Auditor: Guthrie posts clean FY2023 audit despite bookkeeping findings

Drew Ulmer of Baldwin CPAs presented the City of Guthrie’s FY2023 audit and said, "the city of Guthrie has a clean audit opinion." The firm indicated it expects FY2024 work to be complete by the end of the calendar year.

The audit report identified two areas of concern. First, the firm noted a lack of segregation of duties at city hall—a recurring finding that Ulmer and Attorney Traughber described as common for small municipalities that cannot staff separate receivables and payables functions. Alison Blumel explained the city’s compensating controls: "all checks have two signatures, all invoices have two initials, payroll is verified by a second person" and that staff try to segregate duties "the best they can."

Second, the audit noted a $98,000 payroll-tax amount collected from Novelis in the second quarter of 2023 that had been recorded to the wrong payroll-tax line and therefore was not reported to the county from that line. Blumel said the error was a recording mistake, that the county has now received the funds and that the city is fully compliant.

Council members questioned whether the city was in good financial shape; the auditor said Guthrie had sufficient funds to cover liabilities. After discussion, Chad Johnson moved to approve the FY2023 audit, Harry Green seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.