Elkins Receives Clean Audit for Fiscal Year 2021

The “unmodified” audit opinion is the city’s tenth in a row

City of Elkins received high marks on its latest annual audit, Elkins City Treasurer Tracy Judy reported to council last night. West Virginia cities must undergo yearly audits, per state law. This audit, which examined financial records from the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, was performed by accountants working for BHM CPA Group, an Ohio-based public accounting firm with offices in Huntington, West Virginia.

The purpose of municipal audits is to verify the city’s financial position, as described on its annual financial statements, and to evaluate its compliance with state law and government accounting standards. To accomplish this, auditors review the city’s accounting procedures and examine financial records related to revenues and expenditures, grant administration, bank accounts, and more. Auditors also evaluate the city’s internal controls, or fraud-prevention safeguards.

“This is our tenth unmodified opinion in a row,” Judy told council. “That is the highest grade you can get, because it means the auditors didn’t find any significant errors in our financial statements.”

Sometimes also referred to as an “unqualified” or “clean” opinion, an unmodified opinion is the best result an audit can return because it indicates that auditors have found no misrepresentations of fact or failures to follow appropriate accounting standards. As Judy mentioned, Elkins has received unmodified opinions in each of its annual audits since the fiscal year ending in 2012.

For more about city audits, see: www.cityofelkinswv.com/government/treasurer/audits.