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Auditors give Pleasant Valley a clean opinion but flag internal‑control risk
Summary
Drescher Malecki presented the Town of Pleasant Valley’s FY2024 audit, issuing an unmodified opinion after the town added capital assets to its financial statements and completing a federal single audit with no reportable compliance findings. Auditors said they will report a significant deficiency for concentration of accounting duties in one staff member.
Auditors from Drescher Malecki told the Town of Pleasant Valley board that the town’s FY2024 financial statements will receive a clean (unmodified) opinion, largely because management compiled capital‑asset records this year after prior omissions.
Carl Widmer, partner, said the inclusion of capital assets allowed auditors to move from a qualified opinion in prior years to an unmodified opinion for 2024. Widmer also noted the firm performed a federal single audit because the town spent more than the federal threshold — roughly $900,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — and reported "no reportable findings" from that compliance review. (Carl Widmer)
Audit manager Nick Petronek walked the board through fund trends: the general fund recorded about $4.1 million in revenues and $4.6 million in expenditures in 2024, driven largely by ARPA‑funded park improvements and transfers to capital and highway projects; the town’s total general‑fund balance ended near $7.3 million with about $4.3 million unassigned. The highway fund showed a year‑end balance around $3,031,013 with roughly $2.2 million available after appropriations. (Nick Petronek)
While auditors found no errors or evidence of fraud, they said they will include a "significant deficiency" in the financial‑statement report citing internal‑control weaknesses: a concentration of key accounting responsibilities (cash handling, journal entries and ledger postings) with a single individual. "Although there were no errors encountered during our audit, the risk is still present and controls can be circumnavigated," Petronek said. The firm recommended formalizing a fund balance policy and documentation templates. (Nick Petronek)
Auditors said they will circulate a draft report to management and the board this week and expect to meet federal reporting deadlines (the single‑audit package is due Sept. 30). The board asked for the draft to be shared promptly so members can review the observations and planned recommendations.
What happens next: Auditors will issue a final report and a management letter with recommendations; the town is expected to consider internal‑control improvements and a formal fund‑balance policy during upcoming budget discussions.
