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Danbury audit committee recommends council accept FY2022 audited financials after auditors note delays, material weaknesses
Summary
RSM auditors told Danbury’s audit committee the city received unmodified opinions for fiscal year 2022 despite three reported control weaknesses, staffing shortfalls and a school-related cyber incident that delayed filings; the committee voted to recommend the council accept the audited statements and to reconvene when the 2023 audit is ready.
Scott Bassett of audit firm RSM told the Danbury audit committee that auditors issued unmodified (clean) opinions on the city’s fiscal year 2022 financial statements but identified three control weaknesses and acknowledged significant delays in completing the audit.
Bassett, the presenting auditor, said the auditors’ role is to express an opinion on management’s financial statements and to test federal and state programs. He told the committee that the city received roughly $27,000,000 in federal awards (three major programs tested) and about $60,000,000 in state awards (five programs tested), and that the auditors performed required compliance testing with only minor findings on federal awards and modified testing results on some state programs.
"We were 10 months late," Bassett said of the audit timetable, and he identified staffing shortfalls, turnover in key assistant finance positions and a cyber incident affecting the public schools as contributing causes. He said auditors reported three weaknesses that must be communicated to management but that the overall financial statements presented fairly under generally accepted accounting principles.
Dan Garrick, director of finance for Danbury City, confirmed the adjustments recommended by auditors were recorded and said management has filled key assistant director positions and engaged outside consultants (including CLA) to help address capacity issues. Garrick and other officials emphasized that weekly project‑management meetings, regular reconciliations between school and city ledgers and a formal month‑end close process are central to repairing timeliness and control gaps.
Bassett pointed to the city’s fund balance as a positive indicator, stating the general fund balance at the time of review was about $52,300,000, and said enterprise funds such as water, sewer and ambulance showed consistency with prior years and no significant audit exceptions.
After discussion, a council member moved to recommend that the City Council accept the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, including management letters and adjustments; Councilwoman Andrei Bertrand seconded the motion. The committee carried the motion by voice vote and ordered that the audited financials be recommended for public release once the council acts.
The committee also voted to continue the audit committee until the 2023 audit is available for review (or at the chair’s discretion) so members can monitor milestones and hold administration and school officials accountable for timely delivery of subsequent audits.
Next steps: the City Council will receive the recommendation to accept the FY2022 audit for formal approval and the audit committee will reconvene to review progress on the FY2023 audit.
