By Aberdeen Insider - November 20, 2025 in NOTICE OF AUDIT
OF THE FISCAL AFFAIRS OF THE
CITY OF ABERDEEN
Notice is hereby given that the records and books of account of the City of Aberdeen, South Dakota, have been audited by Eide Bailly, LLP, Certified Public Accountants of Aberdeen, South Dakota for the year ended December 31, 2024. A detailed report thereon, containing additional information, is filed with the City of Aberdeen and the Department of Legislative Audit in Pierre, South Dakota for public inspection.
The following findings and recommendations referred to in the report are hereby listed in accordance with the provisions of SDCL 4-11-12.
CURRENT AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Finding:
During the course of our engagement, we assisted with drafting the financial statements and made certain corrections to the schedule of expenditures of federal awards.
Recommendation:
We recommend continued training specific to governmental accounting principles so that applicable staff are able to ensure financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards are materially correct. In addition, a thorough review of the transactions and balances in each fund should take place prior to the beginning of the audit to ensure that generally accepted accounting principles have been followed for each fund type, especially for transaction types that are infrequent in occurrence. However, ultimately, it is the responsibility of management and those charged with governance to make the decision whether to accept the degree of risk associated with this condition because of cost or other considerations.
Corrective Action Plan:
Responsible Individuals: Jordan McQuillen, Finance Officer
Corrective Action Plan: Due to cost considerations and staffing model, we will continue to request Eide Bailly LLP assist in preparing our audited financial statements and accompanying notes as part of their annual audit. Management will annually review the drafted financial statements and accompanying notes, any recommended financial statement adjustments and corrections to the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, and we have reviewed and agree with the financial statement adjustments and corrections to the schedule of expenditures of federal awards proposed during the audit.
Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing
Finding:
During the course or our engagement, we proposed audit adjustments, both material and non-material, to the City’s recorded account balances which, if not recorded, would have resulted in misstatements of the City’s financial statements. There were also certain misstatements identified, not material but more than trivial in amount, that were not corrected within the financial statements by the election of management as they were deemed immaterial to the financial statements as a whole and each individual opinion unit.
Recommendation:
We recommend continued training specific to governmental accounting principles so that applicable staff are able to ensure financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards are materially correct. In addition, a thorough review of the transactions and balances in each fund should take place prior to the beginning of the audit to ensure that generally accepted accounting principles have been followed for each fund type, especially for transaction types that are infrequent in occurrence. However, ultimately, it is the responsibility of management and those charged with governance to make the decision whether to accept the degree of risk associated with this condition because of cost or other considerations.
Corrective Action Plan:
Responsible Individuals: Jordan McQuillen, Finance Officer
Corrective Action Plan: We will continue to conduct a thorough review of our current processes to identify gaps and weaknesses. Based on this review, we will develop and implement a control enhancement plan, focusing on key areas to reduce the risk of future misstatements. Progress on this plan will be monitored to ensure timely remediation and strengthen our overall controls.
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2025
Finding:
During the course of our engagement, numerous issues and errors related to the recording of construction in progress were identified which resulted in corrections and material audit adjustments. Additionally, there were errors related to valuation of certain assets as well as assets that were missed from being properly capitalized.
Recommendation:
We recommend that the City provide continued training to accounting personnel regarding the accounting and reconciliation of capital assets and a review control be implemented to review construction in progress schedules and reconciliations for accuracy and completeness prior to the audit.
Corrective Action Plan:
Responsible Individuals: Jordan McQuillen, Finance Officer
Corrective Action Plan: Review and enhance capital asset recording procedures to ensure accuracy and compliance with accounting standards. Provide training to staff responsible for capital asset recording to improve their understanding of proper recording and reconciliation processes. Develop a reconciliation process to regularly
compare capital asset activity with general ledger accounts. Maintain accurate and detailed records of capital asset transactions for audit and reporting purposes.
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2025
RUSSELL A. OLSON, AUDITOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT
Published twice on November 20, 2025 and November 26, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $112.84 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com