The City of Homer received a clean audit for the 2020 fiscal year by BDO USA, an accounting firm based in Anchorage. The audit results were announced during the Homer City Council committee of the whole and regular meetings on Monday.
“I am happy to report that we are not presenting any findings,” said Bikky Shrestha, of BDO USA. “We presented an unmarked, or clean, opinion on the financial statements and on compliance. So another year of clean audits with no issues to be reported.”
The audit reviewed the City of Homer’s financial statements to “obtain reasonable, but not absolute, assurance” about the city’s finances. Because of the short time span the firm had to review the statements, not every single line item was accounted for, so the audit’s focus was primarily on high risk, costly expenses. According to city manager Rob Dumouchel, the audit helps provide accountability for how the city uses its funds, and a clean audit confirms the city is “doing the right thing.”
“The main use of the audit is to provide the public with the accountability and assurance that public funds have been used correctly,” Dumouchel wrote in an email. “Additionally, the city is typically required to submit recent audited financial statements when applying for grants and loans so that the funding agencies can determine the financial stability of the city.”
According to the audit report, the city’s total revenue for 2020 was $32,687,036 while the total expenditures were $31,944,269, leaving the city with an excess of revenue totaling $742,767.
“What I would really like to say is a big thank you to our finance department and city manager for the work on the audit and for coming up with a clean audit,” council member Donna Aderhold said. “I think that’s fantastic and really good news.”
Additionally, Shrestha commended the finance department for their cooperation during the audit process.
“Management cooperation was excellent throughout the whole process,” Shrestha said of the city’s staff who aided in the process. “… Everything we requested and everything needed for the audit was provided.”
Future audits will account for fiscal years through June 30 instead of the end of the calendar year.
For more information about the audit, visit the City of Homer’s website.
Reach Sarah Knapp at sarah.knapp@homernews.com.
