SUNDRE — No major red flags or significant deficiencies were discovered by the Town of Sundre's auditor throughout the process of conducting a detailed financial review.
Presenting the 2020 audit’s findings to council during the regular April 26 meeting held by teleconference were PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP partner Angela Loo and her colleague Jasmine Kwong, audit manager.
“In my view, I think everything went very successfully, and we are happy to present a very clean audit,” Loo said.
While the auditor is obligated to present to mayor and council any items or errors that are flagged in financial statements, whether adjusted or left unadjusted, she said, “In the current year, we did not note any errors that were left unadjusted or adjusted.”
Additionally, she confirmed the auditor is conflict free and independent from the municipality.
“We are not aware of any relationships that we need to disclose to mayor or council,” she said.
Although a letter to management from the auditors outlining recommendations for best practices did not include any new items to note in the 2020 financial review, but a point from a prior year was followed up on and subsequently addressed, she said.
“No fraud involving senior management or employees have come to our attention as part of the audit,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Richard Warnock offered his council colleagues an opportunity to ask questions. Following a brief silence, Coun. Rob Wolfe’s motion to accept the audit report for information carried unanimously.
Council proceeded to carry a motion to go in-camera as per the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act to discuss the management letter prepared by the auditor.
About 15 minutes later, the public meeting was called back into order.
Chris Albert, director of corporate services, told council that the financial statements as presented are compliant with Public Sector Accounting standards.
“It’s the same information that’s presented in the quarterlies, it’s just in a different, more regulated format,” said Albert.
Another provincially mandated requirement with the financial statements is a financial information return report, he said.
“The reason for that is, so that the province has a consistent and comparable format to look at all municipalities. So, all municipalities have to fill out the exact same format,” he said.
“It’s really just to put everything in context for (the government).”
Above and beyond the clean audit, Albert added the municipality remains in “a good financial position.”
Coun. Rob Wolfe’s motion to accept the 2020 auditor’s report, the 2020 audited financial statements as well as the financial information return as presented by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and to furthermore direct administration to forward these documents to the provincial government as per the municipal government act, carried unanimously.
