Consideration and Approval of Audited Financial Reports: Year ending June 30, 2025
 

The City is required to perform an annual audit each year, pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) Section 9-481 and the City Charter (Article VI, Section 5); this audit is commonly known as the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The ACFR is reviewed by an independent auditor to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatements. In addition, the City also obtains an annual Single Audit as a condition of receiving federal assistance in excess of $750,000. An independent auditor performs the Single Audit.

Pursuant to A.R.S. Section 9-481, the certified public accountant who performed the audit is to present audit results and any findings to the council in a regular meeting, without the use of a consent agenda, within 90 days of audit completion.

There is no financial impact on approving the City's Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) or the FY 2024-2025 Single Audit.  However, should the City not perform an annual audit of its financial statements and complete a Single Audit, the City could lose valuable grant funding. The amount of reimbursements of Federal Award reported for in the Fiscal Year 2024- 2025 was $21.7 million. State and local grant funding totaled $8.4 million in Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

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• Approve the City's FY 2024-2025 ACFR and FY 2024-2025 Single Audit Report.
• Do not approve the City's FY 2024-2025 ACFR, FY 2024-2025 Single Audit report, and provide direction to the Audit Committee or independent auditor to address Council's questions/issues.

The City is required to perform an independent annual financial audit per City Charter Article VI, Section 5 which states:

"Prior to the end of each fiscal year, the Council shall designate an independent Certified Public Accountant, who, as of the end of the fiscal year, shall make up an audit of accounts and other evidence of financial transactions of the City government, and shall submit a long-form report, including recommendations concerning policy and fiscal procedures, to the Council, and to the City Manager. Such accountant shall have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the City government or of any of its officers. The accountant shall, within specifications approved by the Council, post-audit the books and documents kept by the City, and any separate or subordinate accounts kept by any other office, department, or agency of the City government."

In addition to the financial audit, the City is required to complete a Single Audit because it receives more than $750,000 in federal assistance. The City has hired Heinfeld, Meech & Company, P.C. (the Auditors). The Auditors work directly with the Finance Staff as well as other City Divisions & Sections to complete a review of the City's financial data and internal controls. The financial reports are the responsibility of the City and are based on the activity of the fiscal year. The ACFR is presented in accordance with all standards as defined by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Auditors are not responsible for reviewing every transaction for the fiscal year, however, based on the standards the Auditors plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the statements are free of material misstatements. The Auditors prepare the Single Audit which is an independent assessment of City finances and includes a schedule of expenditures of federal fund awards.

The City has established an Audit Committee to review the financial reports and findings (ACFR and the Single Audit). The committee discusses the information and makes a recommendation to Council to accept or reject the financial reports. The Audit Committee is represented by a City Councilmember, the City Manager, the Management Services Director and three community members:

• Lori Matthews, Councilmember
• Shawn, Barker
• John Cortese, CPA, MBA
• Vacancy (1)
• Joanne Keene, City Manager
• Rick Tadder, Management Services Director

The audit committee met on April 7, 2026.  The audit committee unanimously approved the reports at this meeting.

Financial Reporting supports the Key Community Priority of High Performing Governance by furthering the following associated Objectives:

• Encourage public trust through transparency...
• Maintain the organization’s fiscal stability through strong financial policies and best practices, and
• Implement and communicate innovative and efficient local government programs, new ideas, and best practices

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