The Town of The Blue Mountains has received a clean audit report for 2021.
KPMG auditors Matthew Betik, Bendan Hall and Ashley Miller delivered the audit report at council’s committee of the whole meeting on June 21.
“We are complete, we have done all of our field work and test work,” Betik said, noting that some minor finishing work is required, including the final sign off from town management staff.
Betik said KPMG is issuing a “clean audit” for the town and thanked the town’s finance department for their assistance, preparation and cooperation. He noted that going forward the town faces the risks of high inflation and interest rates, which are impacting the overall economy.
“This is an extremely clean audit. Staff should be congratulated for keeping the books neat and tidy,” said Coun. Rob Sampson.
Coun. Paula Hople thanked municipal staff for their hard work and asked the auditors about how The Blue Mountains compares to other municipalities in key indicators.
“I have heard a lot of good things about our financial position relative to other municipalities,” she said.
Betik said the auditors look at multiple areas to determine the financial health of a municipality. They include: long-term debt relative to source revenue, the value of the community’s reserves and reserve funds to cover future expenses and asset replacement, new capital spending as compared to amortization expenses and the level of cash investments.
“At this time, we’re not seeing any red flags from a sustainability perspective,” said Betik.
Hope was pleased with the indicators.
“The town is well managed in this area. There is a lot to be grateful for,” she said.
