03-26-12 Fiscal Affairs Committee

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CITY OF LA PORTE Established 1892 March 26, 2012 To the Honorable Mayor, Members of City Council, and Citizens of the City of La Porte, Texas: The Finance Department and City Manager’s Office are pleased to submit the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the City of La Porte, Texas for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011. This report is published to provide the City Council, City staff, our citizens, our bondholders and other interested parties with detailed information concerning the financial condition and activities of the City government. This report consists of management’s representations concerning the finances of the City of La Porte. Consequently, management assumes full responsibility for the completeness and reliability of all of the information presented in this report. To provide a reasonable basis for making these representations, management of the City has established a comprehensive internal control framework that is designed both to protect the government’s assets from loss, theft or misuse and to compile sufficient reliable information for the preparation of the City of La Porte’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP. The cost of internal controls should not outweigh their benefits; therefore the City of La Porte’s comprehensive framework of internal controls has been designed to provide reasonable rather than absolute assurance that the financial statements will be free from material misstatement. As management, we assert that, to the best of our knowledge and belief, this financial report is complete and reliable in all material respects. The City of La Porte’s financial statements have been audited by Null Lairson, PC, a firm of licensed certified public accountants. The goal of the independent audit was to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements of the City of La Porte for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 are free of material misstatement. The independent audit involved examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amount and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. The independent auditor concluded, based upon the audit, that there was a reasonable basis for rendering an unqualified opinion that the City of La Porte’s financial statements for fiscal year ended September 30, 2011, are fairly presented in conformity with GAAP. The independent auditors’ report is presented as a component of the financial section of this report. The independent audit of the financial statements of the City of La Porte included a federally mandated “Single Audit” designed to meet the special needs of federal grantor agencies. The standards governing Single Audit engagements require the independent auditor to report not only on the fair presentation of the financial statements, but also on the audited government’s internal controls and compliance with legal requirements, with special emphasis on internal controls and legal requirements involving the administration of federal awards. These reports are available in the City of La Porte’s separately issued Single Audit Report. GAAP requires that management provide a narrative introduction, overview and analysis to accompany the basic financial statements in the form of Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). This letter of transmittal is designed to complement MD&A and should be read in conjunction with it. The City of La Porte’s MD&A can be found immediately following the report of the independent auditors. i