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Letter - Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, LLP - 2015-07-20 (2)ROGERS, ANDERSON, MALODY & SCOTT, LLP RECE.IVED CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS, SINCE 1948 AIL 2 7 2015 COSTA iVitSA Silffiiki MWICT 735 E. Carnegie Dr. Suite 100 San Bernardino, CA 92408 909 889 0871 T July 20, 2015 909 889 5361 F ramscpa.net PARTNERS Brenda L. Odle, CPA, MST Costa Mesa Sanitary District Terry P. Shea, CPA 1 91h 628 W. Street Kirk A. Franks, CPA Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Scott W. Manno, CPA, CGMA Leena Shanbhag, CPA, MST, CGMA Jay H. Zercher, CPA (Partner Emeritus) Phillip H. Waller, CPA (Partner Emeritus) We are pleased to confirm our understanding of the services we are to provide Costa Mesa Sanitary District (the District) for the year ended June DIRECTORS 30) 2015. We will audit the financial statements of the District, including Bradferd A. Welebir, CPA, MBA the related notes to the financial statements, which comprise the basic MANAGERS / STAFF financial statements of the District, as of and for the year ended June 30, jenny Liu, CPA, MST 2015. Accounting standards generally accepted in the United States of Seong-Hyea Lee, CPA, MBA Charles De Simoni, CPA America provide for certain required supplementary information (RSI), Yiann Fang, CPA such as management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), to supplement Nathan Statham, CPA, MBA the District's basic financial statements. Such information, although not a Brigitta Bartha, CPA part of the basic financial statements, is required by the Governmental Gardenya Duran, CPA Juan Romero, CPA Accounting Standards Board who considers it to be an essential part of Ivan Gonzales, CPA, MSA financial reporting for placing the basic financial statements in an Brianna Pascoe, CPA appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. As part of our engagement, we will apply certain limited procedures to the District's RSI in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. These limited procedures will consist 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 will not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance. The following RSI is required by generally accepted accounting principles and will be subjected to certain limited procedures, but will not be audited: MEMBERS American Institute of 1) Management's Discussion and Analysis. Certified Public Accountants 2) Schedule of funding progress for OPEB. PCPS The AICPA Alliance for CPA Firms 3) Schedule of contributions. Governmental Audit Quality Center 4) Schedule of proportionate share of net pension liability. California Society of Certified Public Accountants STABILITY. ACCURACY. TRUST. Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 2 The following other information accompanying the financial statements will not be subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our audit of the financial statements, and our auditor's report will not provide an opinion or any assurance on that other information. 1) Introductory Section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. 2) Statistical Section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Audit Objectives The objective of our audit is the expression of opinions as to whether your financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and will include tests of the accounting records of the District and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express such opinions. We will issue a written report upon completion of our audit of the District's financial statements. Our report will be addressed to the Board of Directors of the District. We cannot provide assurance that unmodified opinions will be expressed. Circumstances may arise in which it is necessary for us to modify our opinions or add emphasis -of -matter or other -matter paragraphs. If our opinions on the financial statements are other than unmodified, we will discuss the reasons with you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the audit or are unable to form or have not formed opinions, we may decline to express opinions or issue reports, or may withdraw from this engagement. We will also provide a report (that does not include an opinion) on internal control related to the financial statements and compliance with the provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a material effect on the financial statements as required by Government Auditing Standards. The report on internal control and on compliance and other matters will include a paragraph that states (1) that the purpose of the report is solely to describe the scope of testing of internal control and compliance, and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control on compliance, and (2) that the report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the entity's internal control and compliance. The paragraph will also state that the report is not suitable for any other purpose. If during our audit we become aware that the District is subject to an audit requirement that is not encompassed in the terms of this engagement, we will communicate to management and those charged with governance that an audit in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards and the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards may not satisfy the relevant legal, regulatory, or contractual requirements. Audit Procedures —General An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of transactions to be examined and the areas to be tested. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 3 statements. We will plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable rather than absolute assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether from (1) errors, (2) fraudulent financial reporting, (3) misappropriation of assets, or (4) violations of laws or governmental regulations that are attributable to the government or to acts by management or employees acting on behalf of the government. Because the determination of abuse is subjective, Government Auditing Standards do not expect auditors to provide reasonable assurance of detecting abuse. Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, combined with the inherent limitations of internal control, and because we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk that material misstatements may exist and not be detected by us, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards and Government Auditing Standards. In addition, an audit is not designed to detect immaterial misstatements or violations of laws or governmental regulations that do not have a direct and material effect on the financial statements. However, we will inform the appropriate level of management of any material errors, any fraudulent financial reporting, or misappropriation of assets that come to our attention. We will also inform the appropriate level of management of any violations of laws or governmental regulations that come to our attention, unless clearly inconsequential, and of any material abuse that comes to our attention. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to the period covered by our audit and does not extend to later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors. Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and may include tests of the physical existence of inventories, and direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, funding sources, creditors, and financial institutions. We will request written representations from your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the conclusion of our audit, we will require certain written representations from you about your responsibilities for the financial statements; compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements; and other responsibilities required by generally accepted auditing standards. Audit Procedures —Internal Control Our audit will include obtaining an understanding of the government and its environment, including internal control, sufficient to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures. Tests of controls may be performed to test the effectiveness of certain controls that we consider relevant to preventing and detecting errors and fraud that are material to the financial statements and to preventing and detecting misstatements resulting from illegal acts and other noncompliance matters that have a direct and material effect on the financial statements. Our tests, if performed, will be less in scope than would be necessary to render an opinion on internal control and, accordingly, no opinion will be expressed in our report on internal control issued pursuant to Government Auditing Standards. An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. However, during the audit, we will communicate to management and those charged with governance internal control related matters that are Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 4 required to be communicated under AICPA professional standards and Government Auditing Standards. Audit Procedures —Compliance As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, we will perform tests of the District's compliance with the provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, agreements, and grants. However, the objective of our audit will not be to provide an opinion on overall compliance and we will not express such an opinion in our report on compliance issued pursuant to Government Auditing Standards. Management Responsibilities Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal controls, including evaluating and monitoring ongoing activities, to help ensure that appropriate goals and objectives are met; following laws and regulations; and ensuring that management is reliable and financial information is reliable and properly reported. Management is also responsible for implementing systems designed to achieve compliance with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. You are also responsible for the selection and application of accounting principles, for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and for compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements. Management is also responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us and for the accuracy and completeness of that information. You are also responsible for providing us with (1) access to all information of which you are aware that is relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, (2) additional information that we may request for the purpose of the audit, and (3) unrestricted access to persons within the government from whom we determine it necessary to obtain audit evidence. Your responsibilities include adjusting the financial statements to correct material misstatements and for confirming to us in the written representation letter that the effects of any uncorrected misstatements aggregated by us during the current engagement and pertaining to the latest period presented are immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate, to the financial statements taken as a whole. You are responsible for the design and implementation of programs and controls to prevent and detect fraud, and for informing us about all known or suspected fraud affecting the government involving (1) management, (2) employees who have significant roles in internal control, and (3) others where the fraud could have a material effect on the financial statements. Your responsibilities include informing us of your knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the government received in communications from employees, former employees, grantors, regulators, or others. In addition, you are responsible for identifying and ensuring that the government complies with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, agreements, and grants and for taking timely and appropriate steps to remedy fraud and noncompliance with provisions of laws, regulations, contracts or grant agreements, or abuse that we report. Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 5 Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining a process for tracking the status of audit findings and recommendations. Management is also responsible for identifying for us previous financial audits, attestation engagements, performance audits or other studies related to the objectives discussed in the Audit Objectives section of this letter. This responsibility includes relaying to us corrective actions taken to address significant findings and recommendations resulting from those audits, attestation engagements, performance audits, or other studies. You are also responsible for providing management's views on our current findings, conclusions, and recommendations, as well as your planned corrective actions, for the report, and for the timing and format for providing that information. Management is responsible for the financial statements and all accompanying information as well as all representations contained therein. You agree to assume all management responsibilities for any nonaudit services we provide. Further, you agree to oversee the nonaudit services by designating an individual, preferably from senior management, who possesses suitable skill, knowledge, or experience; evaluate the adequacy and results of those services; and accept responsibility for them. Engagement Administration, Fees, and Other We may from time to time, and depending on the circumstances, use third -party service providers in serving your account. We may share confidential information about you with these service providers, but remain committed to maintaining the confidentiality and security of your information. Accordingly, we maintain internal policies, procedures, and safeguards to protect the confidentiality of your personal information. In addition, we will secure confidentiality agreements with all service providers to maintain the confidentiality of your information and we will take reasonable precautions to determine that they have appropriate procedures in place to prevent the unauthorized release of your confidential information to others. In the event that we are unable to secure an appropriate confidentiality agreement, you will be asked to provide your consent prior to the sharing of your confidential information with the third -party service provider. Furthermore, we will remain responsible for the work provided by any such third -party service providers. We understand that your employees will locate any documents selected by us for testing. Also noted below is a listing of work required by District staff to assist in the audit: 1. Preparation of trial balances, after posting of all year end journal entries 2. Preparation of schedules supporting all major balance sheet accounts, and selected revenue and expense accounts. 3. Typing of all confirmation requests. 4. Preparation of the financial statements and notes to the financial statements. We will provide copies of our reports to the District; however, management is responsible for distribution of the reports and the financial statements. Unless restricted by law or regulation, or containing privileged and confidential information, copies of our reports are to be made available for public inspection. Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 6 The audit documentation for this engagement is the property of Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, LLP and constitutes confidential information. However, subject to applicable laws and regulations, audit documentation and appropriate individuals will be made available upon request and in a timely manner to various regulators or its designee, a federal agency providing direct or indirect funding, or the U.S. Government Accountability Office for purposes of a quality review of the audit, to resolve audit findings, or to carry out oversight responsibilities. We will notify you of any such request. If requested, access to such audit documentation will be provided under the supervision of Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, LLP personnel. Furthermore, upon request, we may provide copies of selected audit documentation to the aforementioned parties. These parties may intend, or decide, to distribute the copies or information contained therein to others, including other governmental agencies. The audit documentation for this engagement will be retained for a minimum of seven years after the report release date or for any additional period requested by any regulators. If we are aware that a federal awarding agency or auditee is contesting an audit finding, we will contact the party(ies) contesting the audit finding for guidance prior to destroying the audit documentation. We expect to begin our audit on approximately September 15, 2015 and to issue our reports no later than December 15, 2015. Scott W. Manno, CPA, CGMA, is the engagement partner and is responsible for supervising the engagement and signing the reports or authorizing another individual to sign them. Our fee for these services will be at our standard hourly rates plus out-of-pocket costs (such as report reproduction, word processing, postage, travel, copies, telephone, etc.) except that we agree that our gross fee, including expenses, will not exceed $9,695. Our standard hourly rates vary according to the degree of responsibility involved and the experience level of the personnel assigned to your audit. Our invoices for these fees will be rendered each month as work progresses and are payable on presentation. If we elect to terminate our services for nonpayment, our engagement will be deemed to have been completed upon written notification of termination, even if we have not completed our report. You will be obligated to compensate us for all time expended and to reimburse us for all out-of-pocket costs through the date of termination. The above fee is based on anticipated cooperation from your personnel and the assumption that unexpected circumstances will not be encountered during the audit. If significant additional time is necessary, we will discuss it with you and arrive at a new fee estimate before we incur the additional costs. Costa Mesa Sanitary District July 20, 2015 Page 7 We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and believe this letter accurately summarizes the significant terms of our engagement. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you agree with the terms of our engagement as described in this letter, please sign the enclosed original letter and return it to us, retain the copy for your records. Very truly yours, ROGERS, ANDERSON, MALODY & SCOTT, LLP S7 Scott W. Manno, CPA, CGMA Partner RESPONSE: This letter correctly sets forth the understanding of Costa Mesa Sanitary District. Title: Date: