OLDS — Olds Fibre Ltd, operating as O-NET, reported a $10.1 million surplus, largely due to debt being cleared before it was sold to Telus Communications last November.
That’s one of the nuggets of information that came out when audited financial statements for the company were presented to the Town of Olds' council during its April 14 meeting.
The municipality's chief administrative officer, Brent Williams, said more information on O-NET financials would publicly be made available on April 28 when the Town of Olds' annual financial statements are presented.
He said that would include “the transaction price and other information.”
O-NET was a high-speed internet and phone service that was sold to Telus in the fall of 2024.
It was created about 11 years ago by volunteer community members with Olds Institute due to concerns among local residents and businesses about access to high-speed internet and other issues. O-NET achieved national fame back in 2013 as Canada's first community-owned fibre-to-the-home provider offering gigabit internet.
In 2021, the Town of Olds forced OFL's owner, Olds Institute, into receivership as part of the municipality's effort to deal with an estimated $18 million worth of debt it was on the hook for as a backer for OFL. The entity, including Olds Institute's Mountain View Power, was turned into a municipally-controlled corporation of which the Town of Olds was the only shareholder.
The shares were sold to Telus in November 2024. At the time, Williams said council reluctantly decided to sell the company because it couldn’t afford to keep it going.
The audit report listed several ongoing documentation gaps, like those found in previous years, but no new concerns were brought up.
For example, under audit results, the report says, “management is in a unique position to perpetrate financial statement fraud through the manipulation of accounting records.
“Under Canadian assurance standards, there is a presumed fraud risk related to management’s ability to override internal controls. This risk is not rebuttable.”
However, it also says, “we have assessed the business rationale of the transactions, taking into consideration estimates applied, application of accounting policies, evidence of potential management bias. No significant findings have been identified.”
The report also says, “sales revenue has been recorded prematurely or prior to the conditions under IFRS 15 – revenue from contracts with customers.”
However, it also says, “significant findings have been identified regarding controls in place over revenue transactions and accounting estimates.”
The report also says, “expenses have not been recorded in the correct reporting period, either due to premature recognition or missing accruals, or do not exist.'"
But it then says, “significant findings have been identified regarding controls over procurement.”
The report says, “there is an inherent risk related to cash and investments,” but then adds, “no significant findings have been identified.”
Another line says “expenses have not been recorded in the correct reporting period, either due to premature recognition or missing accruals, or do not exist.”
But the report also says, “significant findings have been identified regarding controls over procurement.”
Yet another finding says, “cost of sales recorded are incomplete or have been recorded at the incorrect amount. Inventory is ‘misstated’ due to incorrect measurements or incorrect costing.”
It then says, “significant findings have been identified regarding controls over procurement.”
Council voted to approve the OFL/O-NET audited financial statements and to receive the audit report as information.
