items.

What's next: auditors and staff will work to post the final audited financial statements and implement recommended depreciation and accounting corrections; the commission scheduled workshops and one‑on‑one follow‑ups to review indicators and specific operating questions raised during the presentation.