Finance director presents delayed FY24 comprehensive financial report; auditors cited for delay

Glenn Smith, Laconia’s finance director, gave a concise overview of the city’s FY24 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report at the Dec. 8 council meeting. Smith said the audit was delivered late — in October — because the external auditor experienced staffing problems earlier in the year; the city has since moved to contract with CliftonLarsonAllen for future audits.

Key fiscal points Smith highlighted:

- Unassigned fund balance rose by approximately $1.3 million in FY24, driven by higher revenues and lower-than-budgeted expenses.
- Long‑term debt increased by about $2.8 million in FY24 to roughly $40 million; per‑capita debt rose by about $150 for that fiscal year. Smith noted the city's debt level was roughly 19% of what state law allows as of June 30, FY24.
- The auditors issued nine findings. Eight of those were new for the audit period and included multiple recommendations related to IT controls and written procedures. Smith said the city will take the findings seriously and address them, noting some findings reflected the absence of written procedures (for example in IT ticketing) rather than a lack of operational capacity.

Smith said copies of the full ACFR were made available to the mayor and council and would be posted publicly (library and city website) the next day. He offered to provide more in‑depth briefings on any of the findings and noted the auditors’ representation letter acknowledged responsibility for the delay.

What’s next: The city will work through auditor findings, post the full report, and bring future audited financial statements on a more timely schedule under the new auditor contract.