Auditor Deneal Bennett presented the results for the 2018 fiscal year at Monday’s Wadesboro town council meeting, concluding that everything was in order.
The town was granted what’s known as a clean opinion.
Bennett is set up to audit through the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
“Thank you for allowing to me to audit the town, and to present the audit to you,” she began.
There were no significant changes in the format of the audit.
“There’s no way we can look at all your transactions, but we look at what we consider risk areas, significant areas and your financial statements are considered materially correct,” Bennett said.
An additional paragraph was added to the report this year. It relates to other postemployment benefits, commonly known by accountants as OPEB, and are benefits other than pensions that state and local governments provide to retired employees.
Bennett mentioned Statement No. 75, which address accounting and financial reporting by government employers for OPEB other than than pensions.
“That’s just to let you know that we implemented GASB 75 for your other postemployment benefits liability, which is retiree health insurance,” she said. “Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong, but we wanted to draw your attention to this change.”
GASB is an acronym for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Wadesboro did not spend more than $100,000 in state grant funds for the 2018 fiscal year. The document verifies the auditor and town have followed the law as mandated.
The report confirms for every tax dollar spent, Wadesboro allocates it toward general government, public safety, transportation, economic physical development, garbage sanitation, cultural and long-term debt.
“Because we enstututed GASB 75 for you OPEB, your beginning balance had to be restated by $4.7 million,” Bennett said. “It’s a whole new way of accounting, and this is what all governments had to do this year.”
In the future, there will be restatements for leases.
The only new debt for last fiscal year was a new limb truck.
The town’s annual budget retreat will occur later this month.