Independent auditor issues clean report for City of St. Joseph for fiscal year 2025
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- An independent audit of the City's financial statements, Police Pension Fund and compliance with federal awards showed a clean bill of health for the latest fiscal year.
City councilmembers and staff were given a review of the latest audit for the City during a work session Feb. 2 by Hood and Associates, an Oklahoma-based firm with offices in more than a dozen states, including in Kansas City.
The key takeaway: a comprehensive review of the City’s financial statements, internal controls and compliance showed its financial statements were presented fairly in all material respects and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The audit comes during a fiscal year that saw multiple changes designed to improve internal processes and transparency, including streamlined electronic bidding procedures, consolidating procurement across all departments and eliminating fund transfers.
No illegal acts were discovered during the course of the audit, as well as any significant deficiencies.
"The auditors recommended that the City continue to monitor, update and maintain its financial policies and procedures and to evaluate and adopt new accounting pronouncements as they are established," the city stated in a news release.
One significant policy change documented in the audit was the City's adoption of the Governmental Account Standards Board State No. 104: Disclosure of Certain Capital Asset, a standard used to improve financial reporting transparency for state and local governments by requiring separate, detailed note disclosures for non-traditional capital assets and assets held for sale.
During the auditor’s presentation, continued prioritization of cybersecurity was emphasized, an area of growing concern for government agencies nationwide. The city was impacted by a large cyberattack last June that heavily impacted technology and communication across multiple departments. The city invested more than $1 million to upgrade information technology and cybersecurity infrastructure.
While no evidence suggested any information was misused, more than 11,000 residents were potentially impacted.
"The City has been implementing multiple new security measures in the last year to protect the integrity of its data and cyber infrastructure," a City press release stated.
The City has earned the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 34 consecutive years, the highest achievement a city can earn, and is expected by its independent auditor to receive the award again for fiscal year 2025.
