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Golden Valley, City of - 2023 Final Issued Internal Control Report - Locked 400 Robert Street North, Suite 1600, St. Paul, MN, 55101   651.426.7000 www.redpathcpas.com  INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING AND ON COMPLIANCE AND OTHER MATTERS BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council City of Golden Valley, Minnesota We have audited, in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the City of Golden Valley’s basic financial statements, and have issued our report thereon dated November 26, 2024. Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements, we considered the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s internal control over financial reporting (internal control) as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinions on the financial statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s internal control. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s internal control. A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance. Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph of this section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and therefore, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may exist that were not identified. We identified certain deficiencies in internal control, described in the accompanying schedule of findings and responses as items 2023-01, 2023-02 and 2023-03 that we considered to be material weaknesses. Report on Compliance and Other Matters As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s financial statements are free from material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the financial statements. However, providing an opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. Response to the Findings Government Auditing Standards requires the auditor to perform limited procedures on the City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s responses to the findings identified in our audit and described in the accompanying schedule of findings and responses. The City of Golden Valley, Minnesota’s responses were not subjected to the other auditing procedures applied in the audit of the financial statements and, accordingly, we express no opinion on the responses. Purpose of this Report The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control or on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the entity’s internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose. REDPATH AND COMPANY, LLC St. Paul, Minnesota November 26, 2024 CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY, MINNESOTA SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND RESPONSES For The Year Ended December 31, 2023 2023-01 Timeliness of Bank Reconciliations Criteria: Internal controls over financial reporting are intended to allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct misstatements in a timely manner. To be effective, control procedures such as periodic and year-end account and subledger reconciliations must be performed regularly, accurately and in a timely manner. Condition: The December 2023 bank reconciliation for the general checking account was not fully completed until a final adjustment was posted during the audit, which occurred on October 1, 2024. Cause: The condition was primarily caused by turnover of finance department personnel. Effect: Not performing bank reconciliations timely subjects the City to a higher risk that errors or fraud could occur and not be detected in a timely manner. Recommendation: We recommend bank reconciliations be completed two to four weeks after month-end. Management Response: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. City management will continue to review its internal control procedures and finance department duties to ensure monthly cash reconciliations are accurately completed in a timely manner going forward. CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY, MINNESOTA SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND RESPONSES For The Year Ended December 31, 2023 2023-02 Financial Statement Corrections Criteria: An entity’s system of internal controls should allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis. Condition: The following adjustments were identified by the auditor and corrected my management:  $1,324,864 correction to special assessments receivable  $245,387 correction to delinquent taxes receivable  $819,094 correction to the allocation of interest income  $385,662 correction to accounts payable  $314,651 correction to cash and investments  $4,883,838 correction to due from other governments and unavailable revenue (this adjustment did not impact fund balance) Cause: Staff turnover and the complexity of governmental accounting contributed to these adjustments. Effect: Inadequate controls over the year-end closing process results in an increased risk that financial statement misstatements may occur and not be detected on a timely basis. Recommendation: We recommend the City continue its efforts to appropriately account for transactions and account balances. Management Response: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. City staff will work to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting and create a workplan to ensure all entries and adjustments are appropriately recorded for 2024. CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY, MINNESOTA SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND RESPONSES For The Year Ended December 31, 2023 2023-03 Lack of Ideal Segregation of Duties Criteria: Generally, a system of internal control contemplates segregation of duties such that no individual has responsibility to execute a transaction, has physical access to the related assets, and has responsibility or authority to record the transaction. Condition: During 2023, the City had limited segregation of duties in certain areas, including controls over disbursements, investments and payroll. Cause: This condition is due to the limited number of staff in the City’s finance department, as well as the responsibilities assigned to each finance department staff member during 2023. Effect: The lack of ideal segregation of duties subjects the City to a higher risk that errors or fraud could occur and not be detected in a timely manner. Recommendation: Any modifications of internal controls in this area must be viewed from a cost/benefit perspective. Management Response: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. The City reviews and makes improvements to its internal control structure on an ongoing basis and attempts to maximize the segregation of duties in all areas within the limits of the staff available. However, the City does not consider it cost-beneficial at this time to increase the size of its staff in order to further segregate accounting functions.