OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Municipal Audit Committee Reviews 2024 ACFER and Single Audit – August 28, 2026

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, August 28, 2026
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateFriday, August 28, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:15

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

All right.

0:06

I believe we have a presentation up and we are ready to roll.

0:11

Welcome everyone to the municipal audit committee meeting.

0:15

Today is August 28th, 2026.

0:18

We are noticed from 2.30 to 3 30 p.m.

0:21

is currently 2 35.

0:23

So we're getting started a bit late.

0:25

Apologies for that.

0:26

Let's begin with member introductions and then we are going to dive right in to our report on the 2024 annual comprehensive financial report or ACFER.

0:38

Danny Bullman.

0:39

Aaron Baldwin Day, Anna Brawley.

0:42

Bill Falsey.

0:44

Stephanie Ryan controller.

0:46

Lance Glover.

0:48

And then we have a couple of guests from BDO who are going to be, I think, our primary presenters today.

0:53

And go ahead and introduce yourselves for the record, please.

0:55

Sure.

0:55

Joy Mariner.

0:56

Kelly Mays.

0:59

Thank you so much for being here and for giving us a deep dive into the 2024 ACFER.

1:05

So please take it away and we will please text me.

1:08

Oh, excuse me.

1:09

I did not realize.

1:10

Member Silvers, are you with us on the phone?

1:14

Yes, I'm on the phone.

1:15

Thanks.

1:15

Okay, great.

1:16

If you have a question, just text me to get in the queue.

1:18

And otherwise, members flag me as we go.

1:21

Thank you.

1:22

Great.

1:22

Well, uh, thank you very much for this time.

1:24

I know it's a big commitment.

1:25

Um, it's nice to see you again.

1:27

Um, and uh I'll I'll just start out.

1:30

I think I've met everyone here, but Joy Mariner, I'm the lead engagement principal on the audit of the municipality of Anchorage.

1:37

Um call ourselves principals, not partners now because we're an employee owned company and not a partnership anymore.

1:43

So I don't get to be uh a partner anymore, which is wonderful.

1:47

I have uh co-owners with me in my office now, and that's really fun.

1:51

Um, so I serve as the lead on the audit, which encompasses a lot.

1:55

Um, and I just maybe thought I'd start out by explaining all the many things that you're getting.

2:01

Um, and you know, really we've got three years of audits to talk about to some degree.

2:06

We're focusing on the 24 audit for this presentation.

2:10

Um but last week, two weeks ago, we did issue was last week we issued the 2023 single audit as well.

2:19

Um, and so I I know we did send that out and we have the results of the 23 single audit.

2:25

So um that's finishing up the last thing related to the 23 audit.

2:30

The 24 audit, um, the ACFAR has been completed as well as all of this, what we call standalone.

2:36

So the audits that roll into the ACFAR, like port solid waste, ARU, Civic, they all fold into the ACFA report.

2:43

So that's been issued, and we issued that um back in June, June.

2:47

June sounds right.

2:49

Um, and uh, but the 24 single audit is in process.

2:53

In fact, we've been working really hard with your team, they've already given us the federal schedules.

2:58

Um, and so that is the last piece of the 24 audit to be completed.

3:03

And then we've already started in the 25 audit, which is um probably a conversation for the next time I come, probably hopefully in the next month or so, to give you our plan for the 25 um audits.

3:15

Uh, once we've completed our risk assessment procedures and we have um can have a communication and conversation with you all about where our focus areas are for 25.

3:24

We're just getting trial balances and a lot of the things for 25.

3:28

So I'm gonna table 25 to a future date and start with the last um, you know, the most recent thing that we issued, but also the most old, I guess, is the one that was ongoing the longest.

3:41

Um, I will just say that the 23 single audit results.

3:45

I'm not gonna go through what we call um the financial statement findings that are have to be reported as part of this package because when you submit to the federal government, which we're doing next week, by the way, um, when you submit to the federal government, you have to put in all of the financial statement results for 23 along with the single audit results for 23.

4:05

Um, but we covered that with the previous audit committee at a previous meeting, and they're a little outdated now.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Audit Committee███████████████████████████████████████39%
Financial Reporting████████████████████████████28%
Public Records Management█████████████13%
Public Comment████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Procedural███3%
Grants Management███3%
Data Management██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Municipal Audit Committee Meeting – 2024 ACFER and 2023 Single Audit Review – August 28, 2026

The Municipal Audit Committee met on August 28, 2026, from 2:35 to 3:30 p.m. (noticed for 2:30–3:30) to receive presentations from BDO on the audit results for the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFER) and the 2023 single audit. Discussions focused on audit findings, internal control weaknesses, corrective actions, and ongoing improvements. No formal votes were taken.

Discussion Items

  • 2023 Single Audit Results: Joy Mariner (BDO, lead engagement principal) reported that the 2023 single audit was issued last week and will be submitted to the federal government next week. Clean (unmodified) opinions were issued for the transit cluster, FEMA, and state grants to municipalities; qualified opinions were issued for airport improvement, highway planning and construction, and ARPA programs. Material weaknesses were identified in reporting, equipment/real property inventory, ARPA subrecipient monitoring (repeat finding), and audit submission deadlines.

  • FEMA Payroll Finding: 5 of 40 sampled transactions had pay rates not matching approved FEMA documentation; total payroll tested was ~$2 million across ~2,800 transactions. This was a significant deficiency, not material noncompliance.

  • State Grant Findings: 3 of 8 quarterly reports were late; 3 of 13 journal entries lacked approval in the system.

  • 2024 ACFER Opinion: BDO issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the 2024 financial statements. The report was issued in June 2026. The financial statements were drafted internally, improving over 2023 when BDO had taken over drafting.

  • Corrected Misstatements: Significant adjustments were needed for trial balances in SAP not matching financial statements, grants (~$89 million in revenue adjustments, primarily FEMA and port related), capital assets, and cash/investments. Member Scout asked about a $25 million material misstatement in cash and investments. Uncorrected grant receivables were also discussed; prior-year revenue was recorded in 2024 during cleanup.

  • Internal Control Findings: Timeliness of ACFER issuance (too late for decision-making; goal to return to a nine-month timeline); need for more precise review; journal entry approval controls restored in late 2024; grants reconciliation; capital assets. Significant deficiencies included procurement and budget impact (budget coding not aligned with GAAP).

  • Budget vs. Accounting Disconnect: Joy Mariner explained that Anchorage’s budget process drives accounting, requiring off-book reconciliations to align with GAAP; she noted this is unusual among local governments. Committee members, including Brawley and Scout, discussed corrective actions and future work planning.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mr. Lopez (public commenter) expressed concerns about APD’s use of external data surveillance networks, describing a vendor acting as a "man in the middle" with multiple data sources feeding a "black box." He urged the committee to investigate potential banned technologies, AI implications, and reporting requirements before proceeding. He noted Bill Falsey was not responsible but described the situation as a "hot mess."

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken.
  • Committee will schedule follow-up meeting(s) with BDO to delve deeper into 2024 ACFER findings and receive the 2025 audit plan after risk assessment.
  • Members were encouraged to review the presentation and detailed audit wrap-up; a member requested the audit findings and corrective action status grid be added to the committee webpage, and the request was noted.
  • Joy Mariner offered one-on-one sessions with assembly members to explain the ACFER.
  • BDO will continue 2025 audit work; the 2024 single audit is currently in progress.

Meeting Transcript

All right. I believe we have a presentation up and we are ready to roll. Welcome everyone to the municipal audit committee meeting. Today is August 28th, 2026. We are noticed from 2.30 to 3 30 p.m. is currently 2 35. So we're getting started a bit late. Apologies for that. Let's begin with member introductions and then we are going to dive right in to our report on the 2024 annual comprehensive financial report or ACFER. Danny Bullman. Aaron Baldwin Day, Anna Brawley. Bill Falsey. Stephanie Ryan controller. Lance Glover. And then we have a couple of guests from BDO who are going to be, I think, our primary presenters today. And go ahead and introduce yourselves for the record, please. Sure. Joy Mariner. Kelly Mays. Thank you so much for being here and for giving us a deep dive into the 2024 ACFER. So please take it away and we will please text me. Oh, excuse me. I did not realize. Member Silvers, are you with us on the phone? Yes, I'm on the phone. Thanks. Okay, great. If you have a question, just text me to get in the queue. And otherwise, members flag me as we go. Thank you. Great. Well, uh, thank you very much for this time. I know it's a big commitment. Um, it's nice to see you again. Um, and uh I'll I'll just start out. I think I've met everyone here, but Joy Mariner, I'm the lead engagement principal on the audit of the municipality of Anchorage. Um call ourselves principals, not partners now because we're an employee owned company and not a partnership anymore. So I don't get to be uh a partner anymore, which is wonderful. I have uh co-owners with me in my office now, and that's really fun. Um, so I serve as the lead on the audit, which encompasses a lot. Um, and I just maybe thought I'd start out by explaining all the many things that you're getting. Um, and you know, really we've got three years of audits to talk about to some degree. We're focusing on the 24 audit for this presentation. Um but last week, two weeks ago, we did issue was last week we issued the 2023 single audit as well. Um, and so I I know we did send that out and we have the results of the 23 single audit. So um that's finishing up the last thing related to the 23 audit. The 24 audit, um, the ACFAR has been completed as well as all of this, what we call standalone. So the audits that roll into the ACFAR, like port solid waste, ARU, Civic, they all fold into the ACFA report. So that's been issued, and we issued that um back in June, June. June sounds right.

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