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Draft FY2025 audit shows clean opinions; single-audit finding tied to Hop River Bridge
Summary
CliftonLarsonAllen presented a draft FY2025 audit for Coventry that yielded clean, unmodified opinions overall but identified a significant deficiency in suspension and debarment documentation for the Hop River Bridge federal project; the finding will remain while the town continues working with the contractor.
Leslie Zoll of CliftonLarsonAllen told the joint Town Council Finance and Board of Education Fiscal Committee on June 8 that the FY2025 audit is still a draft pending a signed representation letter but that "All audit opinions for Coventry are clean and unmodified, which is the desired result." Zoll summarized financial‑statement highlights, pension liabilities and the effect of forthcoming GASB changes.
Zoll told the committee the audit included a Federal Single Audit covering about $2.7 million in federal awards. She said testing on highway construction and planning found a "significant deficiency" for suspension and debarment: there was no documentation showing staff checked whether vendors were suspended or debarred when contracts were signed for the Hop River Bridge project. Zoll said the deficiency will remain in the finding while the town continues to work with the contractor but that, based on documentation provided by Finance Director Cherie Trahan, CLA will consider the finding "partially resolved."
Chair Robyn Gallagher pressed CLA on balance‑sheet details and asked how Coventry’s unassigned general‑fund percentage compares with peers; Zoll said Coventry’s unassigned fund balance is about 12.51%, roughly in line with comparable towns. Zoll cautioned that deriving unassigned fund balance from the presented schedule is difficult because the general fund uses modified accrual accounting.
Town staff and CLA also reviewed the management letter and new accounting standards. CLA noted no material weaknesses or internal‑control deficiencies for the financial statements, federal single audit or state single audit; the state audit work (about $17.2 million expended) produced clean findings. Zoll said the audit was late primarily because of staff turnover and recommended a roadmap for future employees to reduce delays.
The audit remains draft until Town Manager James Drumm signs the representation letter and the final statements are issued; staff said they will return the finalized documents to the committee once that step is complete.
