Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />~:'::.,,'t~><:;"',j\';A.UD' . .T,seo. PE':.4.1\.ffi PRO. VI.SI'O.. NS'( G..o"n"'tl.n""u':c".d). :~,:;'..,:, ,: .:1Í::".. Of: '.. ',:. <br />~._';""'.~~".~'.'"'Jo<""-~'~'...."" ,..~~JJ~ ..,..:.. .,... ",..,"'ir.'.""",.......:.,:",.",...."....,.",:~ <br /> <br />We will review the City's compliance with the Appropriations Limit restrictions imposed by Propositions 4 <br />and Ill. <br /> <br />We will also prepare the State Controller's Report for the City and the Redevelopment Agency and <br />prepare the Annual Street Report, if you should choose to have us do this work. <br /> <br />A lIdit Approach --Illterim <br /> <br />As you know, we can perfonn our interim work any time during the months of January through June; we <br />set the precise date with you ahead of time to minimize our impact on your work load. In the past we <br />have perfonned our interim work in Redwood City as early as February, to accommodate staff changes <br />by the City and on our audit team as well, with a second interim later in the year. We could follow this <br />pattern or schedule a single interim if you prefer. Unlike older-style finns, we perform most of our <br />important work at interim, well before the end of the fiscal year. We use our interim work to identify <br />and solve problems and to plan the year-end closing and audit in detail. We begin our interim work by <br />sending you a list of the items we will need at least two weeks before we are scheduled to visit your <br />offices, so you have time to prepare. <br /> <br />We start our work in your offices by evaluating your internal control structure and interviewing you and <br />your staff. We use our own typed checklists as part of our evaluations and we outline the duties of each <br />pertinent person and the important control points, We also vary our approach and we change areas of <br />emphasis each year based on our planning meetings with you. We test our evaluations each year through <br />our sampling and tests of transactions. <br /> <br />All our transaction samples are drawn and tested during the interim portion of our work. Each sample is <br />drawn from all months of the year, except payroll which is selected from a single month. We generally <br />sample payroll, disbursements, receipts, investments, and budget transactions. <br /> <br />We begin to apply our analytical procedures at interim, when we analyze year-to-date results and <br />balances and compare them with budget and prior year actuals. We forccast many year-end amounts at <br />interim, so that we can limit the amount of work required at year-end and concentrate instead on areas of <br />concern. For example, we perforn1 all our cash and investment testing at intcrim, including sending <br />confirmation letters to depositories and determining financial statcmcnt categorizations. Perfonning <br />these last two steps at interim allows plenty of time to follow up on confirmations or resolve questions <br />about the proper categorization of an investment without delaying the audit. As another example, we test <br />long-tenn debt at interim and forecast year-end balances for each debt issue. <br /> <br />At interim, we will continue to work with you to modify your Excel financial statement programs to fit <br />any minor changes in your disclosure and format needs. We will continue to help you redraft and revise <br />last year's financial statements where necessary for new transactions, disclosures and accounting <br />pronouncements. <br /> <br />Drafting the financial statements at interim is particularly important because it forces all of us to <br />address these issues before we enter the year end crunch. You and others have time to review the <br />effects of proposed accounting treatments and disclosures without the pressures of impending issuance <br />deadlines. <br /> <br />We plan the year-end closing in detail with you by preparing our Annual Closing Checklist. Our <br />Checklist details all the information we will need from you to complete our year-end audit, along with the <br />person responsible for preparing it and the date they will have it ready. We do not ask for more <br />information than other firn1s-we simply organize it and put it all on one list, so you know what we need <br />in advance. And we do not ask for more later. <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />r <br /> <br />."'r'w,' ...- T <br />