HomeMy Public PortalAboutFY 20 - Brewster Management Letter
TOWN OF BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
MANAGEMENT LETTER
JUNE 30, 2020
ROBERT E. BROWN II, CPA
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
25 CEMETERY STREET - P.O. Box 230
Mendon, Massachusetts 01756
Phone: (508) 478-3941 Fax: (508) 478-1779
To the Honorable Select Board
Town of Brewster, Massachusetts
In planning and performing our audit of the basic financial statements of the Town of Brewster,
Massachusetts, as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, in accordance with auditing
standards generally accepted in the United States of America, we considered the Town’s internal
control over financial reporting (internal control) as a basis for designing our audit procedures
for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the financial statements, but not for the purpose of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Town’s internal control. Accordingly, we do
not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the Town’s internal control.
Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described in the preceding
paragraph and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be
significant deficiencies or material weaknesses and therefore, there can be no assurance that all
deficiencies, significant deficiencies, or material weakness have been identified.
This communication is intended solely for the information and use of management, the Select
Board, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is not intended to be and should not be
used by anyone other than the specified parties.
Respectfully,
Certified Public Accountant
May 6, 2021
TOWN OF BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
COMMUNICATION OF INTERNAL CONTROL RELATED MATTERS
JUNE 30, 2020
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RECONCILIATION OF WATER ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
Finding
The Finance Department and the Water Department are periodically reconciling activity and
balances. The Water Department is also periodically reconciling the activity and balances within
the department. However, these efforts are not resulting in perfect reconciliations without
preventing variances in the activity and month end balances.
.
Recommendation
The reconciliation of accounts receivable is a very important internal control. The Water
Department’s receivable report balances and activity must be reconciled to the Water Department’s
own reports and the Town Accountant’s general ledger receivable balance on a monthly basis and
in a timely manner. If a variance occurs, the variance must be investigated in a timely manner.
Managements Response
Client response for Current Year:
After spending considerable time, effort, and energy to try to resolve this issue over the past couple
years, the Town of Brewster entered into a contract with Vadar Systems to purchase their water
utility module in November 2020. Brewster’s Finance offices (Treasurer/Collector, Assessing, and
Accounting) have used this same financial software for many years. After reviewing several
different options, it was a unanimous decision to get the water utility billing & collections on the
same system. The conversion team in Brewster consists of the Water Superintendent, The Water
Department Administrative Supervisor, IT Director, Treasurer/Collector, Assistant Town
Administrator for Community Development & Finance, and Finance Director. The Brewster Water
Dept. staff and Finance Team have been working closely with the conversion team at Vadar to
ensure the conversion is completed in a timely manner and that all data is accurate and up-to-date.
Most importantly, all water accounts will be reconciled as part of the control process of the
conversion. Town and Vadar officials are confident that the project is moving forward as planned
and will be completed on time. The anticipated go-live date for the new water utility software is
July 1, 2021. It is anticipated that this project, once implemented, will eliminate variances in the
monthly reconciliation process for these water utility accounts.