6.2. SR 06-02-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Management Consultations with Other Independent Accountants In some cases,management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and accounting matters, similar to obtaining a"second opinion"on certain situations. If a consultation involves application of an accounting principle to the City's financial statements or a determination of the type of auditor's opinion that may be expressed on those statements,our professional standards require the consulting accountant to check with us to determine that the consultant has all the relevant facts. To our knowledge,there were no such consultations with other accountants. Other Matters With respect to the supplementary information accompanying the financial statements,we made certain inquiries of management and evaluated the form,content,and methods of preparing the information to determine that the information complies with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America,the method of preparing it has not changed from the prior period,and the information is appropriate and complete in relation to our audit of the financial statements.We compared and reconciled the supplementary information to the underlying accounting records used to prepare the financial statements or to the financial statements themselves. Other Audit Findings or Issues We generally discuss a variety of matters,including the application of accounting principles and auditing standards,with management each year prior to retention as the City's auditors. However,these discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship and our responses were not a condition to our retention. Financial Position and Results of Operations Our principal observations and recommendations are summarized on the following pages. These recommendations resulted from our observations made in connection with our audit of the City's financial statements for the year ended December 31,2013. General Fund The General fund is used to account for resources traditionally associated with government,which are not required legally or by sound principal management to be accounted for in another fund. The General fund balance decreased$151,024 from 2012. The fund balance of$6,054,290 is 47.0 percent of the 2014 budgeted expenditures. The total fund balance and percent of the 2013 budgeted expenditures is split between nonspendable$14,628(0.1 percent),committed$247,937(1.9 percent)and unassigned $5,791,725(45.0 percent). In addition,the City's fund balance policy for the General fund identified a target minimum unassigned fund balance of 40-45 percent of the following year's budgeted expenditures and transfers out. The City has maintained this target level as illustrated on the following page. More information can be found starting on page 54 of the comprehensive annual financial report. Some of the purposes and benefits of a fund balance are as follows: • Expenditures are incurred somewhat evenly throughout the year. However,property tax and state aid revenues are not received until the second half of the year. An adequate fund balance will provide the cash flow required to finance the General fund expenditures until these revenue sources are received. • The City is vulnerable to legislative actions at the State and Federal level.The State continually adjusts the local government aid formula.An adequate fund balance will provide a temporary buffer against aid adjustments. • Expenditures not anticipated at the time the annual budget was adopted may need immediate City Council action. These would include capital outlay replacement,lawsuits,tax court refunds,and other items. An adequate fund balance will provide the financing needed for such expenditures. • A strong fund balance will assist the City in obtaining,maintaining or improving its bond rating. The result will be better interest rates in future bond issues or refunding opportunities. People +Process® Going Beyondthe -3- Numbers