City awards audit contract to Topeka CPA firm

The City of Ponca City awarded a contract for the audit of financial statements for Fiscal Year 2018-19 (year ending June 30, 2019) to Berberich Trahan & Co., P.A. Certified Public Accountants, of Topeka, Kansas, at Monday night’s City Commission meeting.

The contract is for $53,175.

City Finance Director Marc LaBossiere said Oklahoma statutes and prudent management require an external audit of city financial statements and operations annually.

For the past three years, Arledge & Associates of Edmond, Oklahoma, has performed the service, he said.

“Best practices recommend multi-year agreements with a minimum of three years in duration to allow for greater continuity and to reduce audit costs by allowing auditors to recover certain ‘startup’ costs over several years rather than a single year,” LaBossiere told commissioners. “At the same time, best practices also recommend undertaking a full scale competitive process every three to 10 years.”

Staff sent a request for proposals of audit services to 14 qualifying firms in February 2019. Four proposals were received.

LaBossiere said the bids were compared not only for price, but also for criteria covering the firms’ ability to conduct the audit with sufficient staff and experience. One bid was rejected on that basis and the contract was awarded to Berberich Trahan & Co., P.A. in the amount of $49,175, plus an additional $4,000 for the single audit that will be required for the year.

Due to Oklahoma statues, the city can only bind one year at a time, but it is staff’s intention to recommend this firm for a minimum of three consecutive years to perform these services, LaBossiere said.