Several city councillors and the mayor questioned why the auditor’s review of the city’s year-end financial statements was revealed in camera at Monday’s finance and audit committee meeting.
According to St. Albert’s chief financial officer Dean Screpnek, the reason the auditor’s in-depth review is tabled in camera and without public access is a result of the city’s contract with the auditor, tax and auditing firm KPMG.
“This report is confidential and is solely intended for the city’s finance and audit committee,” Screpnek told the committee, reading from the title page of the report.
Subjecting the city’s year-end financial statements to the scrutiny of an auditor is mandated by the province’s Municipal Government Act, and must follow the standards of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. The audit gives council a chance to see if there are any issues with the financial statements.
Included in the audit is a letter regarding management practices, also allowing council to understand how their administration is working and if there are any problems to address.
Screpnek later explained that, in his experience, it is standard practice to keep the auditor’s comments about the financial statements and management private. He said the auditors often make that request so they can speak freely about their findings.
“The bottom line is that the city’s financial statements is the city’s report to the community. The actual city’s auditor report is between the city and the auditor,” added Screpnek.
Despite the long-standing practice of keeping the auditor’s reports quiet, Mayor Nolan Crouse wants to see that policy changed. Although council agreed by majority to listen to the auditor’s advice in private, Crouse later said he didn’t understand why it was necessary, adding there was nothing in the report that would cause trouble for the city.
“Municipal audits should be made transparent,” Crouse later said. “We know numbers can be made public.”
He further said he plans on introducing a motion at council to allow for auditor statements to go public. City manager Bill Holtby said the city is consulting with the city solicitor to clarify the law surrounding auditor statements.
“The auditor prefers if their advice is given … in confidence,” Holtby said. “My opinion is that there’s nothing harmful to the [city] with that report.”
However, he added the management letter has more far-reaching consequences with the contents potentially affecting staff and management practices. As a result, council opted to move the letter in camera as well, citing the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for the move.
But if the province has their way, the letters will soon become public knowledge.
According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the province is looking at four points for creating greater transparency within municipal governments, including making public documents more accessible and releasing management letters.
“It’s just to enhance municipal accountability,” she said. “I think everyone can appreciate that idea.”
She added that no deadline was currently set for the results, adding that Minister Hector Goudreau wanted time to deal with the points and ensure there is sufficient transparency.
In an email sent to the St. Albert Gazette, KPMG spokesperson Julie Bannerjea said the company refused to comment, citing client privacy.
