CCP 05-30-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. .. . I I REPORT ON COMPLIANCE AND ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT A UDlTING STANDARDS . . Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Arden Hills, Minnesota . We have audited the general purpose fmancial statements of the City of Arden Hills, Minnesota as of and for the year ended December 31, 1999 and have issued our report thereon dated March 31,2000. We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the standards applicable to fmancial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Compliance . .. As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the City's fmancial statements are free of material ntisstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions oflaws, regulations, contracts and grants, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the determination offmancial statement amounts. However, providing an opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our audit and, accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. . . Internal Control Over Financial Reporting In planning and performing our audit, we considered the City's internal control over fmancial reporting in order to determine our I auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and not to provide assurance on the internal control over fmancial reporting. However, we noted certain matters involving the internal control over fmancial reporting and its operation that we consider to be reportable conditions. Reportable conditions involve matters coming to our attention . relating to significant deficiencies in the design or operation of the internal control over fmancial reporting that, in our judgment, could adversely affect the City's ability to record, process, summarize and report fmancial data consistent with the assertions of management in the fmancial statements. We noted certain matters involving the internal control structure and its operation that we consider to be reportable conditions I under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Reportable conditions involve matters coming to our attention relating to significant deficiencies in the design or operation of the internal control structure that, in our judgment, could adversely affect the City's ability to record, process, summarize and report fmancial data consistent with the I assertions of management in the general purpose fmanciaI statements. Our study and evaluation disclosed that because of the limited size of your office staff, your organization has limited segregation of duties. Good internal control contemplates an adequate segregation of duties so that no one individual handles a transaction J from inception to completion. While we recognize that your organization is not large enough to permit an adequate segregation of duties in all respects, it is important, however, that you be aware of this reportable condition. . -47- '_Ii, I