2000-060 RESOLUTION NO. 2000-60
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA, APPOINTING THE FIRM
OF KEEFE, MCCULLOUGH & CO., LLP TO PERFORM
AUDITING SERVICES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE ATTACHED
ENGAGEMENT LETTER; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEItEAS, the City of Aventura, pursuant to applicable state law, has
solicited an reviewed proposals from firms to perform the City's independent
audit; and
WHER -'AS, Resolution No. 2000-56 established a ranking of firms to serve
as said audi or and authorized negotiations with the top ranked firm; and
WHEREAS, City Staff has negotiated fees and scope of services with the top
rated firm ( (eefe, McCullough and Co., LLP) and recommends approval of the
Engagemer Letter.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY (~F AVENTURA, FLORIDA, THAT:
Sectio 1: The firm of Keefe, McCullough & Co., LLP be and the same is
hereby retain~ ~d to perform independent auditing services for the City of Aventura.
Sectio~ 2: The City Manager is hereby authorized to execute the
Engagement Letter, attached hereto as Exhibit "A" for auditing services by and
between the $ity and Keefe, McCulough & Co., LLP and the City agrees to the
negotiated sc ~e of services and fees.
Sectio 3: This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its
adoption.
The foregoing resolution was offered by Commissioner Beskinwho moved its
adoption. T~e motion was seconded by Commissioner Holzberg, and upon being
put to a vote, the vote was as
follows:
Commissioner Arthur Berger yes
Commissioner Jay R. Beskin yes
Commissioner Ken Cohen yes
Commissioner Harry Holzberg yes
Resolution N, 2000- 6___o
Page 2
Commissioner Jeffrey M. Perlow yes
Commissioner Patricia Rogers-Libert absenl;
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 3rd day of October, 2000
APPROVEr, AS TO LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
CITY ATTO ~,NEY
KEEFE, McCULI.,OUGH & CO,, LLP
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
6550 NORTH FEDERAL H~GHWAY
3OttN R KEEFE. CPA JOSEPH D LEO C PA
JOHN E McCULLOUGH, ~ PA (RETIRED) WILLIAM G BENSON, CRA SUITE 410
FHOMAS I CARPEN'I El , CRA BRIAN D PINNELL, CPA. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 33308
t~4UL B SNEIDER, C PA (RETIRED) KENNETH G SMIFH, CRA
S IEVEN 11 WOODS. C.P LOUIS R PROIETTO, C PA (954)
77
1
DAVID T WILLIAMS, C I FAX: (954) 938-9353
CHARLES E WIELAND. PA CECILF C NOVAK, C~A E-MAIL: kmc@kmccpa.com
CYNTHIA L CALVERT RA GERALD J PllPFATH. JR. CEA
September 22, 2000
Honorable 1~ yor, City Manager and Members of the City Council
City of Avent ara, Florida
2999 N.E. 19 [st Street
Aventura, FL 33180
Dear Mayor, Eity Manager, and Members of the City Council:
It is our g ractice to periodically confirm the nature of the services our f'Lrm performs for its
clients, and tt at is the purpose of this lett~r.
We will a ~dit the general purpose f'mancial statements of the City of Aventura, Florida as of
and for the ye ars ended September 30, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.
The docur ~ent will also include certain additional information related to the submittal of your
Comprehensix e Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that will not be subject to the auditing procedures
applied in om audits of the general purpose financial statements.
The objec~ ive of our audit is the expression of an opinion as to whether the general purpose
financial state meEts are fairly presented, in all material respects,, in conformity with generally
accepted acco ~nt'mg principles and to report on the fairness of the additional information referred
to in the first paragraph when considered in relation to the general purpose financial statements
taken as a wt ole. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards and :he standards for f'mancial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued
by the Compt~ oiler of the United States, and will include tests of the accounting records of the City
of Aventura, 1 *lorida, and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express such an
opinion. If o~ ~r opinion on the general purpose f'mancial statements is other than unqualified, we
will fully disc ~ss the reasons with you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete
the audit or a 'e unable to express an opinion, we may decline to express an opinion or may not
issue a report as a result of this engagement.
The mare gement of the City of Aventura, Florida, is responsible for establishing and
maintaining i~ternal control. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management ~ re required to assess the expected benefits and related costs of the controls. The
objectives of internal control are to provide management with reasonable, but not absolute,
assurance tha assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition, that
transactions a~ e executed in accordance with management's authorizations and recorded properly
to permit the [ reparation of general purpose financial statements in accordance with management's
authorizations and to permit the preparation of general purpose financial statements in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles~
Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available
to us. We un lerstand that you will provide us with such information required for our audit and
that you are re ~ponsible for the accuracy and completeness of that information. We will advise you
about appropr ate accounting principles and their application and will assist in the preparation of
your general t urpose financial statements, but the responsibility for the general purpose financial
statements ren ~ains with you. That responsibility includes the establishment and maintenance of
adequate reco~ 5s and effective internal control over financial report'mg, the selection and application
of accounting principles, and the safeguarding of assets.
City of Avenv Bm, Florida -2- September 22, 2000
An audit h tcludes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in the f'manci xl statements; therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of
transactions tc be examined and the area,~ to be tested. We will plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasona ~le rather than absolute assmance about whether the f'mancial statements are free of
material misst ttement, whether caused by error or fraud. Because of the concept of reasonable
assurance and ~cause we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk
that a materia misstatement may exist and not be detected by us. In addition, an audit is not
designed to d{ tect errors, fraud, or other illegal acts that are immaterial to the general purpose
Financial stated aents or to major programs. However, we will informyou of any material errors
and any fraud that comes to our attention. We will also inform you of any other illegal acts that
come to our a tention, unless clearly inconsequential. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to
the period co~ ered by our audit and does not extend to matters that might arise during any later
periods for wi ich we are not engaged as auditors.
Our procex ures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded
in the accourts, and may include tests of the physical existence of inventories, and direct
confirmation c f receivables and certain other assets and liabilities by correspondence with selected
individuals, cr 'xlitors, and financial institutions. We will request written representations from your
attorneys as pl xt of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the
conclusion of ~ur audit, we will also require certain written representations from you about the
financial state~ aents and related matters.
Identifying and ensuring that the City of Aventura, Florida complies with laws, regulations,
contracts, and agreements is the responsibility of management. As part of obtaining reasonable
assurance abott whether the general purpose f'manclal statements are free of material misstatement,
we will perfo:m tests of the City of Aventura, Florida's compliance with applicable laws and
regulations am the provisions of contracts and agreements, including grant agreements. However,
the objective c f our audit will not be to provide an opinion on overall compliance and we will not
express such a opinion.
In plannit and performing our audits, we will consider the internal control sufficient to plan
the audit in otler to determine the nature, timing, and extent of our auditing procedures for the
purpose of ex ,ressing our opinions on the City of Aventura, Florida's general purpose financial
statements~
We will o' rain an understanding of the design of the relevant controls and whether they have
been placed it operation, and we will assess control risk. Tests of controls may be performed to
test the effecti~ eness of certain controls that we consider relevant to preventing and detecting errors
and fraud thal are material to the general purpose f'mancial statements and to preventing and
detecting miss atements resulting from illegal acts and other noncompliance matters that have a
direct and mat~ ~rial effect on the general purpose financial statements. Our tests, if performed, will
be less in scop,; than would be necessary to render an opinion on internal control and, accordingly,
no opinion wil[ be expressed.
An audit ii not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify reportable
conditions H >wever, we will inform management of any matters involving internal control and
its operation t ~at we consider to be reportable conditions under standards established by the
American Insti ute of Certified Public Accountants. Reportable conditions involve matters coming
to our attentior relating to significant deficiencies in the design or operation of the internal control
that, in our jud ;ment, could adversely affect your ability to record, process, summarize, and report
financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the general purpose financial
statements.
It is the po icy of our fu'm to use the client's personnel wherever and whenever it is feasible
to do so in the course of any engagement. We also endeavor to staff our engagements so that the
various phases of field audit work are performed by appropriately experienced staff persons.
City of Avent ira, Florida -3- September 22, 2000
The worlq ~apers for this engagement are the property of Keefe, McCullough & Co., LLP,
Certified Pul: tic Accountants and constitute confidential information. However, we may be
requested to make certain workpapers available to certain grantor organizations pursuant to
authority give n to them by law or regulation. If requested, access to such workpapers will be
provided und~'r the supervision of Keefe, McCullough & Co., LLP, C.P.A.'s personnel.
Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of selected workpapers to such grantor
organizations. These grantor organizations may intend, or decide, to distribute the photocopies or
information o retained there'm to others, including other governmental agencies.
We will b ~ available as needed during the year to consult with you on accounting issues or on
contemplated :hanges in policies.
Our fee f )r services rendered will be based upon the difficulty of your engagement, the
anticipated ca ~pemtion of your personnel, the time and skill level of our personnel assigned and
the assumptio ~ that unexpected circumstances will not be encountered during the audit. Work is
assigned, acc~ ,rding to its complexity to the appropriate member of our staff. Our all inclusive
maximum pri~ '.e fees for the audit of the general purpose f'mancial statements for the years ended
September 30 are:
2000 $ 22,500
2001 $ 25,000
2002 $ 27,000
2003 $ 29,000
An invoice fo the services provided will be presented at the completion of the engagement or at
the end of eac semi-monthly billing period, whichever occurs first. Payment of our invoice is due
when rendero 1.
In additio~ ~, upon the City receiving Federal or State monies necessary to require a Federal or
State Single ~udit, the above fees would be increased by $ 2,500 for each year with this
requirement. Further, the City has indicated that the implementation of GASB 34 will be done
when requirex. Appropriately, the above fees do not include any consideration for assistance in
the implemen~ ation of GASB 34. We will provide a discount of 30 % off our normal hourly rotes
for assistance with the costs associated with the implementation. We would expect to meet with
the City to filly plan the GASB 34 implementation and establish an estimate of the fee at the
appropriate th ne.
The estim~ ~ted fee above contemplates the timely preparation of various workpapers, financial
statement schedules and other data by your personnel. A list of these requirements will be provided
to your Finan :e Department in a timely manner.
We shall pleased to discuss this letter with you at any time.
Please si and return the attached copy of the letter to indicate that it is in accordance with
your understa] ~ding of the arrangement for our audit of the financial statements mentioned above.
Regards,
KEEFE, McCULLOUGH & CO., LLP
Joseph D. Leo, C.P.A.
David Tad Williams, C.P.A.
City of Aven ura, Florida -4- September 22, 2000
Acknowledge ment:
CITY OF A~ 'ENTURA, FLORIDA
City Manager / Date
,.//
ADDENDUM
The City nm terminate this agreement by giving thirty (30) days written notice
to Keefe Mc ullough.
city ~nager , // Date
Joe Leo, CPA Date