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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-27 City Council Agenda Item No. 5CITY OF LSIR0 DREAM EXTREME. REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: ROBERT A. BRADY CITY MANAGER DATE: APRIL 27, 2010 SUBJECT: EXTENSION OF AUDIT SERVICES WITH DIEHL, EVANS & COMPANY, LLP FOR THE TWO FISCAL YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2010 AND 2011 Background On April 12, 2005, the City Council approved the selection of Diehl, Evans & Company to perform the annual audit services for the City for the three fiscal years ending June 30, 2005, 2006 and 2007, with an option for the two years ended June 30, 2008 and 2009. The option for the two years ended June 30, 2008 and 2009 was exercised and we have received the latest audit report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009. Discussion Consideration had been given to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select an audit firm for the two fiscal years ending June 30, 2010 and 2011. However, in light of the City's reduced staff in the Finance Division and the time and cost that would be involved in bringing a new audit firm on board, City staff is requesting a two year extension with Diehl, Evans & Company. A RFP will be considered after the completion of the audit report issued for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5 Page 1 of 11 Extension of Audit Services with Diehl, Evans and Company April 27, 2010 Page 2 Fiscal Impact The maximum annual audit fees for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2010 and 2011 under the proposed contract, which represents a two% (2%) increase, will be as follows: June 30. 2010 June 30, 2011 City Audit and CAFR $ 26,748 $ 27,283 Redevelopment Agency 8,495 8,665 Public Financing Authority 5,625 5,737 Recreation Authority 3,904 3,982 Single Audit 3,445 3,514 Gann Limit Verification 413 421 $ 48.630 $ 49 602 Recommendation Authorize the City Manager to enter into a professional services agreement with Diehl, Evans & Company to perform professional auditing services for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2010 and 2011 in accordance with the fee and terms noted in the proposal attached. Prepared by: James Rile Director of A inistrative Services Approved by: Robert A. Brady~7 City Manager IWWY' Page 2 of 11 © DIEHL, EVANS & COMPANY, LLP CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS & CONSULTANTS A FARTNERSHR 5 CORPORATE PARK, SUITE 100 IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92606-5165 (949) 399-0600 - FAX (949) 399-0610 W W W.dieldevavs.wm Mr. James Riley Director of Administrative Services City of Lake Elsinore - --1 3S-Seuth-Mai"treet___ Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 Dear Mr. Riley: April 7, 2010 MICHAEL R UMM, CPA CRAIG W. SPRAKER, CPA N=R PATEL, CPA ROBERTI CALLANAR CPA -PHH.R H HOLTKAMP, CPA -THOMAS M. PER WSn CPA -HARVEY I SCHROEDER, CPA KENNHLHR AMES, CPA -WflL CPENT2, CPA -APROPFS [ON CDR MVON We are pleased to present our proposal to provide audit services to the City of Lake Elsinore (the City), the Lake Elsinore Redevelopment Agency, the Lake Elsinore Public Financing Authority, and the Lake Elsinore Recreation Authority for the two years ending June 30, 2011. We will audit the financial statements of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information, which collectively comprise the basic financial statements, of the City as of and for each of the two years ending June 30, 2011 Accounting standards generally accepted in the United States of America provide for certain required supplementary information (RSI), such as management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), to accompany the City's basic financial statements. As part of our engagement, we will apply certain limited procedures to the City's RSL These limited procedures will consist principally of inquiries of management regarding the methods of measurement and presentation, which management is responsible for affirming to us in its representation letter. Unless we encounter problems with the presentation of the RSI or with procedures relating to it, we will disclaim an opinion on it. The following RSI is required by generally accepted accounting principles and will be subjected to certain limited procedures, but will not be audited: 1) Management's Discussion and Analysis. 2) Budgetary Comparison Schedules General and Major Special Revenue Funds. Supplementary information other than RSI, such as combining and individual fund financial statements, also accompanies the City's basic financial statements. We will subject the following supplementary information to the auditing procedures applied in our audit. of the basic financial statements and will provide an opinion on it in relation to the basic financial statements: 1) Combining and individual nonmajor fund financial statements. 2) Schedule of expenditures of federal awards. -1- OTHER OFFICES AT: 2965 ROOSEVELT STREET 613 W. VALLEY PARKWAY, SUITE 330 CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008-2389 ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA 92025-2598 (760) 729-2343 - FAX (760) 729-2234 (760) 741-3141 - FAX (760) 741.9890 Page 3 of 11 Mr. James Riley April 7, 2010 City of Lake Elsinore Page 2 The following additional information accompanying the basic financial statements will not be subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our audit of the financial statements, and for which our auditor's report will disclaim an opinion: 1) Introductory Section. 2) Statistical Section. Audit Objectives: The objective of our audit is the expression of opinions as to whether your basic financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted m-the United States-of America and to report on the fairness o the additi on information referred to in the first paragraph when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The objective also includes reporting on: • Internal control related to the financial statements and compliance with the provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, agreements, and grants, noncompliance with which could have a material effect on the financial statements in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. • Internal control related to major programs and an opinion (or disclaimer of opinion) on compliance with laws, regulations, and the provisions of contracts or grant agreements that could have a direct and material effect on each major program in accordance with the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States Local Governments, and Non-Profit Oreanizafions. The reports on internal control and compliance will each include a statement that the report is intended for the information and use of the audit .committ ee, management, specific legislative or regulatory bodies, federal awarding agencies, and if applicable, pass-through entities and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996; and the provisions of OMB Circular A-133, and will include tests of accounting records, a determination of major program(s) in accordance with Circular A-133, and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express such opinions and to render the required reports. If our opinions on the financial statements or the Single Audit compliance opinions are other than unqualified, we will fully discuss the reasons with you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the audit or are unable to form or have not formed opinions, we may decline to express opinions or to issue a report as a result of this engagement. Page 4 of 11 Mr. James Riley City of Lake Elsinore Management Responsibilities: April 7, 2010 Page 3 Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls, including monitoring ongoing activities; for the selection and application of accounting principles; for the fair presentation in the financial statements of the respective financial position of the government activities, the business-type activities; each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; and for federal award program compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements. Management -is responsible for the basic financial statements and all accompanying information as well as all representations contained therein. You are responsible forma i ement decfsions~ finctions. As g part oTffe- -audit,-we ill prepare a draft of your financial statements, schedule of expenditures of federal awards, and related notes. In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, you will be required to review and approve those financial statements prior to their issuance and have a responsibility to be in a position in fact and appearance to make an informed judgment on those financial statements. Further, you are required to designate a qualified management-level individual to be responsible and accountable for overseeing our services. Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us, including identifying significant vendor relationships in which the vendor has the responsibility for program compliance and for the accuracy and completeness of that information. Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us, including identifying significant vendor relationships in which the vendor has the responsibility for program compliance and for the accuracy and completeness of that information. Management's responsibilities include adjusting the financial statements to correct material misstatements and for confirming to us in the representation letter that the effects of any uncorrected misstatements aggregated by us during the current engagement and pertaining to the latest period presented are immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate, to the financial statements taken as a whole. You are responsible for the design and implementation of programs and controls to prevent and detect fraud, and for informing us about all known or suspected fraud or illegal acts affecting the government involving (1) management, (2) employees who have significant roles in internal control, and (3) others where the fraud or illegal acts could have a material effect on the financial statements. Your responsibilities include informing us of your knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the government received in communications from employees, former employees, grantors, regulators, or others. In addition, you are responsible for identifying and ensuring that the entity complies with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, agreements, and grants. Additionally, as required by OMB Circular A-133, it is management's responsibility to follow up and take corrective action on reported audit findings and to prepare a summary schedule of prior audit findings and a corrective action plan. Page 5 of 11 Mr. James Riley City of Lake Elsinore Management Responsibilities (Continued): April 7, 2010 Page 4 Management is responsible for establishment and maintenance of a process for tracking the status of audit findings an d recommendations. Management. is also responsible for identifying for us previous audits or other engagements or studies related to the objectives discussed in the Audit Objectives section of this letter. This responsibility includes relaying to us corrective actions taken to address significant findings and recommendations resulting from those audits or other engagements or studies. You are also responsible for providing management's views on our current findings, conclusions, and recommendations, as well as your planned corrective actions, and the timing and format related thereto. --AuditPror edures =-enerr9 - An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of transactions to be examined and the areas to be tested. We will plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable rather than absolute assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether from (1) errors, (2) fraudulent financial reporting,- (3) misappropriation of assets, or (4) violations of laws or governmental regulations that are attributable to the entity or to acts by management or employees acting on behalf of the entity. Because the determination of abuse is subjective, Government Auditing Standards do not expect auditors to provide reasonable assurance of detecting abuse. Because an audit is designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance and because we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk that material misstatements or noncompliance may exist and not be detected by us. In addition, an audit is not designed to detect immaterial misstatements or violations of laws or governmental regulations that do not have a direct and material effect on the financial statements or major programs. However, we will inform you of any material errors and any fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets that come to our attention. We will also inform you of any violations of laws or governmental regulations that come to our attention, unless clearly inconsequential. We will include such matters in the reports required for a Single Audit. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to the period covered by our audit and does not extend to any later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors. Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and may include tests of the physical existence of inventories, and direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, creditors, and financial institutions. We will request written representations from your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the conclusion of our audit, we will also require certain written representations from you about the financial statements and related matters. Page 6 of 11 Mr. James Riley City of Lake Elsinore Audit Procedures - Internal Controls: April 7, 2010 Page 5 Our audit will include obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment, including internal control, sufficient to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures. Tests of controls may be performed to test the effectiveness of certain controls that we consider relevant to preventing and detecting errors and fraud that are material to the financial statements and to preventing and detecting misstatements resulting from illegal acts and other noncompliance matters that have a direct and material effect on the financial statements._Our_tests, if performed, will be less in scope than would be necessary to render an opinion on internal control and, accordingly, no opinion will be expressed im our report on internal control issued pursuant to Government Auditing Standards. As required by OMB Circular A-133, we will perform tests of controls over compliance to evaluate the effectiveness of the design and operation of controls that we consider relevant to preventing or detecting material noncompliance with compliance requirements applicable to each major federal award program. However, our tests will be less in scope than would be necessary to render an opinion on those controls and, accordingly, no opinion will be expressed in our report on internal control issued pursuant to OMB Circular A-133. An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify significant deficiencies. However, during the audit, we will communicate to management and those charged with governance internal control related matters that are required to be communicated under professional standards, Government Auditing Standards, and OMB Circular A-133. Audit Procedures - Compliance: As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, we will perform tests of the City's compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and agreements, including grant agreements. However, the objective of those procedures will not be to provide an opinion on overall compliance and we will not express such an opinion in our report on compliance issued pursuant to Government Auditing Standards. OMB Circular A-133 requires that we also plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the auditee has complied with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements applicable to major programs. Our procedures will consist of test of transactions and other applicable procedures described in the OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Sunplern for the types of compliance requirements that could have a direct and material effect on each of the City's major programs. The purpose of those procedures will be to express an opinion on the City's compliance with requirements applicable to each of its major programs in our report on compliance issued pursuant to OMB Circular A-133. Page 7 of 11 Mr. James Riley April 7, 2010 City of Lake Elsinore Page 6 Audit Administration, Fees and Other: Noted below is a listing of work required by City staff to assist in the audit. 1. Technical assistance in familiarizing our staff with: • The flow of information through the various departments and accounting systems. • Reports generated by your accounting system. The system of internal controls. • Controls established to monitor compliance with federal grants. _ -1-Preparation of trial -bra aoi all-fiands, after pos i oT al yel ar end jour~s--- - 3. Preparation of schedules supporting all major balance sheet accounts, and selected revenue and expenditure accounts. 4. Typing of all confirmation requests. 5. Pulling and refiling of all supporting documents required for audit verification. 6. Assistance with the preparation of the CAFR and notes to the financial statements, including: a. Determination of major funds. b. Determination of general and program revenues and allocation of program revenues to: 1. charges for services, 2. operating grants and contributions, and 3. capital grants and contributions. c. Determining components of net assets into capital assets net of related debt, restricted and unrestricted assets. d. Assistance in determining the amounts to be reported (1) in the Reconciliation of the Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances of Governmental Funds to the Statement of Activities and (2) the Reconciliation of the Balance Sheet of Governmental Funds to the Statement of Net Assets. 7. Preparation of the management's discussion and analysis, transmittal letter and all statistical tables for the CAFR. Page 8 of 11 Mr. James Riley April 7, 2010 City of Lake Elsinore Page 7 Audit Administration, Fees and Other (Continued): Our maximum annual fees for the years ending June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011 are as follows: City Audit and CAFR Redevelopment Agency Public Financing Authority Recreation Authority Single Audit Gann Limit Verification June 30, 2010 $ 26,748 8,495 5,625 3,904 3,445 413 June 30, 2011 $ 27,283 8,665 5,737 3,982 3,514 421 48.630 $ 49.602 The maximum annual fees stipulated herein contemplate that conditions satisfactory to the normal progress and completion of the examination will be encountered and the City accounting personnel will furnish the agreed upon assistance in connection with the audit. However, if unusual circumstances are encountered which make it necessary for us to do additional work; we shall report such conditions to the responsible City officials and provide the City with an estimate of the additional accounting fees involved. You may terminate our services or we may withdraw from this engagement at any time. Any disputes arising under this agreement shall be mediated under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. At the conclusion of the engagement, we will complete the appropriate sections of the Data Collection Form that summarizes our audit findings. It is management's responsibility to submit the reporting package (including financial statements, schedule of expenditures of federal awards, summary schedule of prior audit findings, auditors' reports, and corrective action plan) along with the Data Collection Form to the federal audit clearinghouse. We will coordinate with you the electronic submission and certification. If applicable, we will provide copies of our report for you to include with the reporting package you will submit to pass-through entities. The Data Collection Form and the reporting package must be submitted within the earlier of 30 days after receipt of the auditors' reports or nine months after the end of the audit period, unless a longer period is agreed to in advance by the cognizant or oversight agency for audits. The workpapers for this engagement are the property of Diehl, Evans and Company, LLP and constitute confidential information. However, we may be requested to make certain workpapers available to grantor agencies pursuant to authority given to it by law or regulation. If requested, access to such workpapers will be provided under the supervision of our personnel. Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of selected workpapers to the grantor agencies. The grantor agencies may intend, or decide, to distribute the photocopies or information contained therein to others, including other governmental agencies. Page 9 of 11 Mr. James Riley April 7, 2010 City of Lake Elsinore Page 8 Audit Administration, Fees and Other (Continued): In accordance with our firm's current record retention policy; all of your original records will be returned to you at the conclusion of this engagement. Our accounting workpaper files will be kept for a period of seven years after the issuance of the audit report. All other files will be kept for as long as you retain us as your accountants. However, upon termination of our service, all records will be destroyed after a period of seven years. Physical deterioration or catastrophic events may further shorten the life of these records. The working papers and files of our firm are not a substitute for your original records. Government Auditing Standards require that we provide you with a copy of our most recent external peer-review reportand~yietterof conmrent;sird-m subsequent peer review reports and-Jeffs o comment received during the period of the contract. Our 2009 peer review accompanies this letter. We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to the City of Lake Elsinore and believe this letter accurately summarizes the significant terms of our engagement. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you agree with the terms of our engagement as described in this letter, please sign the enclosed copy and return it to us. Very truly yours, DIEHL, EVANS & COMPANY, LLP By P - (c Nitin P. Patel, CPA Engagement Partner RESPONSE: This letter correctly sets forth the understanding of the City of Lake Elsinore. By Title Date Page 10 of 11 HEIDENREICH $ January 28, 2009 10201 S. 51" Street #170 Phoenix, AZ 85044 (480)704.6301 fax 785-4619 System Review Report To the Owners of Diehl, Evans & Company, LLP and the Peer Review Committee of the CA Society of CPAs We have reviewed the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing practice of Diehl, Evan-s & Company, UP (the firm) in effect for the year ended September 30, 2008. Our peer review was conducted in accordance with the Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews established by the Peer Review Board of the American Institute of Certified Public it to provide the firm with reasonable assurance of performing and reporting in conformity with applicable professional standards in all material respects. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the design of the system of quality control and the firm's compliance therewith based on our review. The nature, objectives, scope, limitations of, and the procedures performed in a System Review are described in the standards at www.aicpa.org/prsummary. As required by the standards, engagements selected for review included engagements performed under the Government Auditing Standards and audits of employee benefit plans. In our opinion, the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing practice of Diehl, Evans & Company, LLP in effect for the year ended September 30, 2008, has been suitably designed and complied with to provide the firm with reasonable assurance of performing and reporting in conformity with applicable professional standards in all material respects. Finns can receive a rating of pass, pass with deficiency(ies) or fail. Diehl, Evans & Company, LLP has received a peer review rating of pass. .IFreidwrneicti! & .1l,eidoatn" Heidenreich & Heidenreich, CPAs, PLLC REICH, CPAs, PLLC Page 11 of 11