North Ogden's clean audit came with one fraud-assessment finding; the next audit is due by Dec. 15

North Ogden's external auditor, Gilbert & Stewart, CPA, PC, of Provo, signed its report on the city's fiscal 2025 financial statements on Feb. 12, 2026. It states the statements "present fairly, in all material respects" the city's financial position as of June 30, 2025. ^[1]

The report refers to a separate report, of the same date, on internal control and compliance. ^[1]

One finding, two descriptions

At the audit committee's March 26, 2026 meeting, external auditor Ron Stewart reported a clean opinion and one finding "regarding the requirement to present the Fraud Risk Assessment to the Council," according to the approved minutes. ^[2]

At the April 14 council meeting, Finance Director Peter Brown described one compliance finding "regarding the timing of the City's Fraud Risk Assessment filing." The council voted 5–0 to accept the fiscal 2024–2025 audit report. ^[3]

The council reviewed the Fraud Risk Assessment for the annual audit on Jan. 13, 2026, when Brown said it was being finalized to support completion of the city's financial audit. He reported a score of 365 out of 395 points. ^[4]

On June 23 Brown presented the 2026 assessment for the next audit, again scoring 365 of 395. The minutes say it was presented in June in advance of the upcoming audit, and Call said it only needed to be presented to the council. ^[5]

Delays and a deadline

On June 23 Council Member Steven Nabor discussed delays in the prior year's audit and the Dec. 31, 2026 filing deadline with the Office of the State Auditor. The council voted 5–0 to approve the Gilbert & Stewart engagement letter subject to a revised completion date of Dec. 15, with Dec. 1 preferred. ^[5]

Brown said the city had run separate requests for proposals for the external audit and for a CPA to help with statement preparation and complex accounting entries. ^[5]

Draft July 23 audit committee minutes say HBME, LLC, will serve as a consultant to help train finance staff to prepare the government-wide statements, conversion entries, depreciation schedules and management's discussion and analysis. The firm's partner said the city would keep responsibility for its statements. ^[6]

Work still in progress

In March the audit committee discussed difficulty reconciling figures and reliance on a third-party preparer, and staff agreed additional support schedules were needed. ^[2]

On April 14 the council voted 5–0 to table a revised cash receipting policy for further changes, and 5–0 to accept the city's investment policy. ^[3]

The draft July minutes say finance staff were revising procedures to better separate purchase order entry, invoice approval and confirmation that goods were received. Brown also identified a calculation error in one chart of the third-quarter report, which he said would be corrected. ^[6]

Brown presented a preliminary fiscal 2026 snapshot in which the General Fund's deficit fell from approximately $362,000 to $44,000 after more tax revenue was recorded. He said sales tax, other revenue and payables were not yet fully recorded and that it was not a final statement. ^[6]

The committee scheduled meetings on Oct. 22 and Dec. 17, with the audited statements to be presented to the council on Dec. 22. ^[6]