"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #872, November 23, 2020
Issue #872, November 23, 2020
Gary Neiss reported that each fall the Town of Carefree and the Carefree/Cave Creek Consolidated Court undergo an annual audit to ensure that they are in compliance with the Governmental Accounting Standards. As always, both entities received a "clean audit". Mr. Neiss called this a testament to Town accountant Jim Keen, who works diligently to ensure that everything is correct. Carefree is fiscally conservative and is transparent in its accounting practices. The Town changes auditors every 5 years for checks and balances. This year for the first time, they used the firm of Heinfeld Meech.
Mr. Keen explained that the report he submitted to the Council shows each department. The restated June, July and August reversed accruals are included because some money that arrives in July and August need to be applied to June. To correct the current fiscal year's (FY) books, those accruals must be reversed, so the June figure is higher than what the Council had previously seen and approved by $328,520. Due to the time lag, $41,694 in June sales tax revenue (STR) that arrived in July was also booked back into June.
The Town was able to put $679,602 into the reserve fund for FY 2019/20. STR has been up 11% since July 1st through the end of October, year over year. The Town is watching potential change closely.
The audit goes through all the different facets required by the State. Jennifer Shields, the lead from Heinfeld Meech, and Jared Young attended via Zoom. Ms. Shields said she would be sending a document to the Council stating that there were no disagreements with management or the application of accounting principles, and no other difficulties were encountered. It would also include the audit engagement letter and the representation letter signed by management. She complimented Mr. Keen on his attention to detail to ensure there were no errors, and that policies and internal controls were followed to produce an "unmodified audit".
Mayor Les Peterson expressed his appreciation for Mr. Keen's diligence on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. He felt the best part of Carefree's management is the Town's continuing fiscal responsibility, adding that it is a consolidated effort on the parts of Gary Neiss, Kandace Conteras, Jim Keen, and to a lesser degree, himself. Councilman Gene Orrico said the best part of the audit was the final sentence, "In our opinion, the Town of Carefree, AZ complied in all material respects, per request".
The motion to accept the annual audit for the Town of Carefree was unanimously approved.
https://vimeo.com/478759152
Town attorney Mike Wright noted that the audit for the Carefree/Cave Creek Consolidated Court had not yet accepted. The motion to accept the "clean audit" for the Court was also unanimously approved.
https://vimeo.com/478765627
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Mr. Keen explained that the report he submitted to the Council shows each department. The restated June, July and August reversed accruals are included because some money that arrives in July and August need to be applied to June. To correct the current fiscal year's (FY) books, those accruals must be reversed, so the June figure is higher than what the Council had previously seen and approved by $328,520. Due to the time lag, $41,694 in June sales tax revenue (STR) that arrived in July was also booked back into June.
The Town was able to put $679,602 into the reserve fund for FY 2019/20. STR has been up 11% since July 1st through the end of October, year over year. The Town is watching potential change closely.
The audit goes through all the different facets required by the State. Jennifer Shields, the lead from Heinfeld Meech, and Jared Young attended via Zoom. Ms. Shields said she would be sending a document to the Council stating that there were no disagreements with management or the application of accounting principles, and no other difficulties were encountered. It would also include the audit engagement letter and the representation letter signed by management. She complimented Mr. Keen on his attention to detail to ensure there were no errors, and that policies and internal controls were followed to produce an "unmodified audit".
Mayor Les Peterson expressed his appreciation for Mr. Keen's diligence on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. He felt the best part of Carefree's management is the Town's continuing fiscal responsibility, adding that it is a consolidated effort on the parts of Gary Neiss, Kandace Conteras, Jim Keen, and to a lesser degree, himself. Councilman Gene Orrico said the best part of the audit was the final sentence, "In our opinion, the Town of Carefree, AZ complied in all material respects, per request".
The motion to accept the annual audit for the Town of Carefree was unanimously approved.
https://vimeo.com/478759152
Town attorney Mike Wright noted that the audit for the Carefree/Cave Creek Consolidated Court had not yet accepted. The motion to accept the "clean audit" for the Court was also unanimously approved.
https://vimeo.com/478765627
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.