City of Hapeville, Georgia
Technical Proposal to Provide Audit Services Fiscal Year June 30, 2017 through 2019
Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants Contact Person: Douglas A. Moses, CPA, Partner Phone: (678) 742‐6773 Email: [email protected]
200 Galleria Parkway SE, Suite 1700 Atlanta, GA 30339
Web: www.mjcpa.com
We Do Things Right & We Do the Right Things
City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Transmittal Letter ...... 1
Scope of Work to be Performed ...... 3 - Scope of Our Work and Required Audit Reports - Irregularities and Illegal Acts
Independence ...... 4
License to Practice in Georgia ...... 5
Firm Qualifications and Experience ...... 5 - Organization and Size - Serving Governments For Over 95 Years - Location of the Office from which the Work is to be Performed
Quality Control Review ...... 7 - External Peer Review - Desk Reviews or Field Reviews - No Disciplinary Actions
Partner, Supervisory and Staff Qualifications and Experience ...... 10 - Proposed Staffing and Qualifications - Other Staff Resources (Technology Services and Fraud Examinations) - Other Staff Auditors & Accountants - Affirmative Action - Partner & Staff Continuity - Continuing Education of Partners and Staff - Planned Use of Outside Specialists
Similar Engagements with Other Governmental Entities ...... 22 - Client Transitions - Client Testimonials - Governments Served in the Past Three Years - CAFR Certificates of Achievement & Excellence - PAFR Experience - Municipal Bond Experience - Audits of Federally Funded Programs (Single Audits) - Other Attestation Services - Other Non‐Attestation Services - Similar Clients
City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Specific Audit Approach ...... 39 - Proposed Segmentation of Audit Engagement and Level of Staff Assigned - High Percentage of Partner and Manager Involvement - Sampling Techniques and the Extent to Which Statistical Sampling Will be Used in the Engagement - Extent of the Use of EDP Software in the Engagement - Type and Extent of Analytical Procedures to be Used in the Engagement - Approach to be Taken to Gain and Document an Understanding of the City’s Internal Control - Approach to be Taken in Determining Laws and Regulations to be Subject of Audit Test Work - Approach to be Taken in Drawing Audit Samples for Purposes of Tests of Compliance - Methodology to be Used in Performing the “Risk Based” Approach in Determining Major Federal Programs
Identification of Anticipated Potential Audit Problems ...... 51 - Single Audits - Defined Benefit Pension Plans - Future GASB Pronouncements - Other Potential Problems
Total All‐Inclusive Maximum Price ...... 53
Additional Information of Value Added Services ...... 54 - Free Continuing Education for Governmental Clients - Governmental Newsletters - Auditor’s Discussion & Analysis
Closing ...... 57
City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
June 8, 2017
Mr. William R. Whitston City of Hapeville 3468 North Fulton Avenue Hapeville, GA 30354
Dear Mr. Whitston:
We appreciate the opportunity to propose on providing audit services to the City of Hapeville, Georgia (the “City”), and we are pleased to submit a qualifications package including cost estimates to provide annual financial and compliance auditing services for the City. It is our understanding that the City is requesting proposals from qualified firms of certified public accountants to establish a contract for the professional services of a Certified Public Accountant (the “auditor”) for financial and compliance audits. The contract for such audit services will be for three (3) consecutive fiscal years ending June 30, 2017, 2018, and 2019 with an additional year (2020) added at the option of the City.
We have read the Request for Proposal (RFP) and fully understand its intent and contents. We understand the time frame for performance of the annual financial audits as stipulated by the City, and agree to provide the services described in the proposal. We will conduct preliminary and final fieldwork and will issue all of the deliverables and reports substantially prior to the required due dates.
As professionals serving the public sector, Mauldin & Jenkins is qualified to serve the City. We believe that Mauldin & Jenkins is the leader in auditing state and local governments in the Southeast. This leadership was achieved by recognizing that we are an important part of our client's success, with our objective being to ensure that accurate information is reported to the City, management, and its citizens. Given the complexities of the City’s financial operations and the ongoing significant changes in accounting standards, we feel that it is very important that you select an auditing firm that is focused and experienced in the governmental industry. We differentiate ourselves from our peers in the following ways:
Experience with Governments. As auditors for more governments in Georgia than any other firm, our professionals are thoroughly versed in the complex governmental arena, and have consistently provided the highest quality of service to our government clients. Consider the following:
We audit more cities in Georgia than any other firm We audit more counties in Georgia than any other firm. We audit more State of Georgia agencies, authorities and commissions than any other firm. We audit more School Systems within Georgia than any other firm. We audit over 80 water & sewer systems, and many other enterprise government operations. We serve 92 governments awarded the GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. We are highly involved in various national and state governmental associations.
Mauldin & Jenkins provides over 70,000 hours of service to over 300 governmental units in the Southeast on an annual basis. Such experience results in the utilization of over 80 professionals.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Experience with Client Transitions. Over the past 17 years, we have experienced approximately 300 transitions as the new auditors of governmental entities. Our team offers a great deal of experience with serving new clients, and providing a smooth transition during the change in auditors.
Staff Continuity. Our staff retention rates are considered to be among the best in the profession (and much better than national and other regional firms). This fact, coupled with our vast array of government clients, results in a staff pool highly experienced with governmental entities with the definite capacity to serve the City. We are able to not only provide consistency with the partner and manager on our engagement teams, but seniors as well. We also have enough resources at the partner, manager, and senior levels to provide for periodic rotations as requested by our clients.
Education. Mauldin & Jenkins’ clients have the opportunity to register and receive approximately thirty (30) hours of continuing education on an annual basis, free of charge. We take our experience in serving governments, and choose timely and relevant topics to provide ongoing education to our clients. Sessions are limited to clients only.
Responsiveness. We pride ourselves in responding to the needs of our clients and meeting their deadlines. This responsiveness is not only the ability to meet specified audit deadlines, but also the ability to respond to other requests. Our ability to be responsive is enhanced by the open communications and good working relationship we have with our clients. Our resources provide for the flexibility to meet your needs and to perform our services in an efficient and effective manner.
Organized to Specifically Meet Your Needs. Our partners, managers, and seniors in the Firm’s Governmental Practice Division spend 100% of their time serving governments. By structuring the Firm’s Governmental Practice Division in such a manner, we are able to create efficiencies in the audit process which typically result in our total hours being significantly less than most other firms.
Nationally Recognized. Mauldin & Jenkins is consistently ranked in the Top 100 by Accounting Today as well as Inside Public Accounting trade associations and magazines as one (1) of the largest certified public accounting firms in the country. Tommye Barie (a governmental audit partner with Mauldin & Jenkins) served as the 2015 Chair of the Board of Directors of the AICPA.
The City of Hapeville would be an important client to Mauldin & Jenkins and one that we would be proud to serve. Again, on behalf of Mauldin & Jenkins, we are excited about this opportunity to work with the City in order to help meet the continuing challenges you face.
This proposal represents a firm offer for 90 days from the date of the proposal. As a member of Mauldin & Jenkins, Douglas Moses is authorized to bind and make representations for the Firm, and he will be the ultimate party responsible for the quality of the report and working papers.
We welcome the opportunity to meet with management and governing board officials to present our proposal and our qualifications. Please contact us at (678) 742‐6773, 200 Galleria Parkway SE, Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30339. Again, on behalf of Mauldin & Jenkins, thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Sincerely,
MAULDIN & JENKINS, LLC
Douglas A. Moses, Partner
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Scope of Work to be Performed
The following pages attempt to demonstrate to you our understanding of the nature of the audit services and our general plan for meeting your needs.
Scope of Our Work and Required Audit Reports
The overall objective in serving the City is to determine whether the financial statements present fairly the respective financial position of the governmental activities, the business‐type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information and the respective changes in financial position and cash flows, where applicable, thereof and the respective budgetary comparison for the major governmental funds in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, to determine whether the combining and individual non‐major fund financial statements are fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
The audit will be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the provisions of the Federal Single Audit Act and its amendments, the U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (commonly referred to as the Uniform Guidance).
Our audit will consider the City’s internal controls over financial reporting in order to determine the auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the financial statements and not to provide an opinion on the internal control over financial reporting.
We will perform tests of compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts. Providing an opinion on compliance with these provisions is not an objective of the audits. However, the results of the tests disclosing instances of noncompliance and other matters will be reported as required under Government Auditing Standards.
Following the completion of the audit of the fiscal year’s financial statements, we shall prepare the required audit reports (if applicable) including those required by Government Auditing Standards and OMB Compliance Supplement, and the Official Code of Georgia Annotated:
1) A report on the fair presentation of the financial statements in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This report shall include Required Supplemental Schedules (RSI) as required by GASB 34. 2) A report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on Compliance and on Other Matters Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards. 3) A report on Compliance with Requirements Applicable to Each Major Program and on Internal Control Over Compliance required by the Uniform Guidance. 4) A Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs in accordance with OMB Compliance Supplement.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Irregularities and Illegal Acts
We will make an immediate, written report of all irregularities and illegal acts or indications of illegal acts of which we become aware, to the following parties:
The City’s Mayor and City Council; The City Attorney; The City Manager; and The City Finance Director
Independence
We hereby affirm that Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC is independent with respect to the City of Hapeveille, Georgia, and related outside entities as defined by generally accepted auditing standards.
We meet the independence standards of Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and the U.S. General Accounting Office Government Auditing Standards (2007 revision). We are also independent with respect to the City within the meaning of Rule 1.01 of the Code of Professional Ethics of the American Institute of CPAs and the applicable published rules and interpretations thereunder.
To further understand the above paragraph, we have not:
Prepared or performed reconciliation services; Performed bookkeeping services; or, Provided other consulting services for the City during the past year or any time prior. Independence is very important to the integrity of an audit, and we are most definitely independent with respect to the City. Further, we have no conflicts of interest or local bias.
We have had no business relationships or made payments to any officer or employee of the governing board members of the City of Hapeville, Georgia who is or has been in a policy making or significant management position relating to any aspect of the proposed work in the past five years. Our Firm, nor any partner or employee, has made any contributions to any political campaigns of any person serving as a City Council member of the City of Hapeville, Georgia. We have made no payments or commitments to make payments to any person, Firm or corporation for services rendered in soliciting business for the City of Hapeville, Georgia. Written notice will be provided to the City provided any professional relationships are entered into with the City during the period of this agreement.
We will conduct our audits objectively and will report findings, opinions, and conclusions objectively. As noted above, we are free from personal and external impairments to independence, are organizationally independent and will maintain an independent attitude and appearance so that opinions, conclusions, judgments, and recommendations are impartial and will be viewed as impartial by knowledgeable parties. There are no situations that might lead others to question our independence.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
License to Practice in Georgia
We hereby affirm that Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC is properly registered as a certified public accounting firm licensed to practice in the State of Georgia by the Georgia Board of Accounting. Our Georgia license number is 350. Additionally, all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed and registered to practice public accounting with the State of Georgia. Firm Qualifications and Experience
Organization and Size
Mauldin & Jenkins was formed in approximately 1920 and has been actively engaged in governmental auditing since its inception. Mauldin & Jenkins is considered to be Georgia’s largest locally owned provider of audit and accounting services, and one of the largest certified public accounting firms in the country. Mauldin & Jenkins serves clients throughout the Southeastern United States. Mauldin & Jenkins is considered to be a large regional firm.
We have offices in the following communities:
Atlanta, GA ** Macon, GA ** Albany, GA Birmingham, AL ** Bradenton, FL ** Chattanooga, TN
As noted in our transmittal letter, Mauldin & Jenkins provides and supervises over 70,000 hours of service to governmental entities on an annual basis. The Firm’s governmental practice is the largest niche in the Firm and is approximately 25% of the Firm’s total practice. However, size and resources alone are not the most meaningful measure of success; in the end, our clients remain the best judges of Mauldin & Jenkins' value.
Other key information relative to the size and experience of Mauldin & Jenkins is as follows:
300,000 ‐ approx. total hours of service provided annually to clients of the Firm 70,000 ‐ approx. total hours of service provided annually to governmental clients of the Firm 32% ‐ percentage of governmental practice as compared to Firm’s attestation practice 25% ‐ percentage of governmental practice as compared to Firm’s overall practice 300 ‐ approx. total governmental entities served in past three (3) years 260 ‐ total number of Firm personnel 90 ‐ total clients served who obtain the GFOA/ASBO Certificates 42 ‐ total clients with publicly issued debts in excess of $50 million 45 ‐ total number of Firm partners 11 ‐ total number of governmental partners & directors 11 ‐ total number of governmental managers 80 ‐ total number of professionals with current governmental experience
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Serving Governments For Over 95 Years
Mauldin & Jenkins’ commitment to government began when our Firm was established in 1920. Since then, we have viewed service to governments as significant to the overall success of the Firm. Today, the governmental sector is an industry that has been specifically identified for our continued growth in professional services. Accordingly, all professionals, from entry‐level accountants to partners (who select the governmental sector as their focus) are trained to understand the issues and meet the needs of state and local governmental entities.
As noted previously, Mauldin & Jenkins employs 22 partners, directors and managers who dedicate 100% of their time serving government clients. We also have numerous additional professionals with current experience in providing services to governmental entities – many of whom spend their time exclusively on government clients. Mauldin & Jenkins’ dedicated professionals can bring a comprehensive understanding of the issues that face government entities as well as “bench strength” at all levels, allowing us to respond swiftly and effectively to your evolving needs.
The goal of our government practice is to help governments improve their financial processes and strategies so that they can in turn achieve their goal of improving the lives of their citizens. This shared commitment to the goals of our clients has resulted in a significant government clientele. As noted in our transmittal letter, we currently serve approximately 300 governments in the Southeast. We know of no other firm that can match our experience.
Mauldin & Jenkins has obtained significant relevant experience serving governmental entities over the years by serving a wide variety of governmental entities. Just over the past 3 years, we have annually served over 120 city/county local governments of all sizes across the Southeast. Additionally, over the past 3 years, we have served more than 60 school systems and charter schools, approximately 40 state agencies, and another 80 special purpose entities (special districts, authorities, commissions, etc.). We also are currently serving 85 governmental entities who annually obtain the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Our current footprint of clients extends as far north as Bristol, Tennessee (located on the border between Tennessee and Kentucky) and as far south as Islamorada, Florida (located within the south Florida Keys) with many clients in between. Looking east to west we serve Charleston, South Carolina and Selma, North Carolina to clients in Birmingham, Alabama.
Location of the Office from which the Work is to be Performed
The Atlanta office will act as the lead in providing services to the City, with additional staff roles coming from our other offices as needed. We have a working relationship between offices that we utilize quite often in serving the governmental sector, and it works quite well for all of our clients.
The individuals mentioned in this proposal, Mr. Douglas Moses and Mr. Joel Black, are known across the Southeast for their involvement with governmental entities. They have significant experience in governmental audit and accounting, and will play significant roles in providing ongoing services to the City.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
The Atlanta office currently employs 45 professionals with current experience in providing services to governmental entities and who will meet the continuing professional education requirements set forth in the U.S. General Accounting Office Government Auditing Standards. A further profile of the Atlanta office and the Firm’s professional staff as a whole is as follows:
Professional Staff by Level Atlanta Firm‐Wide Partners 29 45 Managers 18 40 Supervisors / Senior 17 75 Other Staff & Consultants 47 120 Total 111 280
The following staff will be employed on the audit of the City of Hapeville:
Two partners (one engagement partner and one quality control review partner) One full time manager Two full time staff members Any necessary staffing will be employed as needed.
Quality Control Review
External Peer Review
In the mid 70s, the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) was founded by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to establish a voluntary quality assurance program for CPA firms. There are requirements for membership in the section, which include mandatory continuing education for each member of the professional staff and a key element is a tri‐annual independent review of a firm’s quality control system in its practice of public accounting. Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC has been a member of the section from its inception.
The peer review aspect has evolved from being voluntary to mandatory and Mauldin & Jenkins is in full compliance with the requirements of having a tri‐annual review. In the peer reviewer’s latest report dated October 3, 2014, our reviewing firm gave a rating of “pass” which is the highest form of assurance they can render on the system of quality control for our accounting and audit practice.
A copy of the report on our most recent external quality control review is provided on the next page. The quality control review included a review of specific government engagements. No letter of comment was received as a result of this review. We are quite proud to be one of the few Southeast based firms to have undergone this review and to have received such an excellent opinion from a large reputable national firm.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Desk Reviews or Field Reviews
Mauldin & Jenkins audits most of the largest school districts in the State of Georgia. Based on that fact, and since 2011, the State of Georgia’s Department of Audits & Accounts (DoAA) annually performs a review of a sample of our school district audits. No report has ever been formally issued, and no matters or issues have ever been noted by this annual effort. As a matter of fact, the DoAA has asked to send teams of auditors to review our workpapers in their own effort to better approach financial and compliance audits from a risk based perspective.
With the exception of the above paragraph’s thoughts, Mauldin & Jenkins has not had a federal or state desk review or field review of its audits during the past three (3) years.
One of our more recent federal desk reviews or field reviews was done in January 2008. We would like to provide the following details of that review, as we believe its results further distinguish Mauldin & Jenkins from other firms:
In January 2008, as part of the Federal Department of Education’s random testing of the audits of local boards of education, a review was performed by the Federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding a Single Audit engagement of a local board of education. We are quite pleased to note the examiner provided Mauldin & Jenkins a letter of high marks for the performance of the respective Single Audit and this comes at a time when Federal regulators are condemning the profession for poor performance of such Single Audits. Unofficially and orally provided, the examiner noted this Single Audit engagement to be the best such engagement reviewed in his experience.
We at Mauldin & Jenkins are quite proud of our Firm’s governmental practice and appreciate the efforts of state and Federal inspectors and examiners, and their kind words of our doing things right and doing the right things in our attestation engagements.
No Disciplinary Actions
Mauldin & Jenkins has not had any disciplinary actions taken (nor are any pending) against the Firm during the past three (3) years with any state or Federal regulatory bodies or professional organizations.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Partner, Supervisory and Staff Qualifications and Experience
Proposed Staffing and Qualifications
In order to provide the highest quality service in the most cost efficient manner, Mauldin & Jenkins has formed a client service team which will function as a cohesive unit, and would represent a superb assortment of talent and experience for the audit of the City. The unit would be assembled as follows:
Douglas Moses Joel Black Quality Control Partner Engagement Partner
Josh Carroll Tim Lyons Manager Alt. Manager Randy Upchurch
Certified Info. Systems Auditor
Kris Trainor Certified Fraud
Examiner
Audit Engagement Team Staff
The above team dedicated to audit the City will include (at a minimum): two (2) partners, one (1) full‐time manager, and at least two (2) staff professionals. The manager (Josh Carroll) and the staff professionals will be substantially on‐site full time throughout the conduct of their role in the audit. Other governmental audit professionals will be available to assist throughout the fieldwork and the preparation of the financial reports. The audit partner in‐charge of fieldwork will correspond with City management on financial reporting, audit, and related issues on an ongoing basis, and this individual will also be dedicated to serve the City throughout fieldwork, reporting and conclusion in all respective fiscal years.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Mauldin & Jenkins has the depth of resources which allows us to provide you with significant resources of knowledgeable professionals to meet your deadlines.
We realize that, regardless of our Firm’s qualifications, the quality of service the City receives will correlate directly to the skill level, dedication, and resourcefulness of your audit engagement team. The individuals listed below have been selected to serve the City based on their years of hands‐on experience working with government entities, and for their commitment to exceeding client expectations. Your team members are dedicated and resourceful, and among the most talented in their field. We encourage you to contact us whenever you have questions and to view us not just as auditors, but as true advisors. Please see the following pages for information on several key individuals who are available to serve the City during the audit process.
Doug Moses, CPA Lead Partner & Ultimate Partner Responsible
Doug Moses is a member (i.e., partner) and a certified public accountant with Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC specializing in serving local and state governmental entities. He is registered and licensed to practice in the State of Georgia. Doug is a partner who works exclusively in the governmental sector of the Firm’s audit practice.
Years of Professional Experience and Years with Firm Doug has eighteen (18) years of experience with the Firm. Doug serves both large and small governmental units, and is involved in serving over fifty (50) such governmental entities. Doug obtained his CPA certificate in 2001.
The following is a summary of governmental clients served by Doug in the capacity of engagement partner in‐charge or concurring review partner. These clients are also listed below.
List of Governmental Clients Served in the Last Three (3) Years
Counties: Cities: Athens‐Clarke Co. Unified Government City of Alpharetta Barrow County City of Austell Cherokee County City of Ball Ground Colquitt County City of Chamblee DeKalb County City of Clarkston Floyd County City of College Park Mitchell County City of Cochran Walton County City of Doraville Boards of Education: City of Decatur Atlanta Public Schools City of Dunwoody Fulton County Board of Education City of Duluth Atlanta Heights Charter School City of Forrest Park
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
City of Buford Board of Education City of Fairburn Fulton County Schools Employees’ Pension Plan City of Jefferson Cobb County Board of Education City of Lawrenceville Decatur City Schools City of Lilburn Board of Education of the City of Marietta City of Riverdale Fulton County Board of Education City of Rome City of Rome Board of Education Town of Toccoa Troup County Department of Education City of Whitesburg Douglas County Board of Education City of Bristol, Tennessee Georgia Online Academy Inc. Town of Braselton Brighten Academy City of Crossville, Tennessee Cherokee County Academy Coweta Charter Academy Other Governmental Units: Oconee County Board of Education Austell Natural Gas System Cobb County‐Marietta Water Authority State of Georgia Entities: Riverdale Downtown Development Authority Georgia Lotter Corporation Town Center Area Community Improvement Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) District State Road and Tollway Authority Evermore Community Improvement District Georgia Student Finance Authority Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association Cherokee County Airport Authority City of Atlanta‐ Atlanta Station Tax Allocation District and Other Various Tax Allocation Districts. Atlanta Beltline Inc. Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc.
Degree/Certifications and Audit Training
Doug graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1999 with a Masters of Business Administration with emphasis in accounting and from Georgia Southwestern State University in 1997 with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting (Magna Cum Laude). He has been a speaker at free quarterly CPE provided to our clients and several internal conferences.
Doug has obtained and instructed a significant amount of continuing professional education over the last three years including:
2017 Mauldin & Jenkins CPE Class for Clients – Information Technology Risk Management 2016 Georgia Society of CPAs Class Governmental Accounting and Auditing Update 2016 Mauldin & Jenkins Annual Conference, Athens, Georgia (Instructor) 2016 National AICPA Governmental A&A Update, Washington, D.C. 2015 National AICPA Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference, San Diego, California
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
2015 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference, GASB Update – Jekyll Island, Georgia (3 days) ‐ Instructor and Participant 2015 Mauldin & Jenkins Annual Conference, Athens, Georgia (Instructor) 2014 National AICPA Governmental A&A Update, Denver, Colorado 2014 Mauldin & Jenkins Annual Conference, Athens, Georgia 2014 Mauldin & Jenkins CPE Class for Clients – Accounting for Pension Plans (GASB 67 & 68), Kennesaw, Georgia 2013 Mauldin & Jenkins Annual Conference, Lake Lanier, Georgia 2013 National AICPA Governmental A&A Update, Las Vegas, Nevada 2013 Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
Degree/Certifications and Audit Training
Doug is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Government Finance Officers Association, the National Association of Black Accountants, the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association and the Association of Government Accountants. Doug is also an active member of the GSW Foundation, Inc., and the alumni board of trustees for Georgia Southwestern State University where he is the past‐president of the Alumni Board and was recently elected to serve as the vice‐chairperson of the GSW Foundation. He has spoken at several graduation commencements which included the December 2005 Graduation Commencement at Georgia Southwestern State University in which the former President Jimmy Carter and his wife attended (the former President personally commended Doug on his speech during a private luncheon held on campus).
Joel Black , CPA Quality Control Partner
Joel Black is a partner and a certified public accountant with Mauldin & Jenkins. His experience covers a variety of clients in federal, state, and local government, and non‐profit organizations. He currently serves on the firm’s Audit and Accounting (A&A) Committee, helping establish audit policies and answering technical questions for the firm’s governmental partner group.
Years of Professional Experience and Years with Firm
Joel has over twenty‐two years of experience in public accounting, twelve years of which was with KPMG LLP serving a wide range of government clients. He joined Mauldin & Jenkins in 2004, becoming a partner in 2005. Joel recently was appointed to the AICPA’s State and Local Government Expert Panel and recently served on the Executive Committee of the AICPA’s Government Audit Quality Center. He was also recently the chairman for one of five national AICPA task forces focused on improving the quality of Single Audits within the auditing profession. His task force encompasses improving the testing of internal controls and compliance. Among his duties include rewriting three chapters of the AICPA Audit Guide on Government Auditing Standards and OMB Circular A‐133 Audits.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
List of Governmental Clients Served in the Last Three (3) Years
Counties: State of Georgia Entities: Athens‐Clarke Co. Unified Gov. Ga. Department of Community Health Cherokee County Ga. Environmental Finance Auth. (GEFA) DeKalb County Ga. Environmental Loan Acquisition Corp. Dougherty County Ga. Higher Education Facilities Authority Gwinnett County Ga. Lottery Corporation Forsyth County Ga. State Financing & Investment Commission Hamilton County, TN Lumpkin County Other Governmental Units: Paulding County Atlanta Development Authority Union County Atlanta Beltline, Inc. Walton County Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc. Birmingham‐Jefferson Co. Transit Authority Cities: Bristol Public Library City of Alpharetta Chattahoochee River 911 Authority City of Bristol, TN City of Atlanta Tax Allocation Districts (6) City of Brookhaven City of East Point Retirement Plan City of Chattahoochee Hills DeKalb County Public Library City of College Park Downtown Development Authority of Atlanta City of Decatur Fulton County BOE Retirement System City of Doraville Georgia Ports Authority Defined Benefit Plan City of Duluth Georgia Ports Auth. OPEB Plan City of Dunwoody Georgia Ports Auth. Defined Contribution Plan City of Fairburn Gwinnett County BOE Retirement System City of Forest Park Gwinnett Center City of Jefferson Gwinnett Convention & Visitors Bureau City of Johns Creek Gwinnett County Development Authority City of Kennesaw Gwinnett County Public Library City of Lawrenceville Gwinnett County Water & Sewerage Authority City of Lilburn Gwinnett County Retirement Plan City of Peachtree Corners Gwinnett County OPEB Health Plan City of Powder Springs Joint Sewerage System (Bristol, TN & VA) City of Roswell Public Building Authority of Knox County City of Riverdale Riverdale Downtown Development Authority City of Sandy Springs Urban Residential Finance Authority of Atlanta City of Suwanee City of Toccoa
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Boards of Education: Atlanta Public Schools Forsyth County Board of Education City of Bristol, TN Public Schools Fulton County Board of Education City of Carrolton Board of Education Gwinnett County Board of Education City of Rome Board of Education Hamilton County Department of Education Cobb County Board of Education Walton County Board of Education
Degree/Certifications and Audit Training
Joel graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
Joel coordinates the Mauldin & Jenkins three day training for all governmental partners and staff and also developed and instructed the internal training on the Risk Assessment Standards and Clarified Standards for audits. He also coordinates and leads the instruction of the free quarterly CPE provided to our clients.
Joel has obtained and instructed a significant amount of continuing professional education over the last three years including:
2017 M&J Government Client Training – 1st Quarter 2016 GSCPA, Government Accounting and Auditing Conference – Instructor 2016 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Webcast – OPEB ‐ Instructor 2016 AICPA Government and Not‐for‐Profit Training Prog. – Las Vegas – Instructor 2016 AICPA Webcast – GASB Fair Value Audit and Accounting Issues ‐ Instructor 2016 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference – Instructor 2016 Georgia Pension Trust Officers Association Conference ‐ Instructor 2016 M&J Internal Government Conference ‐ Instructor 2016 North Carolina SCPAs – Local Government Conference ‐ Instructor 2016 City of Dunwoody Accounting Conference ‐ Instructor 2016 M&J Government Client Training – 1st Quarter ‐ Instructor 2016 AICPA Webcast – Internal Control COSO and More – Instructor 2015 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Webcast – GASB 68 ‐ Instructor 2015 AICPA Webcast – Single Audit Fundamentals ‐ Instructor 2015 M&J Government Client Training – 4th Quarter ‐ Instructor 2015 AICPA Government and Not‐for‐Profit Training Prog. – New Orleans ‐ Instructor 2015 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference – Instructor 2015 Georgia Economic Developers Association Annual Conference ‐ Instructor 2015 M&J Sponsored Training on GASB 68 – Charleston, SC ‐ Instructor 2015 M&J Internal Government Conference ‐ Instructor 2015 M&J Government Client Training – 1st Quarter ‐ Instructor 2015 GSCPA, Non‐Profit Accounting and Auditing Conference ‐ Instructor 2014 M&J Government Client Training ‐ 4th Quarter ‐ Instructor 2014 AICPA Government and Not‐for‐Profit Training Prog. ‐ Las Vegas ‐ Instructor 2014 M&J Government Client Training ‐ 3rd Quarter ‐ Instructor 2014 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference ‐ Instructor
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
2014 M&J Internal Government Conference ‐ Instructor 2014 City of Dunwoody Accounting Conference ‐ Instructor 2014 Georgia College Business Officers Annual Conference ‐ Instructor 2014 TSCPA, GASB Update and Pension Accounting ‐ Chattanooga, TN ‐ Instructor 2014 GSCPA, Non‐Profit Accounting and Auditing Conference ‐ Instructor 2014 M&J Government Client Training ‐ 1st Quarter ‐ Instructor
Joel is often a speaker at government accounting and auditing conferences, many of which are noted above, and is on the planning committee for the annual AICPA Government and Not‐for‐Profit Training Program, which was held in New Orleans in the fall of 2015 and will be in Las Vegas in the fall of 2016. Joel serves as a Technical Reviewer for the GFOA in the CAFR certificate of excellence in financial reporting program and also served as one of eight senior managers on KPMG’s professional practice and quality assurance team, performing technical reviews on various Single Audit engagements from other offices throughout the United States.
Professional and Civic Activities
Joel is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Government Finance Officers Association, the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association, and the Association of Government Accountants. He has previously served on the Zoning Appeals Board for the City of Sugar Hill, Georgia.
Josh Carroll, CPA Manager with Day‐to‐Day Responsibility of Overall Audit
Josh is a manager and a certified public accountant with Mauldin & Jenkins. Josh spends 100% of his time serving state and local governments.
Years of Professional Experience Josh has over nine (9) years of experience in public accounting serving a wide range of governmental clients.
List of Audits Performed for Governments in the Last Three (3) Years
Josh has experience in serving both large and small governmental units, and is involved in serving several of such entities. The following is a summary of governmental clients served by Josh in the capacity of manager:
Athens‐Clarke County Georgia City of Dunwoody, Georgia Barrow County Georgia City of Fairburn, Georgia Gwinnett County, Georgia City of Lawrenceville
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City of Alpharetta City of Lilburn, Georgia City of Brookhaven, Georgia City of Suwanee, Georgia City of Canton, Georgia Georgia Environmental Finance Authority City of Chamblee, Georgia Georgia Environmental Loan Acquisition Corp. City of Clarkston, Georgia Gwinnett County Public Library System City of Doraville, Georgia Gwinnett Convention & Visitors Bureau City of Duluth, Georgia Gwinnett County Board of Education
Degree/Certifications and Audit Training
Josh graduated from Georgia College & State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Masters of Accountancy.
Josh has obtained a significant amount of continuing professional education over the last three years including:
2016‐ Governmental Financial Reporting‐CPGRPT (Self Study) 2016‐ GSCPA, Governmental A&A Conference‐ Atlanta, Georgia 2016‐ Self Study on GASB 72 2015 GSCPA’s Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference – Atlanta, Georgia 2015 Grants Management‐Self Study 2015 Mauldin & Jenkins Annual Governmental Conference – Athens, Georgia 2015 Mauldin & Jenkins GASB 68 Training – Suwanee, Georgia 2014 M&J Governmental Client Training‐ 1st Quarter 2014 M&J Governmental Conference‐ Attendant and Instructor 2014 GSCPA, Governmental A&A Conference – Atlanta, Georgia 2014 Grants Management – Self Study 2014‐ GSCPA Clusters‐ Self Study 2013 Georgia Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference 2013 GSCPA, Government and Auditing Conference 2013 Mauldin & Jenkins Clarity Standards Update – Atlanta, Georgia
Professional and Civic Activities
Josh is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Other Staff Resources (Technology Services and Fraud Examinations)
Randy Upchurch, CISA and CISSP Director of Technology Services
Randy has twenty‐four (24) years of experience, in information technology (IT) auditing and information security operations and management. Randy has experience working on IT audits that are part of CAFR financial audits. His industry experience includes state and local governments, healthcare administration; life, health and disability insurance in both the public and not‐for‐ profit sectors including two (2) Fortune 500 companies.
Randy has experience serving as a Legislative Information Technology (IT) Auditor for the State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. His roles and responsibilities included:
IT audits and CAFR audits of city governments (clerks of courts, property assessor, general ledger, accounts payable, payroll and motor vehicles); General and application audits of city government systems; Annual IT audit of the Local Government Data Processing Corporation (LGDPC); and Annual audit of the State District Attorneys General (Fraud and Economic Crimes, Governor’s Drug Task Force and Title IV‐D Child Support divisions).
Randy has experience in the audits of general controls, application controls as well as electronic audit sampling and data extraction. Randy has also worked on the annual equivalent of a SOC for the Local Government Data Processing Corporation (LGDPC). LGDPC software included general ledger, payroll, accounts payable, clerks of courts, motor vehicle and property assessor applications. In addition to city governments, Randy also has served on audits of the State District Attorneys General (Fraud and Economic Crimes, Governors Drug Task Force, Title IV‐D Child Support).
He has extensive experience in SOX, SOC1, HIPAA/HITECH, and GLBA compliance program implementation, testing and reporting. His technical expertise includes performing computer forensic investigations, vulnerability and risk assessments and penetration testing of information systems using both technical and social engineering techniques. Further, Randy has:
Managed and performed regulatory compliance reviews including: Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA and HITECH; Managed and performed technical audit and security assessments of computer systems (penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and application reviews); Managed Information Technology Operations (Network and Host Security, Identity and Access Management, Information Security Program Development and Implementation); Managed and performed SSAE 16 Service Organization Controls Audits (SOC 1, 2, 3); and Performed and managed Information Technology CAFR audits for the State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
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Degree/Certifications and Audit Training
Randy is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. Randy has obtained and instructed a significant amount of continuing professional education over the last three years including:
SANS Forensics and Incident Response SANS PCI / DSS SANS Security Essentials
Professional and Civic Activities
Randy holds the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) designation from the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC).
Randy is professionally affiliated with: Information Systems Audit and Control Association; International Information Systems Service Certification Consortium (ISC)2; and Information Systems Security Association.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Kris Trainor, CPA and CFE Certified Fraud Examiner
Kris Trainor is a partner with Mauldin & Jenkins. Kris received his BBA in Accounting from Georgia Southern University. Since joining Mauldin & Jenkins in 1995, Kris has worked primarily on audit and consulting engagements. His experience ranges from fraud examinations, agreed‐upon procedures, internal audits, financial statement audits, lender compliance, mortgage company audits, governmental audits and loan servicing compliance audits. He also has audit and inventory experience in the manufacturing industry.
Kris is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Beta Alpha Psi.
Other Staff Auditors & Accountants
Prior experience with government audits is as important for the staff as it is for management. Experience in governmental accounting and auditing minimizes the amount of time the staff will require to fully understand the complexities of the operations and financial accounting and reporting systems. Prior experience also enables the staff to recognize problems early in the engagement. This, in turn, allows the desired early consideration and resolution of problems. All staff assigned to the County’s engagement will have prior experience serving government clients and/or will have substantial government audit training. All staff assigned to the City will be on‐site throughout the entire engagement.
We would like to stress the fact that the majority of our governmental staff work on state and local governments 100% of their time. This reduces the “learning curve” on most all audits by reducing the amount of “on‐site training” that occurs at most national accounting firms. This is very evident in our proposed hours, which are typically much less than that of other firms. Our staff knows what is required and how to get the work done efficiently and effectively. Our staff members understand the laws and regulations specifically pertinent to Georgia entities. We also normally have more high‐level hours of service by our partners and managers (in the conduct of fieldwork) than the national firms, thereby reducing redundancy and other audit engagement inequities. We bring our experience to the field where timely decisions can be made.
Affirmative Action
Mauldin & Jenkins is committed to the hiring of men and women and minorities representing any and all races, ethnic origins, religious affiliations, codes and creeds. Mauldin & Jenkins policy is to prohibit discrimination in all elements of its operations. We are proud of our reputation as an equal employment opportunity business. We have partners, as well as staff, in our Firm representing a wide variety and background.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Partner & Staff Continuity
We are comitted to providing continuity of our engagement team members. We recognize that this is also an important factor for the City, as it limits the amount of retraining that needs to be performed each year. Our staff retention rates of approximately 90% are considered to be among the best in the profession (and much better than national firms). We are able to not only provide consistency with the partners and managers on our engagement teams, but seniors and staff as well.
Retention > 90%
It is also our goal to minimize disruptions to the City by staffing the engagement so as to provide continuity, both during and between audits. It is the Firm’s policy not to rotate key audit staff, consultants or specialists off a multi‐year contracted audit engagement. Consequently, it is not anticipated that any key audit personnel will be rotated away from the City’s annual audit. In any business, however, turnover is inevitable. When this happens, we will provide resumes of suggested replacements and any changes in key personnel would always be discussed timely with City officials to their satisfaction.
Continuing Education of Partners and Staff
All members (i.e., partners) and staff of Mauldin & Jenkins receive substantial continuing education in audit and accounting – typically over 100 hours of such study per year. As soon as a staff person becomes a key ingredient to any type of niche service such as governmental audit, accounting and consulting, specific continuing education is sought. A good example includes sending our staff with over one (1) year of governmental audit experience to various GFOA and AICPA training for audit, accounting and financial reporting courses.
All partners and staff serving in the governmental sector join together in July each year for the M&J Annual Governmental Conference in which three (3) days worth of audit, accounting and financial reporting training is provided.
Mauldin & Jenkins also provides week long audit efficiency training via Audit Watch every June to all staff persons with less than five (5) years experience. Further, every July staff persons from various levels of experience are provided with four (4) days of training relative to the conduct of Single Audits and the preparation of Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR’s).
All staff associated with the annual audit of the City will exceed all the continuing professional education requirements contained in the Yellow Book throughout the term of the agreement.
Planned Use of Outside Specialists
At this time, we do not plan on the use of any outside specialist. All work to be performed will be performed by Mauldin & Jenkins partners and staff. Of course, certain staff has certain specialties, and they will be called on as needed.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
We do plan on using the results of reports provided to the City from their specialists. This would include, when applicable, the following types of specialists:
Actuaries Engineers Health care providers Third‐party administrators Retirement plan administrators Fixed asset valuation professionals Bond underwriters and counsel Consulting attorneys & outside counsel
Similar Engagements with Other Governmental Entities
Client Transitions
Mauldin & Jenkins has experienced over 340 governmental client transitions in the past seventeen (17) years.
We recognize changing audit organizations creates an opportunity as well as a challenge to governmental units. Our method effectively minimizes the impact of transition, and our goal is to make such a change painless and a positive experience. We accomplish successful transitions by:
Experience. Our experience enables us to focus on the areas of your organization that possess the greatest risk. Each and every person assigned to the engagement will bring extensive governmental experience relative to their time with the firm. Essentially, our youngest staff persons oftentimes have more current governmental experience than higher level people in other firms. Communication. Our emphasis on planning and communication allows for an efficient and effective audit process in which everyone involved knows their roles and expectations. Further, we like to communicate with our clients, and want to hear their concerns, questions and thoughts as they develop, and address such matters at that time. This helps avoid surprises to all respective parties. Learning Before Testing. We do not take a cookie‐cutter approach to our audits. Initially, we spend time visiting, inquiring, listening and learning before we ever begin the first audit tests. Tailoring Our Approach. Once we obtain an understanding of the the intricacies of a client’s operations, we tailor our audit approach to minimize unncecessary time and effort in the audit process, and avoid disruptions to client personnel. Not Recreating the Wheel. We also consider client’s processes and reports generated on a regular basis for possible use in our audit process to minimize the need for client’s to spend additional time and effort simply creating auditor requested schedules. Further, we can share templates used by other clients and ourselves that may reduce time in generating audit schedules.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Decisions Made in the Field. Issues, as they arise, are dealt with immediately and not accumulated until the end of the audit. This is accomplished by having seasoned governmental partners and managers in the field during the course of the engagement. Flexible. We understand the demands client personnel have on a daily basis. We have the resources available to accommodate any special requests or timing relative to the conduct of the annual audit, and still meet required specified deadlines. We understand plans can change, and we are open to making any change in scheduling requested by our clients. Reviews in the Field. Our goal is to conduct and review audits in the field. We find that to be the most effective and efficient approach to client service. Because our partners and managers are directly involved in the engagement during fieldwork, we can proactively identify significant issues immediately and resolve them with management so the engagement is essentially complete when fieldwork ends. Year‐long Support. We encourage your staff to take advantage of our accessible staff throughout the year for questions that may arise. Our people, working with you and your staff, can provide proactive advice on new accounting or GAAP pronouncements and their potential impact; help with immediate problems including answers to questions; and share insights and best practices to assist you in planning for your future success. Working Toward a Common Goal. Considering all of the above thoughts, our ultimate goal and objective is to provide excellent client service with the least amount of disruption to our clients. We tailor our approach to provide for everone to work smarter so our clients do not have to work harder.
Client Testimonials
The following represents sentiments and thoughts communicated in year 1 by clients who transitioned to Mauldin & Jenkins:
“The Commissioners of Mount Pleasant Waterworks would like to express their sincere thanks and appreciation for the excellent audit of our financials for the Fiscal Year 2014, especially being a first time audit….. We are looking forward to next year’s audit.”
Clay Duffie, Mount Pleasant (SC) Waterworks, General Manager
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“I was apprehensive when the decision was made to go with Mauldin & Jenkins thinking our city was too small for a larger firm. I couldn’t be more pleased with their helpful attitude and professionalism. The audit process is now smooth and painless."
Pam Herring, City of Rockmart (GA) , City Clerk / Finance Officer
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
“In the six years that I’ve gone through internal and external audits this has been by far the best experience with auditors. Your personalities make a huge difference and we haven’t regretted changing auditors."
Crystal Coleman, Edgefield County (SC), Finance Director
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“It was a pleasure to work with you and your team. I learned from the experience and appreciated the professional approach to the audit engagement.”
Mark Pullium, Oconee County (SC) , Former Director of Finance
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“Like most Finance departments we hate “breaking in” a new audit firm, however Mauldin & Jenkins made the transition practically painless.”
Tim Schroer, Augusta ‐ Richmond County (GA) Consolidated Government, Assistant Director of Finance
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The following represents sentiments and thoughts communicated by clients after working with Mauldin & Jenkins for several years:
“Mauldin & Jenkins has provided the Bibb County School District governmental accounting expertise and service for seventeen years. The M&J engagement teams are knowledgeable, extremely responsive and professional. Their timely audit and financial statement preparation has allowed us to receive the GFOA CAFR award for sixteen consecutive years. They remain a trusted advisor and source of expert knowledge which has been instrumental to the success in our financial reporting.”
Sharon Roberts, Bibb County (GA) School District, Former Executive Director of Accounting Current Chief Financial Officer of Birmingham (AL) City Schools
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“Our Mauldin & Jenkins audit engagement team is a professional and responsive group that works well with our staff with minimal interruptions during the audit process. We especially like taking advantage of the free continuing educaiton M&J offers.”
Renee Prather, City of Monroe (GA), Finance Director
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
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“The Mauldin & Jenkins’ staff are always professional and courteous, and they keep us informed throughout the audit process. They are available throughout the year to answer questions we may have. Their expertise in the governmental accounting and reporting field is exceptional. The complimentary continuing education classes they provide to their clients are timely and relevant.”
Gina Auld, CPA, City of Kennesaw (GA), Finance Director
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“While most audit firms use the governmental arena as "filler" to round out their schedule during slow periods, Mauldin & Jenkins has a whole department dedicated to providing the best expertise and auditing services to their governmental clients. Their partners and staff are genuinely enthusiastic about providing great service in this area. I really appreciate their expertise and guidance in my work providing accounting and consulting services to several local governments."
Steven E. Garber, CPA, Consulting CPA for Georgia Local Governments
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“The Mauldin & Jenkins team is always willing and eager to work with us at any given situation, and they are always thorough in their work, but always very professional and polite. I remember one year working with them on finishing the CAFR until 1:30 AM. The Mauldin & Jenkins team is always willing and able to answer our financial questions throughout the year. Our Finance Department has benefited from the free continuing professional education classes that are offered by Mauldin & Jenkins."
Rose K. Kisaalita, CPA, Barrow County (Georgia), Chief Financial Officer
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“We were thrilled with the audit engagement team’s audit implementation and completion agenda which resulted in the timely production of one (1) delinquent CAFR for 2013 and simultaneously completed the timely production of the 2014 CAFR as well as necessary analysis to complete the 2014 bond refunding. That was beyond our expectations in terms of cost savings and the speed with which we accomplished our goal. What we most appreciated about working with Mauldin & Jenkins was their ability to respect the predictable politics of the project, keep everyone happy, and deliver the expected results and then some."
Nina Mallard, City of College Park (Georgia), Former Accounting Supervisor
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
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“We chose Mauldin & Jenkins and have continued with them, because of their deep understanding and accounting knowledge of our industry and they are an invaluable resource to us. The professionals on their team are easy to work with and pay close attention to our specific concerns. They provide exceptional expertise and service, responding to questions quickly and proficiently. What we appreciated most about working with Mauldin & Jenkins was their ability to help us improve fund balance from a negative $397, 000 to a positive $2.9 million over a four year period and our bond rating from BBB to AA‐. That was beyond our expectations in terms of cost savings and the speed with which we accomplished our goal. Without question, our decision to use Mauldin & Jenkins for the past years was a sound business decision, delivering the expected results and then some."
David Smith, City of Fairburn (Georgia), Former Finance Director
Governments Served in Past Three Years
Perhaps the greatest indicator of our reliability as a professional service provider to state and local governments is our list of governmental clients.
Counties. Counties we have audited or are in the process of serving within the past three (3) years are:
Georgia 13) Gwinnett 26) Peach South Carolina 1) Athens‐Clarke 14) Henry 27) Rockdale 35) Beaufort 2) Augusta‐Richmond 15) Jeff Davis 28) Spalding 36) Colleton 3) Barrow 16) Jones 29) Stephens 37) Darlington 4) Cherokee 17) Liberty 30) Taylor 38) Edgefield 5) Clayton 18) Lincoln 31) Toombs 39) Lancaster 6) Colquitt 19) Lumpkin 32) Union 40) Laurens 7) Columbia 20) Macon 33) Walton 41) Oconee 8) Crisp 21) Macon‐Bibb 9) DeKalb 22) McIntosh North Carolina Tennessee 10) Dougherty 23) Mitchell 34) Orange 42) Hamilton 11) Floyd 24) Monroe 12) Forsyth 25) Paulding
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Cities. Cities we have audited or are in the process of serving within the past three (3) years are:
Georgia 24) Fairburn 48) Roswell 70) Naples 1) Albany 25) Fayetteville 49) Sandy Springs 71) North Port 2) Alpharetta 26) Forest Park 50) Sharpsburg 72) Orange Park 3) Americus 27) Grantville 51) Social Circle 73) Palmetto 4) Austell 28) Griffin 52) Stockbridge 74) Pensacola 5) Baldwin 29) Hinesville 53) Suwanee 75) Plant City 6) Ball Ground 30) Jefferson 54) Tifton 7) Blakely 31) Johns Creek 55) Toccoa North Carolina 8) Braselton 32) Kennesaw 56) Tybee Island 76) New Bern 9) Brookhaven 33) Lawrenceville 57) Union City 77) Selma 10) Canton 34) Leesburg 58) Valdosta 11)Cedartown 35)Lilburn 59)Villa Rica South Carolina 12) Chamblee 36) Milledgeville 78) Aiken 13) Chattahoochee Hills 37) Milton Florida 79) Beaufort 14) Clarkston 38) Monroe 60) Arcadia 80) Charleston 15) Cochran 39) Morrow 61) Bradenton 81) Clover 16) College Park 40) Peachtree City 62) Cooper City 82) Goose Creek 17)Conyers 41)Peachtree Corners 63) Crystal River 83) Loris 18)Cordele 42)Perry 64)Ft. Myers Beach 84) Summerville 19) Covington 43) Powder Springs 65) Haines City 20) Decatur 44) Quitman 66) Islamorada Tennessee 21) Doraville 45) Riverdale 67) Lake Placid 85) Bristol 22) Duluth 46) Rockmart 68) Long Boat Key 86) Crossville 23) Dunwoody 47) Rome 69) Marco Island 87) Jamestown
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
School Systems. Boards of Education we have served within the past three (3) years are:
Georgia 1) Atlanta Independent School System 23) Hancock County Board of Education 2) Bartow County Board of Education 24) Henry County Board of Education 3) Bibb County Board of Education 25) Marion County Board of Education 4) Bleckley County Board of Education 26) Oconee County School System 5) Butts County Board of Education 27) Paulding County Board of Education 6) Camden County School System 28) Peach County Board of Education 7) Cherokee County School District 29) Putnam County Board of Education 8) City of Buford Board of Education 30) Rockdale County Board of Education 9) City of Carrollton Board of Education 31) Thomas County Board of Education 10) City of Cartersville Board of Education 32) Troup County Board of Education 11) City of Decatur Board of Education 33) Twiggs County Board of Education 12) City of Gainesville Board of Education 34) Walton County Board of Education 13) City of Marietta Board of Education 35) Ware County Board of Education 14) City of Rome Board of Education 15) Clayton County Board of Education Florida 16) Cobb County School District 36) School Board of Highlands County 17) Douglas County Board of Education 37) School Board of Manatee County 18) Fayette County Board of Education 38) School District of Lee County 19) Forsyth County Schools 20) Fulton County Board of Education Tennesse 21) Glynn County School System 39) City of Bristol Board of Education 22) Gwinnett County Board of Education 40) Hamilton County Department of Education Charter School Systems. Charter schools we have served within the past three (3) years are:
1) Academy for Classical Education (ACE) 16) Ivy Preparatory Young Men's Leadership Academy 2) Atlanta Heights Charter Academy 17) Just for Girls Academy 3) Brighten Academy 18) Kendezi School 4) Cherokee Charter Academy 19) KIPP Metro Atlanta Collaborative 5) Coweta Charter Academy 20) KIPP Opportunity Fund 6) Furlow Charter School 21) KIPP South Fulton Academy 7) Georgia Online Academy 22) Northwest Florida St. Col l egi a te High School 8) Gwinnett County BOE Charter Schools 23) Pataula Charter Academy 9) Gwinnett Online Campus 24) Phoenix Center Community Service Board 10) Imagine School at North Port 25) Provost Academy Georgia 11) Imagine School at Palmer Ranch 26) Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences 12) Imagine‐East Manatee County, LLC 27) State Col l ege of Florida ‐ Collegiate High School 13) Imagine‐Manatee County, LLC 28) Student Leadership Academy of Venice 14) Ivy Preparatory Academy at Gwinnett 29) Troup County Coll ege & Career Academy 15) Ivy Preparatory Academy for Girls
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
State Governmental Entities. The State of Georgia has several agencies, departments and component units that are audited by an independent public accounting firm. We currently audit the majority of the State of Georgia’s component units, and we audit approximately $12 billion (or 30%) of the State of Georgia’s General Fund. Additionally, we audit several entities that are part of the State of Alabama’s financial reporting entity. Please see the following for a listing of State governmental entities we have audited in the past three (3) years:
1) Georgia Building Authority 19) Georgia Military College Foundation 2) Georgia Department of Community Health 20) Georgia Southern University Foundation 3) Georgia Education Authority 21) Kennesaw State University Athletic Association 4) Georgia Environmental Finance Authority 22) Kennesaw State University Foundation 5) Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corp. 23) Kennesaw State University Research Foundation 6) Georgia Higher Education Facilities Auth. 24) Medical College of Georgia Foundation 7) Georgia Lottery Corporation 25) New College of Florida 8) Georgia Ports Authority 26) Northwest Florida College Foundation 9) Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission 27) Southern Polytechnic Applied Research Foundation 10) Georgia Student Finance Authority 28) Southern Polytechnic State University Foundation 11) Georgia Student Finance Commission 29) State College of Florida Foundation 12) Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Coop. Authority 30) State College of Florida Sarasota‐Manatee, Inc. 13) Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority 31) Stone Mountain Memorial Association 14) Alabama Higher Education Loan Corporation 32) University of Chattanooga Foundation 15) Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition 33) University of North Georgia Foundation 16) Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation 34) University of North Georgia Real Estate Foundation 17) College of Coastal Georgia Foundation 35) University of West Georgia Athletic Foundation 18) Georgia College & State University Foundation 36) University of West Georgia Foundation 37) University System of Georgia Foundation
Other Governments. Other governmental entities we have audited within the past three (3) years are:
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
1) Academy for Classical Education (ACE) 68) Gwinnett County Water and Sewerage Auth. 2) Albany ‐ Dougherty Inner City Auth. 69) Gwinnett Online Campus 3) Atlanta Development Auth. 70) Hamilton Co. Water & Wastewater Treatment Auth. 4) Atlanta Economic Renaissance Corporation 71) Hamilton County Election Commission 5) Atlanta Heights Charter Academy 72) Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission 6) Atlanta Housing Opportunity 73) Henry County Water Authority 7) Austell Natural Gas System 74) Historic Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau 8) Barrow County Water & Sewer Authority 75) Housing Authority of Clayton County 9) Bartram Trail Regional Library 76) Houston County Library System 10) Bayshore Gardens Park & Recreation District 77) Imagine School at North Port 11) Birmingham‐Jefferson County Transit Auth. 78) Imagine School at Palmer Ranch 12) Bradenton Downtown Development Auth. 79) Imagine‐East Manatee County, LLC 13) Brighten Academy 80) Imagine‐Manatee County, LLC 14) Bristol Joint Sewer System 81) Islamorada,Village of Islands, Florida 15) Bristol Public Library 82) Ivy Preparatory Academy at Gwinnett 16) Catawba Water River Supply Project 83) Ivy Preparatory Academy for Girls 17) Central Community Redevelopment Agency 84) Ivy Preparatory Young Men's Leadership Academy 18) Central Midlands Regional Transit Auth. 85) Jefferson Co. Economic and Industrial Dev Auth. 19) Central Savannah River Area Regional Comm. 86) Just for Girls Academy 20) Charleston Water System 87) Keep Peachtree City Beautiful Commission 21) Chatsworth Water Works Commission 88) Kendezi School 22) Chattahoochee River 911 Auth. 89) Kennesaw State University Athletic Department 23) Chattanooga Area Reg. Transportation Auth. 90) KIPP Metro Atlanta Collaborative 24) Chattanooga Area Regional Council of Govts. 91) KIPP Opportunity Fund 25) Cherokee Charter Academy 92) KIPP South Fulton Academy 26) Cherokee County Airport Auth. 93) Lowcountry Regional Transit Authority 27) City of Albany‐ Chehaw Park Auth. 94) Lumpkin County Hospital Auth. 28) City of Albany‐ Water, Gas & Light Comm. 95) Lumpkin County Water & Sewerage Auth. 29) City of East Point Retirement Plan 96) Macon Water Authority 30) City of North Port, Fl. ‐ Firefighters' Pension 97) Macon‐Bibb County Land Bank Authority 31) City of Sandy Springs Development Auth. 98) Manatee County Mosquito Control Dist 32) Classic Center Auth. of Clarke County 99) Manatee Technical Institute 33) Clayton Co. Pension Fund 100) MARTA/ATU Local 732 Employees Retirement 34) Clayton County Water & Sewer Authority 101)McIntosh Trail Community Service Board 35) Cobb County ‐ Marietta Water Authority 102) McPherson Implementing Local Redev. Auth. 36) Cobb County‐Marietta Water Auth. Pension 103) McPherson Planning Local Redevelopment Auth. 37) Columbia County Board of Health 104) Middle Georgia Community Service Board 38) Convention and Visitors Bureau of Dunwoody 105) Milledgeville‐Baldwin County Dev. Auth. 39) Coweta Charter Academy 106) Mount Pleasant Waterworks 40) Crisp County‐ Cordele Industrial Development 107) NE Corridor, LLC 41) Crisp County Power Commission 108) Newton County Water & Sewerage Auth. 42) DeKalb County Public Library 109) North Fulton Regional Radio Auth. 43) Dev. Auth. of City of Jeffersonville & Twiggs Co. 110) Northeast Georgia Regional Commission 44) Development Auth. of Cherokee County 111) Northwest Florida State College ‐ Collegiate High School 45) Development Auth. of City of Roswell,GA 112) Northwest Florida State College Foundation 46) Development Auth. of Lumpkin County 113) Ocean Highway and Port Auth. of Nassau County 47) Development Auth. of Peachtree City 114) Oconee Center Community Service Board 48) Downtown Atlanta Revitalization 115) Pataula Charter Academy 49) Eatonton‐Putnam Water & Sewer Authority 116) Peace River/Manasota Reg Water Supply Auth. 50) Electric Power Board of Chattanooga 117) Peachtree City Convention & Visitor's Bureau 51) Forsyth County Public Library 118) Peachtree City Water & Sewerage Auth. 52) Friends of Bulloch 119) Phoenix Center Community Service Board 53) Georgia Charter Educational Foundation 120) Phoenix Center Community Service Board 54) Georgia Charter Educational Foundation 121) Provost Academy Georgia 55) Georgia Online Academy 122) Public Bldg. Auth. of Knox Co. & City of Knoxville 56) Georgia Ports Auth. DB & OPEB Plan 123) Riverdale Downtown Development Auth. 57) Georgia Ports Auth. Defined Contribution Plan 124) River's Edge Community Service Board 58) Griffin Spalding County Land Bank Auth. 125) Sandy Springs Hospitality Board 59) Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works 126) Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences 60) Gwinnett Civic/Cultural Center Operations 127) Southeast Tennessee Development District 61) Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau 128) SOWEGA Council on Aging 62) Gwinnett County Airport Auth. 129) State College of Florida ‐ Collegiate High School 63) Gwinnett County BOE Charter Schools 130) Student Leadership Academy of Venice 64) Gwinnett County Development Auth. 131) Toccoa‐Stephens County Public Library 65) Gwinnett County Public Facilities Auth. 132) Town Center Area Community Imp. District 66) Gwinnett County Public Library 133) Troup County College & Career Academy 67) Gwinnett County Recreation Auth. 134) Walton County Water & Sewerage Auth.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Water & Sewer Operations and Other Enterprise Governmental Operations. Below is a listing of water & sewer operations and other enterprise governmental operations we have served within the past three (3) years are:
Georgia 19) Grantville 38) Roswell 55) Islamorada 1) Albany 20) Griffin 39) Spalding Co. 56) Lake Placid 2) Americus 21) Hinesville 40) St. Marys 57) Long Boat Key 3) Athens‐Clarke Co. 22) Jefferson 41) Stockbridge 58) Marco Island 4) Augusta‐Richmond Co. 23) Lawrenceville 42) Suwanee 59) Naples 5) Ball Ground 24) Leesburg 43) Taylor Co. 60) North Port 6) Canton 25) Lincoln Co. 44) Tifton 61) Palmetto 7) Cochran 26) McIntosh Co. 45) Toccoa 62) Plant City 8) College Park 27) Milledgeville 46) Tybee Island 9) Columbia Co. 28) Mitchell Co. 47) Union City North Carolina 10) Conyers 29) Monroe 48) Valdosta 63) New Bern 11) Cordele 30) Monroe Co. 49) Villa Rica 64) Orange Co. 12) Covington 31) Paulding Co. 65) Selma 13) Crisp Co. 32) Perry Florida 14) DeKalb Co. 33) Powder Springs 50) Arcadia South Carolina 15) Fairburn 34) Quitman 51) Bradenton 66) Aiken 16) Floyd Co. 35) Rockdale Co. 52) Crystal River 17) Fayetteville 36) Rockmart 53) Ft. Myers Beach Tennessee 18) Forsyth Co. 37) Rome 54) Haines City 67) Crossville
Stand‐Alone Audited W&S Operations Other Enterprise Operations (Continued) 68) Barrow County Water & Sewer Authority Gas Utilities 69) Bristol Joint Sewer System 1) Albany 6) Lawrenceville 70) Brunswick ‐ Glynn Joint Water & Sewer Comm. 2) Americus 7) Pensacola, FL 71) Catawba River Water Supply Project 3) Cordele 8) Social Circle 72) Charleston Water System 4) Covington 9) Tifton 73) Chatsworth Water Works Commission 5) Grantville 9) Toccoa 74) Clayton County Water & Sewer Authority 75) Cobb County ‐ Marietta Water Authority Stand‐Alone Audited Gas Operations 76) Eatonton‐Putnam Water & Sewer Authority 10) Austell Natural Gas System 77) Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works (WEG) 78) Gwinnett County Water and Sewerage Authority Airport Operations 80) Hamilton Co. Water & Wastewater Treatment Auth. 1) Albany 10) Griffin 81) Henry County Water Authority 2) Athens‐Clarke County 11) Henry County 82) Lumpkin County Water & Sewerage Authority 3) Barrow County 12) Macon‐Bibb Co. ‐ 83) Macon Water Authority 4) Beaufort Co., SC ‐ Middle Georgia 84) Mount Pleasant Waterworks Lady's Island Regional Airport 85) Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority 5) Beaufort Co., SC ‐ 13) Macon‐Bibb Co. ‐ 86) Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Auth. Hilton Head Downtown Airport 87) Peachtree City Water & Sewerage Authority 6) Cochran 14) Pensacola, FL 88) Walton County Water & Sewerage Authority 7) Covington 15) Aiken, SC 8) DeKalb County 16) Lancaster Co., SC Other Enterprise Operations 9) Floyd County Electric Operations MEAG Power Stand‐Alone Audited Airport Operations 1) Albany 7) Griffin 17) Augusta‐Richmond County Regional Airport 2) College Park 8) Lawrenceville 18) Cherokee Airport Authority 3) Covington 9) Marietta 19) Glynn County Airport Commission 4) Crisp County 10) Monroe 20) Gwinnett Airport Authority 5) Fairburn 11) Quitman 6) Grantville Stand‐Alone Transits 1) Birmingham‐Jefferson County Transit Auth. Other Audited Electric Operations 2) Central Midlands Regional Transit Auth. 12) Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, TN 3) Chattanooga Area Reg. Transportation Auth. 13) New Bern, NC
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
CAFR Certificates of Achievement & Excellence
Mauldin & Jenkins has served approximately 300 governments in the past several years, and ninety‐one (91) governmental units who obtain the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, and, or the ASBO’s Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Mauldin & Jenkins’ clients have never failed to obtain the Certificate! Mauldin & Jenkins is batting 1000%. Every CAFR submitted to the GFOA or ASBO has resulted in success. Please see below the listing of our current Certificate clients.
Cities: Counties: 1) Aiken, SC 24) John's Creek 47) Athens‐Clarke County 2) Albany 25) Kennesaw 48) Augusta‐Richmond Co. 3) Alpharetta 26) Marco Island, FL 49) Barrow County 4) Americus 27) Longboat Key, FL 50) Beaufort County, SC 5) Austell 28) Milledgeville 51) Cherokee County 6) Ball Ground 29) Milton 52) Clayton County 7) Beaufort, SC 30) Monroe 53) Colleton County, SC 8) Bradenton, FL 31) Morrow 54) Columbia County 9) Bristol, TN 32) Naples, FL 55) Dekalb County 10) Canton 33) New Bern, NC 56) Floyd County 11) Charleston, SC 34) North Port, FL 57) Forsyth County 12) Chamblee 35) Palmetto, FL 58) Gwinnett County 13) College Park 36) Peachtree City 59) Hamilton County, TN 14) Conyers 37) Pensacola, FL 60) Henry County 15) Covington 38) Perry 61) Lancaster County, SC 16) Decatur 39) Riverdale 62) Liberty County 17) Dunwoody 40) Rockmart 63) Macon‐Bibb County 18) Fayetteville 41) Rome 64) Oconee County, SC 19) Fairburn 42) Roswell 65) Orange County, NC 20) Forest Park 43) Sandy Springs 66) Paulding County 21) Griffin 44) Suwanee 67) Rockdale County 22) Haines City, FL 45) Union City 68) Spalding County 23) Hinesville 46) Valdosta 69) Walton County
State Governmental Entities: Boards of Education: 70) Ga. Environmental Finance Auth. (GEFA) 82) Atlanta Public Schools 71) Ga. Ports Authority 83) Bibb County Schools 84) Cartersville City Schools Other Governmental Entities: 85) Clayton County Schools 72) Central Savannah River Area Regional Comm. 86) Cobb County Schools 73) Charleston Water System 87) Fayette County Schools 74) Clayton County Water Auth. 88) Fulton County Schools 75) Cobb County ‐ Marietta Water Authority 89) Gwinnett County Schools 76) Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works 90) Lee County School District 77) Henry County Water Auth. 91) Manatee County School District 78) Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority 92) Marietta City Schools 79) Macon Water Authority 80) Mount Pleasant Waterworks 81) Public Building Authority of Knox County and Knoxville
Client Testimony on Results of 1st Attempt. “We received the Certificate of Achievement from GFOA this week. This was a team effort and I want to share with you how much I appreciate you and the rest of the staff from Mauldin & Jenkins. You have an excellent team and should be very proud of them. I look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.” Tim Schroer, Augusta ‐ Richmond Co. (GA) Consolidated Government, Assistant Director of Finance
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
PAFR Experience
The GFOA established the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) Awards Program in 1991 to encourage and assist state and local governments to extract information from their comprehensive annual financial report to produce a high quality PAFR. PAFR’s are specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable to the general public and other interested parties without a background in public finance. The GFOA’s award program recognizes individual governments that are successful in achieving that goal.
Mauldin & Jenkins currently serves twelve (12) local governments who prepare a PAFR on an annual basis. We assist our clients in planning, developing and reviewing their PAFR’s, and believe such deliverables to be extremely valuable to governments communicating their finances to the general public.
Should the City be interested in preparing such a report, we would enjoy the opportunity to assist.
Municipal Bond Experience
In case the City plans to issue and refund bonds in the coming years, we have elected to share with the City some of our experience in the municipal bond area of auditing and financial reporting.
Please see our qualifications regarding our bond program auditing experience within the past three (3) years. Such qualifications include our auditing municipal bond programs with at least $50 million of outstanding bonded debt for which much of the debt has been issued in the past three (3) years, and we have issued numerous consent letters and comfort letters as part of the overall service to our governmental clients during the issuance of such bonded debt. As part of such a large government client base, Mauldin & Jenkins serves forty‐two (42) clients who meet the above criteria.
Additionally, we audit the Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission (GSFIC) who has issued several billions of general obligation bonds on behalf of the State of Georgia.
Please see the following for a sample of clients we have performed bond procedures, and, or audited the financial statements for in the past three (3) years whose publicly issued debts are in excess of $50,000,000:
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Governmental Entity Amount 1) Georgia Road & Tollway Authority (SRTA)$ 1,368,067,000 2) DeKalb County, Georgia 1,220,960,000 3) Gwinnett County (Georgia) Board of Education 1,118,860,000 4) Gwinnett County, Georgia 948,147,000 5) Charleston Water System 652,683,000 6) Augusta‐Richmond County, Georgia 628,031,000 7) Lee County (Florida) School District 418,628,000 8) Atlanta Development Authority 318,880,000 9) Forsyth County (Georgia) Board of Education 316,565,000 10) Forsyth County, Georgia 298,437,000 11) Hamilton County, Tennessee 272,965,000 12) Athens‐Clarke County, Georgia 261,461,000 13) Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority (GHEFA) 243,065,000 14) Beaufort County, South Carolina 214,656,000 15) Henry County (Georgia) Board of Education 189,960,000 16) Henry County (Georgia) Water & Sewer Authority 187,771,000 17) Douglas County (Georgia) Board of Education 174,973,000 18) Columbia County, Georgia 164,131,000 19) City of College Park, Georgia 157,445,000 20) Clayton County (Georgia) Water Authority 151,080,000 21) City of Charleston, South Carolina 142,960,000 22) Rockdale County, Georgia 122,567,075 23) Macon‐Bibb County, Georgia 117,189,000 24) Clayton County, Georgia 113,210,000 25) Paulding County, Georgia 109,000,000 26) Fulton County Board of Education 100,348,000 27) Georgia Environmental Finance Authority 91,980,000 28) Atlanta Public Schools 91,880,000 29) Macon (Georgia) Water Authority 86,865,000 30) Cherokee County, Georgia 86,765,000 31) Orange County, North Carolina 82,473,000 32) Walton County, Georgia 79,129,000 33) City of Decatur 77,926,000 34) Cobb County ‐ Marietta Water Authority 76,620,000 35) Barrow County, Georgia 72,950,000 36) City of Griffin, Georgia 66,931,000 37) City of Lawrenceville 61,465,000 38) Fayette County (Georgia) Board of Education 57,055,000 39) Lancaster County, South Carolina 55,139,000 40) City of Albany, Georgia 54,796,000 41) Walton County Board of Education 53,105,000 42) City of Rome 50,000,000
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Audits of Federally Funded Programs (Single Audits)
Relative to audits of calendar year 2014, Mauldin & Jenkins audits 147 entities representing approximately $8.1 billion in federal expenditures for state, local government, and non‐profit clients which is the:
10th highest among public accounting firms in the nation as it relates to total expenditures audited under the Single Audit Act; and, 26th highest among public accounting firms in the nation as it relates to number of Single Audits conducted.
For the year ended June 30, 2015, and relative to the State of Georgia governmental unit, Mauldin & Jenkins performed Single Audit compliance testing on approximately $6.8 billion of federal expenditures, and provided the reports required by Government Auditing Standards to the DOAA who incorporated such reports into the statewide Single Audit reporting package.
Mauldin and Jenkins serves a significant amount of clients who require substantial single audits. In January 2008, as part of the Federal Department of Education’s random testing of the audits of local boards of education, a review was performed by the Federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding a Single Audit engagement of a local board of education. We are quite pleased to note the examiner provided Mauldin & Jenkins a letter of high marks for the performance of the respective Single Audit and this comes at a time when Federal regulators are condemning the profession for poor performance of such Single Audits. Unofficially and orally provided, the examiner noted this Single Audit engagement to be the best such engagement reviewed in his experience.
Other Attestation Services
Other attestation services beyond financial and compliance audits which Mauldin & Jenkins currently provides to our clients include:
Forensic audits Agreed‐upon procedures Performance audits Bond issuance services Information systems audits Fixed asset inventory services
Other Non‐Attestation Services
Other services beyond the above attestation types which Mauldin & Jenkins currently provides to our clients include:
Federal and state income tax Merger / acquisition & expansion financing planning/return preparation Buy‐Sell agreements and business International tax matters valuations Multi‐state income tax issues Estate planning Payroll tax issues Employee benefit plan accounting and administration
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Information technology (IT) State sales tax matters systems consulting Healthcare cost reimbursement Cost accounting analysis Human resources (HR) predictive index Cost segregation services services and interviewing and hiring Business & strategic planning Business, strategic and succession planning Profitability consulting Information systems consulting and Budgeting technology engagements
Similar Clients
In addressing the City’s interest in the qualifications and client references of Mauldin & Jenkins and the request for audits performed for local governmental units in the last five (5) years, we have elected to report on five (5) cities which most closely resemble the City of Hapeville in size and services (total staff hours). Should management of the City need some additional references, we would be happy to provide such data. The five (5) Cities we audit for the last five (5) fiscal years) which most closely resemble the City are noted as follows:
1) City of College Park, Georgia
General Information City located just south of Atlanta with approximately 14,000 residents. City has assets of approximately $329 million and annual revenues of approximately $99 million. The City provides numerous services to its citizens including electric, water/sewer, solid waste collection and disposal, public safety, parks and recreation, community development and other usual and customary governmental services and functions. We annually perform the financial and compliance audits of the City including Single Audits in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. The City receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by GFOA. Scope & Type of Financial audits and compliance audits in accordance with the Engagement Uniform Guidance. Preparation of CAFR and the maintenance of the GFOA Certificate. Dates June 30, 2005 through present Partners Douglas Moses and Joel Black Total Hours 400 hours Contact Information Mr. Rodrique Taylor, Accounting Supervisor ‐ (404) 767‐1537 ext. 1118 ‐ [email protected]
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
2) City of Fairburn, Georgia
General Information City located just south of Atlanta with approximately 13,000 residents. City has assets of approximately $89 million and annual revenues of approximately $32 million. The City provides numerous services to its citizens including electric, water/sewer, solid waste collection and disposal, public safety, parks and recreation, community development and other usual and customary governmental services and functions. We annually perform the financial and compliance audits of the City including Single Audits in accordance the Uniform Guidance. The City receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by GFOA. Scope & Type of Financial audits and compliance audits in accordance with the Engagement Uniform Guidance. Preparation of CAFR and the maintenance of the GFOA Certificate. Dates June 30, 2010 through present Partners Douglas Moses and Joel Black Total Hours 250 hours Contact Information Mr. Ed Holloway ‐ (770) 964‐2244 ‐ [email protected]
3) City of Forest Park, Georgia
General Information City located just south of Atlanta with approximately 21,000 residents. City has assets of approximately $70 million and annual revenues of approximately $51 million. The City provides numerous services to its citizens including solid waste collection and disposal, public safety, parks and recreation, community development and other usual and customary governmental services and functions. We annually perform the financial and compliance audits of the City including Single Audits in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. City receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by GFOA. Scope & Type of Financial audits and compliance audits in accordance with the Engagement Uniform Guidance. Preparation of CAFR and the maintenance of the GFOA Certificate. Dates June 30, 2009 through present Partners Douglas Moses and Joel Black Total Hours 250 hours Contact Information Mr. Mike Blandenburg ‐ (404) 366‐4720 ‐ [email protected]
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
4) City of Chamblee, Georgia
General Information City located just north of Atlanta with approximately 16,000 residents. City has assets of approximately $34 million and annual revenues of approximately $20 million. The City provides numerous services to its citizens including stormwater, sanitation, public safety, parks and recreation, community development and other usual and customary governmental services and functions. We annually perform the financial and compliance audits of the City including Single Audits in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. City receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by GFOA. Scope & Type of Financial audits and compliance audits in accordance with the Engagement Uniform Guidance. Maintenance of the GFOA Certificate. Dates December 31, 2009 through present Partners Douglas Moses and Joel Black Total Hours 250 hours Contact Information Mr. Travis Sims, (470) 395‐2307, [email protected]
5) City of Riverdale, Georgia
General Information City located just south of Atlanta with approximately 16,000 residents. City has assets of approximately $41 million and annual revenues of approximately $18 million. The City provides numerous services to its citizens solid waste, public safety, parks and recreation, community development and other usual and customary governmental services and functions. We annually perform the financial and compliance audits of the City including Single Audits in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. City receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by GFOA. Scope & Type of Financial audits and compliance audits in accordance with Uniform Engagement Guidance. Preparation of CAFR and the maintenance of the GFOA Certificate. Dates June 30, 2015 through present Partners Douglas Moses and Joel Black Total Hours 250 hours Contact Information Mr. Donald Turner ‐ (770) 909‐5511 – [email protected]
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Specific Audit Approach
Proposed Segmentation of Audit Engagement and Level of Staff Assigned
Our professionals, who are knowledgeable with respect to audit requirements for governmental entities, will be assigned based on their expertise with respect to each segment. Our audit procedures, related documentation and quality review will be segregated by each segment as follows based on our review of the City’s prior financial statements, budgets, request for proposal, and other information available:
Segment I: Segment II: Segment III: Planning and Year End Review / Interim Procedures Completion / Procedures (Final Fieldwork) Delivery
The below timeframes are estimates based on our understandings with the City as to its desires. We at Mauldin & Jenkins would be flexible in the timing of certain events as requested by the City. As noted in the table below, we want to work with City personnel in an effective manner. We intend to do a great deal of planning and tailoring of our approach from our initial visits. We do not want our clients to feel that they have to reinvent the wheel every time we ask for something. However, to make this process cost the City as little as possible (both in dollars and their individual time), it is important to start only when ready and avoid auditing a moving target.
The following table attempts to depict the timing and key elements of the planned audit process:
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Timing of Audit Process & Procedures Fiscal Year 2017 Audit Calendar Segments g v c n l u p ct o e Ju Ju A Se O N D Segment I ‐ Planning and Interim Procedures Ongoing consultation on major issues & developments throughout the year, and greater discussions as year end approaches (such as new GASB standards). Meet management to discuss audit risks and scopes. Engagement team planning meetings and performance of interim audit procedures. Gain understanding of significant processes & key controls. Perform testing of key controls with goal of reducing substantive audit testing. Detemine nature, timing and extent of substantive tests to be performed. Finalize audit plan based on results to‐date. Segment II ‐ Final Audit Fieldwork Procedures Perform substantive tests (detail testing of respective general ledger / trial balance accounts, and final analytical procedures & key ratios & relationship of financial data). Conduct a final evaluation of risk assessments. Conduct of progress meetings with management as needed and as often as desired. Preparation and delivery of draft comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), reports, findings, management letter comments, and any other deliverables. Meeting with management to discuss draft deliverables and final completion and presentation time‐frames. Segment III ‐ Review, Completion & Delivery Procedures Upon management's review, delivery of CAFR, internal control reports, and management letter to management. Presentation of audit deliverables to the governing board.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Segment I ‐ Planning and Interim Procedures: Meet with the prior auditor to review prior year workpapers and obtain appropriate prior year information; Obtain a signed engagement letter for the financial and compliance audit; Meet with City management to discuss the scope of the audit, timing of our work, and preparation of client schedules, and to address any concerns; Review previously issued and interim financial reports, comment letters, monitoring reports, and other supporting workpapers; Familiarize ourselves with the organizational structure of the City; Read minutes of City meetings; Review the City’s current year budget, as adopted and revised; Review debt agreements, and other various documentation; Gain an understanding of the City’s accounting policies and procedures, including the financial and other management information systems utilized by the City; Obtain an in‐depth knowledge of the EDP equipment, software and systems in use; Perform analytical reviews to determine critical areas and assess risks; Perform a preliminary evaluation of the internal control structure at the account and assertion level; Design and perform applicable tests of controls related to the financial statements and internal accounts; Make fraud inquiries and assessing the risks of material misstatement; Obtain a list of cash, investment, receivables, debt, and selected revenue accounts for confirmation purposes, as applicable; Determine audit strategies for balance sheet and operating statement accounts based on audit risk; Obtain a preliminary schedule of expenditures of Federal awards to initiate planning and internal control testing for the Single Audit; Prepare year‐end audit programs; Meet with appropriate City personnel to discuss the results of our preliminary audit work.
Segment II ‐ Final Audit Fieldwork Procedures:
Conduct an analytical review of account balances based on closing balances for which we will utilize analytical procedures (such as reasonableness tests, trend analysis, and predictive tests) to reduce substantive testing; Test the valuation, restrictions and cut‐offs of cash and investment balances, as applicable; Test receivable cut‐offs and balances, including an analysis of subsequent receipts; Test cut‐off and valuation of inventory; Review and testing supporting documentation for the allowance for doubtful accounts, prepaid items and other assets; Vouch capital asset additions and deletions, analyzing charges for appropriate accounting and testing depreciation;
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Test accounts payable cut‐offs and balances, including an analysis of subsequent disbursements; Test accrued payroll, compensated absences, claims payable, OPEB payable, and other accrued liability cut‐offs and balances; Test debt balances and debt covenant compliance; Test compliance with applicable laws and regulations; Test the classification of net assets (unrestricted, restricted and net investment in capital assets); Perform analytical procedures and substantive testing of revenues and expenditures/expenses; Obtain and auditing the final schedule of expenditures of Federal awards; Complete compliance tests for the major programs selected for testing as required by the Federal Single Audit Act, as applicable; End of fieldwork exit conference.
Segment III ‐ Review, Completion & Delivery Procedures:
Review workpapers to ensure quality and thoroughness of audit procedures; Summarize the results of audit procedures; Obtain attorney letters; Evaluate commitments, contingencies and subsequent events; Propose audit adjustments; Summarize and evaluating passed audit adjustments; Evaluate compliance exceptions; Review draft financial statements and related note disclosures; Perform financial condition assessment procedures; Prepare drafts of audit reports and management letter; Deliver drafts of audit reports and letters to appropriate client officials; Finalize all reports and management letter; Obtain signed representation letter and the City’s approval of the final financial statements; Draft the Data Collection Form and obtaining the City’s approval; Prepare and provide the City a PDF document of the audited financial statements; and Hold final exit conferences and presentations with appropriate City officials.
Based on the City’s request for proposal, we have also prepared a schedule of events, including level of staff and number of hours to be assigned to each proposed segment of the engagement, which is representative of the expected 2017 audit in the following tabular presentation:
Segmented Hours by Staff Level Engagement Team Members by Level Segments Partner Manager Senior Staff Total Segment I ‐ Planning and Interim Procedures 10 20 10 15 55
Segment II ‐ Final Audit Fieldwork Procedures 20 25 40 40 125 Segment III ‐ Review, Completion & Delivery Procedures 30 50 45 45 170 Total Engagement 60 95 95 100 350
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Mauldin & Jenkins believes that we are uniquely qualified to perform the audit of the City. In a time in which very significant changes continue to be implemented in the City’s financial reporting model, it is imperative for the City’s auditors to understand the City’s financial reporting environment and processes. The team proposed to serve you is made up of individuals who have significant experience in auditing local governments of various sizes in the Southeast.
Our audit of the financial statements will be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and will conform to the standards as set forth in the following:
“Generally Accepted Auditing Standards” developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) “Government Auditing Standards” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States “Audits of State and Local Government Units” prepared by the State and Local Government Committee and published by the AICPA
Our audit will include such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstances, which include, but are not limited to, those procedures necessary to test compliance and to disclose non‐compliance with specified laws, regulations, and contracts.
We will use Firm manuals specifically designed for governments to develop audit programs tailored to the City which incorporate the requirements set forth above. We anticipate that these procedures will enable us to express our professional opinion that the financial statements of the City present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and results of operations of the various opinion units in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. If conditions are discovered which lead to the belief that material errors, defalcations, or other irregularities exist which might prohibit us from expressing an unqualified opinion or if any other circumstances are encountered that require extended services, we will promptly advise the City. No extended services will be performed unless they are authorized in contractual agreement or in an amendment to the agreement.
Upon notification of obtaining the audit contract with the City, we would determine with City management a more detailed timetable for the audit process, and a detailed audit plan leading up to a list of all schedules to be prepared by the City. Adequate supervision and lead time will be provided by the auditor with respect to assistance needed by the City staff.
High Percentage of Partner & Manager Involvement
Partner and manager involvement varies with different firms. At Mauldin & Jenkins, we believe it is important for our partners and managers to be highly involved in the audit process, including fieldwork. We bring our experience to the field. This is a value‐added concept most firms do not employ. That being said, we believe it is important to note that our proposal includes the following:
Substantial Partner Hours as Compared to Total Hours.
Substantial Manager Hours as Compared to Total Hours.
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City of Hapeville, Georgia Proposal to Serve
Approximately 60% of all anticipated hours of service are partner and manager hours which means we bring our experience to the field and not just the front end and back end of the audits.
Sampling Techniques and the Extent to Which Statistical Sampling Will be Used in the Engagement
Our approach to auditing relies heavily on the use of audit sampling as provided in U.S. Auditing Standards AU‐C Section 530, Audit Sampling. We would plan to utilize audit sampling whenever a decision is made to apply a specific audit procedure to a representative sample of items within the account balance or class of transactions with the objective being reaching a conclusion about the entire balance or class.
We anticipate using audit sampling on the following types of audit tests:
Substantive tests of details of balance sheet account balances Substantive tests of details of transactions Tests of controls Tests of compliance with laws and regulations
Our use of audit sampling will be based on the guidance in AU‐C Section 530 and the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide ‐ Audit Sampling.
Extent of the Use of EDP Software in the Engagement
The Management Advisory Services (MAS) department of Mauldin & Jenkins includes certain individuals who have had substantial training in the accounting, auditing, and use of electronic data processing (EDP) Systems. To compliment these highly trained individuals, all members of the audit staff have also had significant training in computer auditing techniques. Mauldin & Jenkins uses a very detailed and structured approach in using computer auditing techniques, which has been extremely successful for us in our past engagements.
At the start of the engagement during our planning phase, we will assess the computer systems used by the City, and plan the specific computer aided auditing techniques to be used. This will decrease time spent in initial file setup, trial balance setup, and data integrity testing. This approach will allow for more effective audits resulting in a fast sort, filter and analysis of multiple transactions in a population, and provide for drilling down on those items that have the highest risk. Examples of uses of extraction and data analysis in our audit approach are as follows:
Summarizing disbursements for a period by dollar range and compare to policy guidelines for complying with certain attributes (approvals and signature requirements, etc.); Searching check register listings for unrecorded items or checks written during the fiscal year; Converting bank or investment activity statements to Excel to provide for a quick listing of deposits for an entire period / year; Converting vendor file information to Excel and comparing employee files with addresses for any similar or unusual items related to vendor files;
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Analyzing general ledger detail transactions and journal entries for effective and efficient testing of all activity for the fiscal year as compared to the prior year; and Downloading trial balances, detail journals, and selected transaction files into our software through IDEA.
The trial balance downloaded will then be used to agree to the ultimate draft of the City’s financial statements ensuring that all adjustments and balances are brought forward into the financial statements and providing a clean audit trail for review and support of the City’s financial statements.
Should the City desire a need for our computer aided techniques for non‐audit purposes, we would be happy to assist management with our expertise in data extraction and analysis.
Type and Extent of Analytical Procedures to be Used in the Engagement
Analytical procedures can be applied to almost every financial statement amount and are often less costly to apply than tests of details. It is, therefore, an efficient audit strategy to employ analytical procedures to the maximum extent possible, and vary the required extent of substantive tests of details inversely with the degree of assurance already obtained.
The elements of analytical procedures we plan to consider are as follows:
Identify the factors on which a given accounting result should depend; Determine the approximate relationship between the accounting result and those underlying factors; Predict what the current results should be if that relationship continued; Compare the actual current result to the prediction; Investigate and corroborate significant variances between the actual result and the prediction; and Reach a conclusion as to the reasonableness of the reported result.
Types of analytical procedures employed will include:
Reviewing changes from prior years for reasonableness. Scanning accounts for items larger or smaller than expected when compared to budgets or forecasts. Reviewing and comparing logical relationships between years (e.g., payroll taxes and benefits to wages, etc.). Comparisons between years can be made more effective when logical relationships between elements of the financial statements that would be expected to conform to the predictable pattern are used to develop trends. This is primarily accomplished through the use of ratios. Analyzing and comparing nonfinancial information, such as number of taxable properties, geographical area, number of employees, etc.
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All analytical procedures performed as substantive tests are documented on each applicable audit program.
Approach to be Taken to Gain and Document an Understanding of the City’s Internal Control
For purposes of an audit of the financial statements and statutory, regulatory and contractual compliance, the City’s control structure consists of the following five (5) elements as they relate to the City’s ability to conduct operations and use resources in accordance with management’s authorization and consistent with laws, regulations, contracts and policies, and to record, process, summarize, and report financial data consistent with assertions embodied in the financial statements: the control environment; risk assessment, control activities, information and communication processes/systems, and monitoring. The internal control structure and its policies and procedures are an important source of information about the types and risks of potential material misstatements that could occur in the financial statements and violations of statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements. This information is essential for effective audit planning and in designing effective and efficient audit tests.
In our understanding of the City’s internal control structure, we will obtain knowledge about:
How internal control structure policies, procedures and records are designed; Whether internal control structure policies, procedures and records have been placed in operation, i.e., whether the City is using them; Whether internal control structure policies, procedures and records are designed effectively, i.e., whether they are likely to prevent or detect material misstatements or compliance violations on a timely basis; and Whether internal control structure policies, procedures and records are operating effectively.
Auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America require the auditor to document our understandings of the internal control structure elements. The form and extent of documentation is flexible. Generally, the more complex an entity’s internal control structure and the more extensive the procedures performed to obtain the understanding, the more extensive our documentation should be. In addition to memos, we plan to use specific designed forms and questionnaires to document our understanding of the internal control structure. Recent changes in auditing standards, known as the risk assessment standards, denote that the auditor is not required to test internal control so as to rely on them to reduce other test work, but do not allow for only inquiry procedures related to internal control. We are required, and will perform, other procedures, such as walkthroughs and observation, related to controls over significant financial statement and audit assertions.
Approach to be Taken in Determining Laws and Regulations to be Subject of Audit Test Work
Our approach to be taken to determine the laws and regulations that will be subject to audit test work will include procedures designed to identify requirements found in legal or legislative data, administrative regulations, and documents associated with grant and contract arrangements. The following procedures and policies will be applied depending on the nature and materiality of the laws and regulations:
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During the planning phase, the type of audit to be performed, as it relates to compliance matters, will be communicated to all personnel assigned to the engagement. Obtain a list of all federal award programs from which the client received and expended funds and identify, using the prescribed risk‐based approach, the major programs required to be audited. If a program‐specific audit is required, identify the award program to be audited. Identify applicable state and local statutory and regulatory requirements and contractual requirements. Plan and document the audit procedures to be performed relative to material state and local statutory and regulatory requirements and contractual requirements. Perform and document federal, state, and local statutory, regulatory and contractual compliance audit procedures as deemed to be applicable and appropriate during the planning stage of the engagement. Make specific inquiries of management concerning the following matters: . The City’s compliance with laws and regulations. . The City’s policies relative to the prevention of statutory, regulatory and contractual violations. . The use of directives issued by the City and periodic representations obtained by the City from officials and other management personnel at appropriate levels of authority concerning compliance with laws and regulations.
Approach to be Taken in Drawing Audit Samples for Purposes of Tests of Compliance
Applicable auditing standards state that, in testing for compliance with laws and regulations, the number, selection, and testing of transactions is based on the auditor’s professional judgment. None of the guidelines, primarily AU‐C Section 250, explain whether this requirement to select a representative number for testing compliance means that audit sampling is necessary.
The two (2) possible approaches to audit sampling are nonstatistical and statistical. AU‐C Section 530 Audit Sampling indicates that both of these approaches are capable of producing sufficient evidential matter, if properly applied. The types of procedures that are applied are not determined by the sampling approach used. Either approach may be used to apply whatever tests of details deemed necessary in the circumstances. The importance of professional judgment cannot be overemphasized as it applies to the evaluation of the adequacy of evidential matter generated by the sampling approach. Regardless of the sampling approach selected, we will properly plan, perform, and evaluate the results of the sample. Professional judgment must be used to relate the sample results to other evidential matter when we form a conclusion about compliance with laws and regulations. It should be noted, however, that not all tests of compliance or controls are transaction related. If we decide to use audit sampling, attention is focused on which sampling approach (statistical or non‐statistical) to use. Substantial information is given in the AICPA Sampling Guide and several college and professional books on the use of various statistical sampling approaches.
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The basic requirements that relate to all compliance related samples, statistical and nonstatistical, are as follows:
Planning. We will relate the population to the objective of the audit test; i.e., defining the population and sampling unit. Selection. We will select items that can be expected to be representative of the population. Evaluation. We will project sample results to the population and consider sampling risk.
In a compliance sampling application, the population is defined as all items that constitute the account balance or class of transactions, or the portion of the balance or class, being tested (i.e., all expenditures of the City above a certain threshold required to be bid). The population for a substantive sample usually is the account balance or class of transactions excluding those items selected for testing because of individual significance. The term individually significant item encompasses two (2) types of items:
Individually significant dollar items Unusual items (that is, items that have audit significance by their nature)
Due to the nature of tests of controls, we ordinarily are not concerned with identifying individually significant items when tests of controls are performed using audit sampling.
Sampling results can be projected only to the population from which the sample is drawn. The use of the wrong population for a sampling application could mean that conclusions based on the sample are invalid for our purpose.
The sampling units are the individual items that are subjected to tests and that represent the components of the population. It is important to properly identify the sampling unit before the sample is selected to produce an efficient and effective sampling application. Examples of sampling units would be individual capital disbursements, etc. The determination of the specific sampling unit is influenced by the following considerations:
The sampling unit should produce an efficient sampling plan. The sampling plan must be effective to accomplish its objectives. The nature of the audit procedures can determine the sampling unit to be used. AU‐C Section 530 requires a “representative sample”. There are several commonly used methods of selecting samples that meet the criteria of representativeness stipulated by AU‐C Section 530. The following are some of those methods: . Random selection. Regardless of the method of sampling used, statistical or nonstatistical, a random selection provides each item in the population an equal chance of being selected. Numerous random selection methods are discussed in the AICPA Sampling Guide, including stratified random sampling. . Systematic sampling. This method can be used with nonstatistical or statistical sampling to give every item in the population an equal chance of being selected if a random start is used. However, it may not produce an equal opportunity for all combinations of sampling units to be selected unless numerous random starts are made. The population is divided by the number of sample items to determine the sampling interval to use.
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. Haphazard selection. Under this method, nonstatistical sample items are selected in no specific pattern without bias for or against any items in the population. This could be done by selecting a sample of items from the paid invoices for the year if there were no bias for or against large ones. We may use this method provided care is taken to be sure no conscious bias is added to the selection process.
We will evaluate whether the sample selected seems representative of the population to be tested. If the sample does not seem representative, we would reselect.
For substantive tests of details, we will, if practical, stratify any remaining population. Generally, the remaining population should be divided into at least two subgroups that are more similar in dollar amount. One useful approach to stratification is to base this division on the average amount of an item in the remaining population. All items above the average amount would be one subgroup, and all items below that amount would be the other subgroup.
For all items in the population to have a chance to be selected, we will determine that the sample population actually includes all the items (e.g., capital disbursements, etc.) comprising the balance. There are many ways to determine the completeness of a sample population, including:
If the sample is selected from a trial balance, we can foot the trial balance and reconcile the total to the account balance. If the items are numerically sequenced, we can scan the accounting records to account for the numerical sequence of items in the population and select the sample from that sequence.
The two (2) sampling forms presented both include a step that allows the auditor to document how the completeness of the sample population was considered. Whenever practical, we will consider using random selection (with a random number table or microcomputer‐generated numbers) or systematic selection. Haphazard selection may be used when the population is not numbered or when other circumstances make use of a random‐based method impractical. Using one of these random‐based methods does not make the sampling application statistical.
The evaluation of sample results has two (2) aspects. We will need to project the noncompliance. Also, we will need to consider the sampling risk. In a statistical sample, sampling risk must still be considered and restricted to a relatively low level but cannot be objectively measured. This is the primary conceptual distinction between statistical and non‐statistical sampling. In the two (2) non‐statistical sampling approaches presented in this section, sampling risk is assessed by considering whether the rate or amount of exceptions identified in the sample exceed the expected rate or amount of exceptions used in designing the sample.
Methodology to be Used in Performing the “Risk Based” Approach in Determining Major Federal Programs
The Uniform Guidance of 2 CFR 200 (the “Uniform Guidance”), which replaces OMB Circular A‐133 in implementing the audit requirements of the Single Audit Act states that the auditor should use a risk‐ based approach to determine which federal programs are major programs. The Uniform Guidance also places the responsibility for identifying major programs on the auditor, and provides criteria for the
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auditor to use in applying a risk‐based approach. In evaluating risk, we will utilize the prescribed approach which considers, among other things:
The current and prior audit experience with the City, Oversight by the federal agencies and pass‐through entities, and Changes in personnel or systems.
We will utilize Firm governmental manuals and the Uniform Guidance to apply the risk‐based approach as illustrated in the following steps:
We will obtain the City’s schedule of expenditures of federal awards identifying each program/cluster. We will identify the programs/clusters with expenditures that meet the dollar threshold for Type A. We will perform risk assessment of the Type A programs/clusters to determine if any are low‐ risk programs and if they are not low‐risk, they will be identified as major programs under the risk based approach. For programs/clusters with expenditures that do not meet the dollar threshold for Type A, they will be identified as Type B programs and evaluated as to whether each Type B has expenditures that meet the dollar threshold for risk assessment and whether the Type B is considered a high‐risk program. The total dollar amount of major programs determined in steps 3 and 4 above will be compared to the total federal expenditures to ensure the appropriate coverage is obtained. The major program expenditures must be at least 20% of total federal expenditures if the City is deemed a low‐risk auditee and at least 40% if the City is not considered low‐risk.
The standards allow for the risk criteria described above to be waived in the first year after a change in auditors. Exercising the waiver would result in all Type A programs/clusters being audited as major programs. We would consider this option and compare the major program determination using this method to that of the risk based approach in performing the Single Audit of the City for the first year a Single Audit is required.
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Single Audits
Single audits can be quite cumbersome. Obtaining the needed information from a compliance and financial perspective can be difficult for the auditor and auditee. We anticipate similar difficulties in performing the audit of the City if a single audit is required. However, we do believe that with proper planning and communication by all sides, and with the assistance of City personnel, all potential problems should be easily overcome.
Recently revised and issued Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (the Uniform Grant Guidance), entails more than 100 pages of updates to the process of applying for, managing, and auditing federal grants and cooperative agreements. It applies to new awards and additional funding (or funding increments) to existing awards made after December 26, 2014. We have a very good understanding and have taught sessions on the Uniform Grant Guidance, and are available to assist you in implementing the provisions thereof.
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
GASB Statement No. 68, Accounting and Reporting for Pensions requires governments providing defined benefit pensions to recognize their long‐term obligation for pension benefits as a liability in the respective Statement of Net Position. Further, deferred outflows and inflows are reported. The adoption of this standard has been quite difficult for many governments across the country. Examples of such problems that may sometimes occur include: difficulty determing number and nature of plans to be reported; difficulty obtaining timely information from actuaries; obtaining proper and adequte census information supporting actuarial reports; testing of census information; analysis and reasonableness of actuarial assumptions; proper communication and reporting of respective deferred outflows and inflows; and incorporating plans of component units not audited by the primary government’s auditors. Such potential challenges can be avoided primarily through proactive communications with all respective parties.
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Future GASB Pronouncements
GASB has issued over 40 pronouncements in the past fifteen (15) years, and continues to research various projects of interest to governmental units. Subjects of note include:
Capital leases or operating leases; Asset retirement obligations; Fiduciary responsibilities; Blending requirements for certain business‐type activities; Re‐examination of the financial reporting model; and Economic condition reporting.
Additionaly, GASB has already issued new pronouncements that will be effective during the term of this proposed engagement period on the subjects of:
Other post‐employment benefits (OPEB); Special types of non‐qualified pension plans; and Tax abatement disclosures.
Considering the number of recently issued or pending GASB pronouncements, we believe proactive training on the parts of auditors and auditees to be of great importance. As in the past with our governmental clients (via free CPE and general discussions), our priority is to communicate all significant information to our clients and offer special training sessions relative to these subjects.
Other Potential Problems
In addressing any issue, communication and timely resolution are critical. Mauldin & Jenkins prides itself in developing professional relationships and rapport with clients which facilitate open and honest communication. Mauldin & Jenkins’ stance would be based on reporting meaningful information to the financial statement users, but understanding that the financial statements are the City’s representations. To do less would compromise our independent status.
We use the following approach to seek a mutually agreeable resolution of accounting & reporting issues: Step 1 Define and understand the issue through discussion with the City’s management and verified audit information. Step 2 Make an initial assessment of the impact of alternative accounting treatments. Step 3 If the impact has significant potential, gather research which may include the following: obtain the City’s research and rationale for their position; gather additional details; draw on common practices within other Georgia governments or other similar sized governments; utilize recognized Firm experts. Step 4 Discuss with City staff the Firm’s preferred position and rationale. Step 5 Resolve the issue.
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As requested, we have provided below a total all‐inclusive maximum price for performing the audit engagement of the City of Hapeville, Georgia as described in the request for proposal. This price includes all direct and indirect costs including out of pocket expenses.
CITY OF HAPEVILLE GA Request for Auditing Services FIRM: Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC
2017 2018 2019 2020 Deliverable Year Ending Hours Cost Hours Cost Hours Cost Hours Cost
Report on General Purpose Financial June 30 300 30,000 300 32,000 300 34,000 300 36,000 Statements
Report on Compliance and Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Based on an Audit of Financial Statements June 30 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1 Performed in Accordance with Government Audit Standards Report on Compliance With Requirements Applicable to Each Major Program and on June 30 50 5,000 50 5,000 50 5,000 50 5,000 Internal Control Over Compliance in Accordance with Uniform Guidance *
TOTAL 350 $35,000 350 $37,000 350 $39,000 350 $41,000
Number of additional hours of professional See Note 2 See Note 2 See Note 2 See Note 2 services provided at no additional cost
Houly rates for additional services beyond Hourly rates: the above Partner 270 275 280 285 Manager 200 205 210 215 Senior staff 155 160 165 170 Staff 130 135 135 140
Note 1: Due to our audit approach, the time, effort, and costs associated with producing a report on compliance and internal control at the financial statement level is absorbed by the audit of the basic financial statements. Note 2: We traditionally supply our clients with technical accounting and financial reporting updates and advice throughout the year without additional charges. We will provide these services on routine matters without additional charges. Additionally we provide up to 28 hours of free CPE each year for your any number of your staff. * Fees for the single audits are based on one (1) to two (2) major programs. If more than two (2) single audits are required, an additional $5,000 is required.
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Free Continuing Education for Governmental Clients
We provide free quarterly continuing education for all of our governmental clients. Each quarter, we pick a couple of significant topics tailored to be of interest to governmental entities. In an effort to accommodate our entire governmental client base, we offer the sessions several times per quarter at a variety of client provided locations resulting in greater networking among our governmental clients. We normally see approximately 100 people per quarter. We obtain the input and services of experienced outside speakers along with providing the instruction utilizing our in‐house professionals.
The following is a testimonial relative to the free continuing education provided by Mauldin & Jenkins:
“I’ve been a CPA for 32 years. Today’s CPE class by Mauldin & Jenkins has been the best of my career”.
Terry Nall, City of Dunwoody (Georgia) Council Member, December 17, 2014
Examples of subjects addressed in the past few quarters include:
Accounting for Debt Issuances American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Updates Best Budgeting Practices, Policies and Processes CAFR Preparation (several times including a two (2) day hands‐on course) Capital Asset Accounting Processes and Controls Collateralization of Deposits and Investments Evaluating Financial and Non‐Financial Health of a Local Government GASB No. 51, Intangible Assets GASB No. 54, Governmental Fund Balance (subject addressed twice) GASB No. 60, Service Concession Arrangements (webcast) GASB No. 61, the Financial Reporting Entity (webcast) GASB No.’s 63 & 65, Deferred Inflows and Outflows (webcast) GASB No.’s 67 & 68, New Pension Standards (presented several occassions) GASB Updates (ongoing and several sessions) Grant Accounting Processes and Controls Internal Controls Over Accounts Payable, Payroll and Cash Disbursements Internal Controls Over Receivables & the Revenue Cycle Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Compliance Issues, Primarily Payroll Matters Legal Considerations for Debt Issuances & Disclosure Requirements Policies and Procedures Manuals Segregation of Duties Single Audits for Auditees Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) Accounting, Reporting & Compliance Uniform Grant Reporting Requirements and the New Single Audit
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Governmental Newsletters
We produce newsletters tailored to meet the needs of governments. The newsletters have addressed a variety of subjects and are intended to be timely in their subject matter. The newsletters are authored by Mauldin & Jenkins partners and managers, and are not purchased from an outside agency. The newsletters are produced and delivered periodically, and are intended to keep you informed of current developments in the government finance environment. In the past several years, the following topics have been addressed in our monthly newsletters:
2011 Legislative Highlights American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Information and Issues Are Your Government’s Funds Secure? Capitalization of Interest Changes in FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage Changes on the Horizon for OMB Circular A‐133 Deposit Collateralization Employee vs Independent Contractor Escheat Laws on Unclaimed Property Federal Funding and Accountability Transparency Act Forensic Audit or Financial Audit? Form PT 440 GASB 54, Governmental Fund Balance GASB 54, Governmental Fund Balance Note Disclosure Requirements GASB 60, Service Concession Arrangements GASB 67, New Pension Standard GASB Standards 63 & 65, Deferred Inflows & Outflows IRS Delays Implementation of 3% Withholding on Payments for Goods and Services OMB A‐133 Compliance Supplements Property Tax Assessments Refunding Debt Sales Tax Collections and Remittances by the State SAS Clarity Standards and Group Audits Single Audit (July 2010) Single Audit and ARRA Funds Social Security Administration (SSA) Incentive Payments Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) Expenditures Supplemental Social Security for Inmates The Return of the Component Unit – GASB 61 What’s Happening with Property Tax Assessments
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Auditor’s Discussion & Analysis
During the course of serving our clients, we stress the importance of timely and frequent communication. Such communication takes place throughout the audit and throughout the year, and includes proactive communications regarding new and upcoming accounting standards and auditing standards, as well as, the availability to answer questions and provide advice to the government. We believe such communication is a key to providing timely value‐added service to our clients.
At the conclusion of the audit process, Mauldin & Jenkins prepares an Auditor’s Discussion & Analysis (formerly called the Audit Agenda) which provides auditor insight and summarizes the audit process, conclusions, and year end financial analysis all under one cover.
Elements of the Auditor’s Discussion & Analysis include the following:
Information about the Firm, and the respective personnel serving the government; Results of the audit and other matters which should be emphasized to the governing board; An overview of the governments year‐end financial results and auditor insights relative to key financial elements of the government; An understanding of the internal control/compliance audit reports and the results of our testing of internal controls and compliance with laws and regulations; A summary of certain audit scopes and procedures utilized by Mauldin & Jenkins during the audit process; Documentation of certain required communications as required by auditing standards; If applicable, a summary of any findings (material weaknesses and/or significant deficiencies) and management recommendations resulting from the audit; Practical information regarding upcoming new financial reporting and auditing standards and pronouncements affecting the government; and A summary of the free continuing education and newsletters made available to the government during the past year.
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We appreciate the opportunity to serve the City of Hapeville, Georgia. We believe Mauldin & Jenkins is the “right” Firm for the City. Our experience and knowledge in the governmental sector of accounting is vast and ever‐improving. We would be very pleased to share our experience and understanding of governmental accounting and operations for the benefit of the City.
We would greatly appreciate your recommending us for your continued audit, accounting, and financial reporting needs. Should you or anyone at the City have any questions with regards to this proposal or about Mauldin & Jenkins, please feel free to contact us.
Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC Page 57
800‐277‐0080
www.mjcpa.com
MAULDIN & JENKINS