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Franklin audit shows $52.6M net position; auditor flags internal-control staffing risk
Summary
An independent audit presented Sept. 8 gave the City of Franklin an unqualified opinion for fiscal year 2023–24 and reported a combined net position of about $52.6 million, while noting the finance office lacks segregation of duties because of limited staff.
The City of Franklin received an unqualified (clean) independent auditor’s opinion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, but the auditor cautioned the city about limited segregation of duties in the finance office.
Kim Kirby, an audit partner with Kirby Moore LLP, presented the annual financial report and told the commission, “the audit opinion is a clean, clean opinion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.” Kirby reported total net position for the city of approximately $52,572,174 and a positive change in net position for the year.
Kirby highlighted key figures in the report: general-fund balances, enterprise fund positions (water and wastewater assets and net positions), and a favorable variance between budgeted and actual revenues. He also described required disclosures under Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34 and explained that audits sample transactions rather than review 100% of activity.
On internal controls Kirby said the finance office is small and “you just don't have adequate segregation of duties,” a recurring comment the auditor makes because a single staffer must perform overlapping functions. City Finance Director Carol Riggenbach and commissioners discussed the practical limits of staff size and controls in a small government.
Action taken: the commission also authorized the mayor to sign an engagement letter for the 2025 audit at a fee of $25,000 and a proposed Oct. 1 start. The engagement motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
Why it matters: A clean audit opinion supports the city’s financial standing for bondholders, lenders and grant applicants; the auditor’s internal-control note is an operational risk the commission may choose to address through staffing or compensating controls.
What’s next: Staff and the auditor said they will continue to document controls and bring any needed corrective action to the commission; the 2025 engagement moves the next audit forward with a target completion in January.
