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Council Communication

Title:	Acceptance of Audit Committee report dated November 28, 2001 and the June 30, 2001 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
Dept:	Finance Department
Date:	December 18, 2001
Submitted By:	Lee Tuneberg, Finance Director
Reviewed By:	Greg Scoles, City Administrator

Synopsis:	The Audit Committee has met with staff and Moss-Adams LLP to review and accept the annual audit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001. The committee's report can be found in the annual report on page xvii and the auditor opinion on page 1. Copies of those pages and meeting minutes are attached.
Recommendation:	The Audit Committee recommends acceptance of the 2000-2001 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and staff concurs.
Fiscal Impact:	None determined.
Background:	The CAFR is prepared annually as part of the state-required audit by an independent, certified and municipally licensed auditor. In Ashland, the auditor reports to the Audit Committee established by the city. The committee receives the auditor opinion, management letter and annual financial reports prepared by staff. When satisfied with the reports and related information, the committee forwards the CAFR to council with a recommendation to accept. The city is responsible for completeness and accuracy of the annual report and this year's document was prepared, cover to cover, by city staff. The necessary auditor reports are included in the document and presented on their letterhead. Key places to look within the document are: Page i-xi xvii I 2 4 -14 15 - 44 45 - 130 131 - 141 Subject matter Transmittal letter from staff Report of Audit Committee accepting the audit Auditor's unqualified opinion Combined balance sheet and other financial statements Notes explaining the general purpose financial statements Supplementary reports, schedules and statistical tables Other required auditor comments and disclosures

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November 28, 2001

The City Council
City of Ashland, Oregon

REPORT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE

The Audit Committee advises the City Council on matters conceming the City's financial reporting process. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the Committee recommends the independent certified public accountants to be engaged by the City Council as the City's auditors. The Committee discusses with the selected independent certified public accountants the overall scope and specific plans for the audit.

The Committee also discusses with the City's auditors the City's financial accounting and reporting processes, including the preparation of the financial statements. In addition, the Committee discusses with the City's auditors the adequacy of the City's internal controls and accounting procedures, including the safeguarding of the City's assets and other resources against unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.

At the conclusion of the annual audit, the Committee meets with the City's auditors to discuss the results of their audit and their evaluation of the City's financial reporting.

Based on the Committee's discussions with the City's auditors, we accept the City's 2000-2001 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report ("CAFR") and the related audit reports of the independent certified public accountants. Based on our acceptance, we recommend the CAFR and auditor's reports be accepted by the City Council.

Respectfully submitted,
The Audit Committee

Martine Levine, CPA, Chairman

Emile J. Amarotico, CPA, Member

Barbara Christensen, City Recorder/Treasurer, Ex-Officio Member

Roberta Stebbins, CPA, Member

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Moss Adams LLP

Independent Auditor's Report

To the Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
City of Ashland, Oregon

We have audited the accompanying general purpose financial statements of the City of Ashland, Oregon, as of and for the year ended June 30, 2001, as listed in the table of contents. These general purpose financial statements are the responsibility of the City's management. Our responsiblity is to express an opinion on these general purpose financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the general purpose financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on atest basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the general purpose financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall general purpose financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the general purpose financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the City of Ashland, Oregon, as of June 30, 2001, and the results of its operations and cash flows of its proprietary fund types and similar trust fund for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

In accordance with Government Auditng Standards, we have also issued a report dated October 19, 2001, on our consideration of the City of Ashland's internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants. That report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and should be read in conjunction with this report in considering the results of our audit.

The accompanying schedule of expenditures of federal awards is presented for purposes of additional analysis as required by U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Govemments, and Non-Profit Organizations, and is not a required part of the general purpose financial statements. The combining individual fund and account group statements and schedules, component units and other financial schedules listed in the table of contents as supplementary data are presented for purposes of additional analysis and are not a required part of the general purpose financial statements of the City of Ashland, Oregon. Such information has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the general purpose financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the general purpose financial statements taken as a whole.

The other data included in this report, designated as the Statistical Section in the table of contents, has not been audited by us and, accordingly, we express no opinion on such data.

Medford, Oregon
October 19, 2001

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Audit Firm Selection Criteria

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