Parkersburg gets positive 2016-17 audit
Two findings in financial review
PARKERSBURG — An audit of the City of Parkersburg’s finances for the 2016-17 fiscal year revealed just two findings and resulted in the best possible assessment.
An audit exit conference was held by representatives of West Virginia accounting firm Suttle & Stalnaker Friday in the executive conference room on the second floor of the Municipal Building.
“The opinion in the auditor’s report is an unmodified opinion, which is the best you can get,” said Ryan Mink, manager with Suttle & Stalnaker.
The first finding noted the city had not recorded the liability for its self-funded worker’s compensation claims incurred as of June 30, 2016 or 2017.
That led to the prior year’s liabilities being understated by about $695,000.
“That’s just an estimate of the total outstanding liability,” including outstanding and potential claims, Finance Director Eric Jiles said.
Mink said no money was missing or unpaid.
“It’s just a liability that wasn’t reflected,” he said.
The city Finance Department restated the liability for accurate reporting of the city’s finances, Jiles said.
Jiles said he took responsibility for the error but added that the liability had not been recorded several years prior and the omission was not noted in previous audits.
“I didn’t have good comparative information to look at when preparing financials,” he said.
The second finding noted all requirements had not been made with regard to financial reporting regarding Community Development Block Grant funds. Jiles said that amounted to a detailed breakdown, by grant award year, that was not attached to the paperwork, although total expenditures were recorded and submitted.
Development Director Rickie Yeager said the matter has been addressed.
“We’ve worked through it all, talked through it all, so it should be good going forward,” Mink said.
Auditors noted that all findings and issues from the 2015-16 fiscal year’s audit had been addressed as well.
The number of findings continues a positive trend for the city, which had 10 findings for 2014-15 and five findings the following year.
“You guys are making great progress,” Mink said. “Eric and the team are doing an awesome job.”
Four other items were noted in the report, but they were described as “opportunities for strengthening internal controls and operating efficiency” and not “significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.”
One of those involved two instances when an employee approved his or her own time before being paid. Approval by someone else is a standard city policy, Jiles said, but this occurred during the transition between mayoral administrations and there was no one to review it. The time recorded was correct, he said.
“There was just a short period where there was no one else to do that,” Mink said.
The other notes involved record keeping for certain land and depreciation of some capital assets, lack of documentation to demonstrate that code officers paid with CDBG funds were only working in eligible areas and a residual adjustment to pension funds that was deemed immaterial.
Audit documents can be viewed under the reports tab on the Finance Department page of the city website.