Westlock County’s books are as they should be according to the municipality’s independently audited financial statements.
The 2018 finances are now available for the public to view and ratepayers will have an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the auditor and representatives from county council and administration at a May 13 meeting at Westlock and District Community Hall.
Council welcomed Tina Viney of Shoemaker, Viney & Friesen chartered accountants to its April 23 meeting to present highlights from the independent audit of the municipality which is mandated by Alberta Municipal Affairs and must be submitted to the ministry by May 1.
Council voted 6-0 to approve the document, with Coun. Jared Stitsen being away.
Viney started with kudos for county staff who she said were very helpful as she navigated last year’s finances.
“It was very transparent, and that’s really important on an audit of income, so there are absolutely no concerns there,” she said.
Viney gave the county’s books good grades overall.
“We have what is called a clean audit opinion on the financial statements that have been prepared. We believe they present fairly, in all material respects, financial position, operations, assets and cash flows. The standards we use are called public sector accounting standards,” said Viney.
“Our job is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from what’s called material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error, and issue the auditor’s report. So we’ve done all of our work there and that’s how we’ve provided a clean audit opinion.”
Of note, the statement showed that as of Dec. 31, 2018, the county’s financial assets held steady at just over $20 million, very close to the 2017 number. Liabilities came in just over $13.35 million, down from 2017 which came in over $14 million.
Taken together, the county’s net financial assets for 2018 come out to just over $7 million, up from the previous year which came in at $6 million.
Those assets have actually increased substantially since 2015, Viney pointed out, about 17 per cent over 2017 alone.
“In 2015, those net financial assets were about $3.8 million, so in the last three years net financial assets have doubled, which I think is very positive for Westlock County,” said Viney.
When the net financial assets are added to the non-financial assets, the county comes out with a $38.85 million accumulated surplus, almost $2 million more than the previous year. Non-financial assets include tangible capital assets ($30.04 million), inventory for consumption ($1.36 million) and prepaid expenses ($423,605).
The county’s total revenue came in at $16.76 million, mostly from municipal taxes, which is almost $2 million more than the 2017 figure of $14.9 million. Expenses came in at $16.64 million, resulting in a $118,184 surplus.
“It’s comforting to me particularly to know that things are being done correctly, that’s important to people in the county,” said reeve Lou Hall.
The public meeting will start at 7 p.m. May 13 in the Alberta Room at Westlock and District Community Hall.
