Aurora accepts 2023 financial reports and single audit; auditors report no material weaknesses

The Aurora Finance Committee unanimously accepted the city's 2023 annual comprehensive financial report, single audit and related reports (item 24-0719) on Sept. 26 after presentations from city finance staff and the city's audit partner.

Linda Reed, comptroller deputy treasurer, opened with highlights and provided hard copies of the comprehensive annual financial report and single audit. "We did get a clean audit opinion," Reed said. Jim Savio, partner at Sikich, reviewed the audit and said the firm issued an unmodified opinion and a yellow-book single audit, with no material weaknesses or instances of noncompliance noted in their reports.

Savio walked the committee through the report structure and financial highlights: the general fund's unassigned balance is about $21 million (roughly 10% of current-year expenditures) and the city's excess of revenues over expenditures was about $30.4 million before other financing sources and transfers produced a net change in fund balance of a $2.3 million reduction. He noted implementation of GASB 96 (subscription-based IT arrangements) and two new audit deficiencies related to subscription accounting and capital asset classification; management provided written responses in the report. Savio also reviewed pension funding trends, reporting IMRF at about 87% funded and police and fire pension funds improving to roughly 54–55% funded after recent investment gains.

Committee members asked about pension funding levels and requested comparative context; auditors and staff said police and fire pension funding is roughly in line with downstate benchmarks and trending upward. A motion to accept the reports (moved by Alderman Buck) passed 5-0.

Staff and auditors said they will follow up on the two noted deficiencies and provide status updates to the committee.