Auditor gives Syracuse an unmodified opinion; no state or federal findings reported
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Summary
An external auditor told the Syracuse City Council that the city's June 30, 2024 financial statements receive an unmodified (clean) opinion and that audits of internal controls, state compliance areas and ARPA spending showed no findings.
Ron, an auditor with Gilbert & Stewart, presented the city's annual audit and said the firm issued an unmodified opinion on the city's financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2024.
"It's our opinion that the financial statements referred to above present fairly in all material respects the respective financial position of the governmental activities, business-type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the city as of June 30, 2024 ... in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America," Ron said.
Ron described the audit procedures the firm performed: confirmation of third-party balances (cash, taxes, pensions), sampling and review of invoices and period cutoffs, recalculation of account balances (accrued payroll, depreciation, compensated absences, pensions), analytical comparisons to prior years, and follow-up testing during financial-statement preparation. He said auditors also evaluate internal controls by interview, walkthroughs and testing, but do not issue a separate opinion on controls; the firm would report material weaknesses or significant deficiencies if found.
Ron told the council the team reviewed state compliance areas assigned by the state auditor (including budgetary compliance, fund balance, justice court, restricted taxes, government fees, fraud risk assessment and retirement-system items) and found no reportable findings for the procedures performed this year. He also said the firm tested federal programs subject to a single-audit threshold and specifically reviewed ARPA funds; he reported no findings related to federal compliance testing.
A council member praised the accounting staff after the presentation, saying, "Well done. Good audit, and kudos to our accounting team." The council had no questions and moved on to subsequent agenda items.
The audit presentation was informational; no formal action was recorded on the audit report itself during the meeting.