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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 - 2 - 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.