CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Option Year #1 to Contract 22-233, External Auditing Services, to Sikich LLP for an amount not to exceed $222,800
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DEPARTMENT: Finance Department
SUBMITTED BY: Traci Marrocco, Interim Finance Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2022, the City Council approved Contract 22-233 with Sikich CPA LLP for an initial four-year term, with three optional two-year extensions. The contract may be renewed by mutual written agreement of both parties.
The City engages an independent auditing firm annually to conduct an audit of its basic financial statements and issue an opinion on whether the statements fairly present the financial position and results of operations of each fund. The audit is conducted in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards and applicable Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements.
Additional services include a Single Audit, as required for entities receiving federal grant funding, to assess internal controls over compliance and compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations. The scope of services also includes the required Tax Increment Financing (TIF) compliance report, Police Pension Fund report, and Consolidated Year-End Financial Report (CYEFR) to meet the State of Illinois’ Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) filing requirements.
DISCUSSION:
Throughout the current and previous engagements, Sikich has developed significant institutional knowledge of the City’s financial operations and consistently provided a high level of audit service. During each year of the current contract, the City has received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Engaging a new audit firm would require a substantial investment of staff time to explain internal policies and procedures and familiarize the firm with the City’s accounting structure and financials operations. This additional workload would be particularly challenging with the onboarding of a new Finance Director.
Based on Sikich’s performance and established knowledge of the City’s financial operations, the Finance Department recommends exercising the first two-year contract extension. Sikich has requested a 3% increase for each option year.
The first option period will cover January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2028.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#: N/A
External auditing services are expensed to the Financial Services accounts listed below. The fees are allocated across various funds within the budget based on the work completed; the auditing fee proposed by Sikich for 2027 is $113,050. The 2027 budget is still in the process of being developed, however, staff will ensure sufficient funding is included in the final 2027 budget to support audit services.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
15101100-531304 |
General Fund |
TBD |
|
15101300-531304 |
Electric Utility Fund |
TBD |
|
15101500-531304 |
Water Utilities Fund |
TBD |
|
15101200-531304 |
Commuter Parking Fund |
TBD |
|
15102600-531304 |
Water Street TIF |
TBD |
|
15102900-531304 |
Library Fund |
TBD |
|
15104300-531304 |
Downtown Maintenance and Marketing Fund |
TBD |