Sauk Rapids City Council Celebrates Strong 2024 Audit Results Despite Minor Financial Controls Issue

(KNSI) — The Sauk Rapids City Council was extremely pleased at the results of the 2024 financial audit, despite a small hiccup showing a “significant deficiency” in how money matters are handled.

The council heard from auditor Caroline Stutsman, who gave the city an unmodified opinion, which is “the highest level that they can receive. Meaning, their financial statements are fairly stated in all material respects as of December 31st, ’24.”

Auditors noted that there were too few people overseeing key financial and accounting practices, which could lead to misstatements or misdeeds going undetected. Sauk Rapids has limited staff, meaning duties in the finance department overlap. That has to be acknowledged by law. Stutsman added the finding was not uncommon for cities of similar size. No other problems were found during the audit, and the city is on solid financial ground.

An audit requires about a week’s worth of field work, including checking a select sample of transactions, recalculating revenue, and ensuring the balances are materially correct.

As for the handling of the financial transactions, Stutsman notes, “It’s really just an item that is inherently present for them, and an item that then when something is inherently present, we are responsible just to let the council know.”

Stutsman praised the city for having good controls to ensure any problems arising from the issue are properly mitigated.

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