A recent audit of Ocean City’s finances revealed no findings for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.
During a work session Tuesday, SB & Company’s Chris Lehman presented the Mayor and Council with an audit report on the city’s financial statements for fiscal year 2024. He said his firm was presenting the city with a clean, unmodified opinion.
“In layman’s terms, that would be the best opinion we have under professional standards,” Lehman told the council. “That says that the financial statements are reasonably free of material mistake.”
Lehman said officials found no significant findings, material weaknesses, or instances of fraud. He also recognized staff for their cooperation in preparing this year’s audit report.
“No issues or findings, no recommendations,” Council Secretary Tony DeLuca said. “It’s like a perfect score, quarter after quarter, and people don’t understand how significant it is.”
City staff this week also presented the council with a town’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year 2024. Assistant Finance Director Shawn Bunting said Ocean City’s net position increased by $14.8 million
“Fiscal year 2024 was a good year financially for the town,” he said.
Of that net increase, Bunting said $8.3 million was driven by governmental activities and $6.5 million was driven by business type activities. He added that revenues decreased 2.2% and expenses increased 4.7%
“A lot of that was due to staff increases, COLA for employees, a lot of personnel costs,” he explained.