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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 98- 81RESOLUTION NO. 98-$1 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, SELECTING THE FIRM OF RACHLIN COHEN & HOL TZ TO SERVE AS THE CITY'S AUDITOR; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT ATTACHED AS EXHIBIT "A"; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Sunny Isles Beach issued a Request for proposals for Professional Auditing Services; and WHEREAS, proposals were received and reviewed by a committee assembled by the City Manager, consisting of the Finance director, the Police Chief, the Building Official and the City Manager; and WHEREAS, the committee has unanimously recommended the firm of Rachlin Cohen & Holtz as most qualified; and WHEREAS, on August 13th the City commission by motion authorized the City Manager to negotiate terms of a potential agreement by and between Rachlin Cohen & Holtz and the City of Sunny Isles Beach; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the firm of Rachlin Cohen & Holtz is hereby selected to provide Professional Auditing Services for the City. Section 2 The City Manager is hereby authorized to execute the Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit "A" Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of August, 19 8 Auditor's Res. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: Moved by: ~\tMJv- \M.eyycM) Seconded by: ~tu..~ \~~ Vote: Mayor Samson Vice Mayor Turetsky Commissioner Iglesias Commissioner Kauffman Commissioner Morrow vi (Yes) -vr(Yes) -L(Yes) V' (Yes) ~(Yes) _(No) _(No) _(No) _(No) _(No) Auditor's Res. ,. --.... ..----., [[(I]: Ii R,lChlin I ii Cuhl'n ~ l 'f . Hull; i , EXHIBIT " A" CEIHlflED PL 13ue "ell lL \T.\.\ rs & Cl l\~L I. f\\f'i :\ P.lrtlwr...llIr Indlldin~ f'rllh'''''lnn.d \.....'~.l.ltl(ln... July 29, 1998 - Mr James DiPietro, City Manager City of Sunny Isles Beach 17070 Collins Avenue, Suite 250 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160 Dear Mr. DiPietro: We are pleased to confirm our understanding of the services we are to provide the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida (the City). We will audit the general purpose financial statements of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida as of and for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1998, 1999, and 2000. However, the initial audit of the City will cover the period of July I, 1997 through September 30, 1998. The objective of our audit is the expression of an opinion as to whether the general purpose financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards; the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of The United States and will include tests of the accounting records of the City and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express an unqualified opinion that the general purpose financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. If our opinion is other than unqualified, we will fully discuss the reasons with you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the audit, we may decline to express an opinion or may not issue a report as a result of this engagement. The management of the City is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the expected benefits and related costs of the controls. The objectives of internal control are to provide management with reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition, that transactions are executed in accordance with management's authorizations and recorded properly to permit the preparation of general purpose financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. In planning and performing our audit, we will consider the internal control sufficient to ~Ian the audit in order to determine the nature, timing, and extent of our auditing procedures the purpose of expressing our opinions on the City's general purpose financial statements. We will obtain an understanding of the design of the relevant controls and whether they have been placed in operation, and we will assess control risk. Tests of controls may be performed to test the effectiveness of certain controls that we consider relevant to preventing and detecting errors and fraud that are material to the general purpose financial statements and to preventing and detecting misstatements resulting from illegal acts and other noncompliance matters that have a direct and material effect on the general purpose financial statements. (Tests of controls are required only if control risk is assessed below the maximum level.) Our tests, if performed, will be less in scope than would be necessary to render an opinion on the internal control and, accordingly, no opinion will be expressed. One Southeast Third Avenue, Tenth Floor, Miami, Aorid,l 33131 . Dade (305) 377-4228. Fax (305) 377-8331 700 Southeast Third Avenue, Third Aoor, Ft.Lauderdale, Aorida 33316 . Broward (954) 525-1040. Fax (954) 525-2004 \kmrl'r <If ~ummlt !ntt-rn.lfllln.II \"'~"l..l.lh,"', fn" '...Ith (lUiu." In rnnllC\11 (itll" rhrnll~hout thl.' WI,dJ RCH Mr James DIPietro, City Manager July 29, 199M Page 2 An audit is not designed to providc assurancc on internal control or to identify all rcportable conditions. However, we will inform you of any mattcrs involving intcrnal control and its operation that we considcr to be reportable conditions under standards established by thc American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Reportable conditions involvc matters coming to our attcntion rclating to significant deficiencies in thc design or operation of the intcrnal control that, in our judgmcnt, could advcrsely affect the entity's ability to record. process, summarize, and rcport financial data consistcnt with the asscrtions of management in the general purpose financial statements. Idcntifying and ensuring that the City complies with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to the City is the responsibility of the City's management. As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whcther the general purpose financial statements are free of material misstatement, we will perform tests of the City's compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and grants. However, the objcctivc of our audit will not be to provide an opinion on overall compliance with such provisions, and we will not express such an opinion. Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and may include tests of the physical existence of inventories, if any, and direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, creditors, and financial institutions. We will request written representation from your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the conclusion of our audit, we will also request certain written representations from you about the financial statements and related matters. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of transactions to be examined and the areas to be tested. We will plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance rather than absolute assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud. Because of the concept of reasonable assurance and because we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk that material errors, fraud, or other illegal acts may exist and not be detected by us. However, we will inform you of any material errors and any fraud that come to our attention. We will also inform you of any other illegal acts that come to our attention, unless clearly inconsequential. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to l.he period covered by our audit and does not extend to matters that might arise during any later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors. Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us. We understand that you will provide us with the basic information required for our audit and that you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of that information. We will advise you about appropriate accounting principles and their application and will assist in the preparation of your financial statements, but the responsibility for the financial statements remains with you. That responsibility includes the .establishment and maintenance of adequate records and effective internal control over financial reporting, the selection and application of accounting principles, and the safeguarding of assets. We understand that your employees will prepare all cash or other confirmations we request and will locate any invoices selected by us for testing. RCH Mr. James DiPietro. City Manager July 21). (1)98 Pagc 3 - Our audit is not specifically designed and cannot be relied on to disclose reportable conditions. that is, significant dcficicncies in the dcsign or operation of the internal control structurc. However, during the audit, if we become awarc of such reportable conditions or ways that we believe management practices can be improved, we will communicatc thcm to you in a separate letter. Becausc many computerized systems use only two digits to rccord the year in date fields (for example, the year 1998 is recorded as 98), such systems may not be able to process dates accurately in the year 2000 and after. The effects of this problem will vary from system to systcm and may adversely affect an entity's operations as well as its ability to prepare financial statements. An audit of financial statements conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards is not designed to detect whether a company's systems are year 2000 complaint. Further, we have no responsibility with regard to the City's efforts to make its systems, or any other systems, such as those of the City's vendors, service providers. or any other third parties, year 2000 complaint or provide assurance on whether the City has addressed or will be able to address all of the affected systems on a timely basis. These are responsibilities of the City's management. However, for the benefit of management, we may choose to communicate matters that come to our attention relating to the year 2000 issue. We understand the workpapers for this engagement are the property of Rachlin Cohen & Holtz and constitute confidential information. However, we may be requested to make certain workpapers available to regulatory agencies pursuant to authority given to it by law or regulation or for successor auditors. If requested, access to such workpapers will be provided under the supervision of Rachlin Cohen & Holtz personnel. Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of selected workpapers to regulatory agencies. The regulatory agency may intend, or decide, to distribute the photocopies of information contained herein to others, including other governmental agencies. Our fees for these services will be at our standard hourly rates, but not more than $7,000 for' September 30, 1998, $14,000 for September 30, 1999, and $20,000 for September 30,2000. Our standard hourly rates vary according to the degree of responsibility involved and the experience level of the personnel assigned to your audit. Our invoices for these fees will be rendered as work progresses am! arc payable on presentation. The above fee is based on anticipated cooperation from your personnel and the assumption that unexpected circumstances will not be encountered during the audit. If significant additional time is necessary, we will discuss it with you and arrive at a new fee estimate before we incur the additional costs. If additional time is necessary due to growth of the City and their fund structure (i.e. level of services provided by the City), significant changes in Governmental Accounting Standards Board Pronouncements and other similar matters that are not contemplated by this letter, we will discuss these matters with you prior to commencement of the work. If the City is required to have a Single Audit performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards; the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996; and the provisions of OMB Circular A-l33, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, during the periods covered by this letter, we will prepare an addendum to this letter indicating the additional services necessary to complete the engagement and the additional fees. These fees will not be more than $4,000. RCH Mr. Jamcs DiPictro, City Manager July 29, 1998 Pagc 4 - Wc appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you and look forward to commencing our relationship with the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign the enclosed copy of this letter in the space provided and return it to us. Sincerely, ~~occa. CPA Enclosure APPROVED: Signed: ~O~ ity Manager Title: Date: August 20, 1998 98122S6l/l1WUlyisla9llel