HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-036RESOLUTION NO. 99-36
APPROVING AGREEMENT
WITH CARSON, ALLEN, WEISHAIR & CO., LLP
BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Stillwater that the agreement
with Larson, Allen, Weishar & Co., LLP is hereby approved and that the Mayor and the
City Clerk are authorized to execute the agreement.
Adopted by Council this 2"d day of February, 1999.
Attest:
~.
Mayor
ctmg ity Clerk
i e CARSON
iii 0 ALLEN
' ~ I I' WEISHAIR
& CO.,LLP
Certified Public Accountants
bt Business Consultants
Member of Summit International Associates, Inc.
January 12, 1999
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Stillwater
F.O. Lox 2625
Stillwater, MN 5082
800 Minnesota World Trade Center
30 East Seventh Street
St. Paul, MN 551 01-491 0
612/228-6300
Fax 612/228-6355
www.lawcollp.com
We are pleased to confirm our understanding of the services we are to provide the City of Stilhvater for die year ended
December 31, 1998. We will audit the general-purpose financial statements of the City of Stillwater as of and for the year
ended December 31, 1998. Also, the combining and individual fund financial statements will be subjected to the auditing
procedures applied in our general-purpose financial statements.
The objective of our audit is the expression of an opinion as to whether die general-purpose financial statements are fairly
presented, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to report on the fairness
of the additional information referred to in the first paragraph when considered in relation to die general purpose financial
statements taken as a whole. Our audit will be conducted in accordance wilt generally accepted auditing standards and the
standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the
United States, and will include tests of the accounting records of the Ciry of Stillwater and other procedures we consider
necessary to enable us to express such an opinion. If our opinion on die general-purpose financial statements is other than
unqualified, we will fully discuss the reasons wide you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the audit
or are unable to express an opinion, we may decline to express an opinion or may not issue a report as a result of this
engagement.
The management of the City of Stillwater is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control. In fulfilling dais
responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the expected benefits and related costs of the
controls. The objectives of intemal control are to provide management wilt reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that
assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition, that transactions are executed in accordance with
management's authorizations and recorded properly to permit die preparation of generai-purpose f nattc:al Stateurcelt~ in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
In planning and performing our audits, we will consider die internal control sufficient to plan the audit in order to determine
the nature, timing, and extent of our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the City of
Stillwater's general-purpose financial statements.
We will obtain an understanding of the design of the relevant controls and whedler they have been placed in operation, and
we will assess control risk. Tests of controls may be performed to test the effectiveness of certain controls that we consider
relevant to preventing and detecting errors and fraud that are material to the general purpose financial statements and to
preventing and detecting misstatements resulting from illegal acts and odter noncompliance matters that have a direct and
material effect on the general purpose financial statements. (Tests of controls are required only if control risk is assessed
below the ma.~cimum level.) Our tests, if performed, will be less in scope that would be necessary to render an opinion on
internal control and, accordingly, no opinion will be expressed.
To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Stillwater
Page 2
An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify reportable conditions. However, we will
inform the governing body or audit committee of any matters involving internal control and its operation that we consider
to be reportable conditions 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 that, in our judgement, could adversely affect the entity's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the general-purpose financial statements.
Identifying and ensuring that the City of Stillwater complies with laws, regulations, contracts, and agreements is the
responsibility of management. As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the general-purpose financial
statements aze free of material misstatement, we will perform tests of City of Stillwater's compliance with applicable laws
and regulations and the provisions of contracts and agreements. However, the objective of our audit will not be to provide
an opinion on overall compliance and we will not express such an opinion.
Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and niav
include tests of the physical existence of inventories, and direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and
liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, creditors, and firr.~tncial institutions. We will request written
representations from your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the
conclusion of our audit, we will also require certain written representations from you about the financial statements and
related matters.
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements;
therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of transactions to be examined and the areas to be tested. We
will plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable rather than absolute assurance about whether the financial statements
aze free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud. Because of the concept of reasonable assurance and
because we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk that a material misstatement may exist
and not be detected by us. In addition and audit is not designed to detect errors, fraud, or other illegal acts that are
immaterial to the general-purpose financial statements. However we will inform you of any material errors and any fraud
that comes to our attention. We will also inform you of any other illegal acts that come to our attention, unless clearly
inconsequential. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to the period covered by our audit and does not extend to matters
that might arise during any later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors.
Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us. We understand that
you will provide us with such information required for our audit and that you aze responsible for the accuracy and
completeness of that information. We will advise you about appropriate accounting principles and their application and
will assist in the preparation of your financial statements, but die responsibility for the financial statements remains with
you. That responsibility includes the establishment and maintenance of adequate records and effective internal control over
financial reporting, the selection and application of accounting principles, and die safeguarding of assets.
Because many computer systems use only two digits to record the year in date fields, such ssstems may not be able to
accurately process dates including the year 2000 and after. The effects of this problem will vary from systenn to system acid
may adversely affect your operations as well as the ability to prepare financial statements. An audit of financial statements
conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards is not designed [o detect whether your systems are year
2000 compliant. Further, we have no responsibility with regard to your efforts to make your systems year 2000 compliant
or to provide assurance on whether you have addressed, or will be able to address, all of the affected systems on a timely
basis. These aze your responsibilities. However, we may choose to comnnunicate matters that come to our attention relating
to the potential effects of the year 2000 on your computer systems.
'To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Stillwater
Page 3
We understand that yow employees will prepare all cash or other confirmations we request and will locate any invoices
selected by us for testing.
The workpapers for this engagement are the property of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP and constitute confidential
information. However, we may be requested to make certain workpapers available to the Office of the State Auditor
pursuant to authority given to it by law or regulation. If requested, access to such workpapers will be provided under the
supervision of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP personnel. Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of
selected workpapers to the Office of the State Auditor. The Office of the State Auditor may intend, or decide; to distribute
the photocopies or information contained therein to others, including other governmental agencies.
Our fee for these services will be $15,100 plus out-of-pocket costs (such as postage, travel, copies, telephone, etc.) Our
invoices for these fees will be rendered each month as work progresses and are payable on present.:tien. The a'oove fee is
based on anticipated cooperation from your personnel and the assumption that unexpected circumstances will not be
encountered during the audit. If significant additional time is necessary. we will discuss it with you and arrive at a new fee
estimate before we incur the additional costs.
Government Auditing Standards require that we provide you with a copy of our most recent quality control review report.
Our March 31, 1995 peer review report accompanies this letter.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to the Ciry of Stillwater and believe this letter accurately summarizes the
significant terms of our engagement. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you agree with the terms of our
engagement as described in this letter, please sign the enclosed copy and return it to us.
Very truly yours,
Larson, Allen, Weishair, & Co., LLP
/~ v~G
Thomas P. Koop, CPA
Principal, Local Government Services
TPK/psm
RESPONSE:
This letter correctly sets forth the understanding of the City of Stillwater
By:
Title:
Date:
IlBRD1DATAlCUENTS24924198EL. DOC
i' • i
ti ~
~~,
Baird,
Kurtz &
Dobson
Certified
Public
Accountants
911 College Street
PO Eox 1196
Bowling Green,
Kentucky 42102.1196
502 781-0111
FAX: 502 843.0359
With Offices in:
Arkansas
Colorado
Kansas
Kentucky
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Member of
Moores Fowland
International
To the Partners
Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP
We have reviewed the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing
practice of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co. , LLP (the firm) in effect for the year
ended March 31, 1995. Our review was conducted in conformity with standards
for peer reviews promulgated by the peer review committee of the SEC practice
section of the AICPA Division for CPA Firms (the section). We tested
compliance with the firm's quality control policies and procedures at the firm's
executive office and at selected practice offices and with the membership
requirements of the section to the extent we considered appropriate. These tesu
included the application of the firm's policies and procedures on selected
accounting and auditing engagements.
In performing our review, we have given consideration to the general
characteristics of a system of quality control as described in quality control
standards issued by the AICPA. Such a system should be appropriately
comprehensive and suitably designed in relation to the firm's organizational
structure, its policies and the nature of its practice. Variance in individual
performance can affect the degree of compliance with a firm's prescribed quality
control policies and procedures. Therefore, adherence to all policies and
procedures in every case may not be possible. As is customary in a peer review,
we are issuing a letter under this date that sets forth comments related to certain
policies and procedures or compliance with them. None of these matters were
considered to be of sufficient significance to affect the opinion expressed in this
report.
In our opinion, the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing
practice of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP in effect for the year ended
March 31, 1995, met the objectives of quality control standards established by the
AICPA, and was being complied with during the year then ended to provide the
firm with reasonable assurance of conforming with professional standards. Also,
in our opinion, the firm was in conformity with the membership requirements of
the section in all material respects.
~ eP,,~~~,~,~
May 26, 1995