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December 28, 2023
To the Members of the Board of Directors
San Joaquin Council of Governments
Stockton, California
To the Members of the City Council
City of Ripon
Ripon, California
We have audited the financial statements of the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, and the Transit Enterprise Fund, of the City of Ripon, California (the “City”) for the year ended June 30, 2023. Professional standards require that we provide you with information about our responsibilities under generally accepted auditing standards and Government Auditing Standards, as well as certain information related to the planned scope and timing of our audit. We have communicated such information in our letter to you dated April 27, 2023. Professional standards also require that we communicate to you the following information related to our audit.
Significant Audit Matters
Qualitative Aspects of Accounting Practices
Management is responsible for the selection and use of appropriate accounting policies. The significant accounting policies used by the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, and the Transit Enterprise Fund, of the City, are described in the notes to the financial statements. No new accounting policies were adopted and the application of existing policies was not changed during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. We noted no transactions entered into by the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, and the Transit Enterprise Fund, of the City, during the year for which there is a lack of authoritative guidance or consensus. All significant transactions have been recognized in the financial statements in the proper period.
Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are based on management’s knowledge and experience about past and current events and assumptions about future events.
Certain accounting estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting them may differ significantly from those expected.
The financial statement disclosures are neutral, consistent, and clear.
Difficulties Encountered in Performing the Audit
We encountered no significant difficulties in dealing with management in performing and completing our audit.
Corrected and Uncorrected Misstatements
Professional standards require us to accumulate all known and likely misstatements identified during the audit, other than those that are clearly trivial, and communicate them to the appropriate level of management. We are pleased to report that no such misstatements were identified during the course of our audit.
To the Members of the Board of Directors To the Members of the City Council San Joaquin Council of Governments City of Ripon
Stockton, California Ripon, California
Disagreements with Management
For purposes of this letter, a disagreement with management is a financial accounting, reporting, or auditing matter, whether or not resolved to our satisfaction, that could be significant to the financial statements or the auditor’s report. We are pleased to report that no such disagreements arose during the course of our audit.
Management Representations
We have requested certain representations from management that are included in the management representation letter dated December 28, 2023.
Management Consultations with Other Independent Accountants In some cases, management may decide to consult with other accountants about auditing and accounting matters, similar to obtaining a “second opinion” on certain situations. If a consultation involves application of an accounting principle to the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, and the Transit Enterprise Fund, of the City, or a determination of the type of auditor’s opinion that may be expressed on those statements, our professional standards require the consulting accountant to check with us to determine that the consultant has all the relevant facts. To our knowledge, there were no such consultations with other accountants.
Other Audit Findings or Issues
We generally discuss a variety of matters, including the application of accounting principles and auditing standards, with management each year prior to retention as the auditors of the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, and the Transit Enterprise Fund, of the City. However, these discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship and our responses were not a condition to our retention.
Other Matters
We applied certain limited procedures to budgetary comparison schedules for the Transportation Development Act Fund and Measure K Fund, allocated for non-transit purposes, of the City, which are required supplementary information (RSI) that supplements the basic financial statements. Our procedures consisted of inquiries of management regarding the methods of preparing the information and comparing the information for consistency with management’s responses to our inquiries, the basic financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during our audit of the basic financial statements. We did not audit the RSI and do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the RSI.
Restriction on Use
This information is intended solely for the use of Board of Directors of the San Joaquin Council of Governments and the City Council and management of City of Ripon and is not intended to be, and should not be, used by anyone other than these specified parties.
Very truly yours,
Sacramento, California