Financial audit reveals ‘material weaknesses’

A much-delayed audit warns Acton risked misstating its financial position after multiple safeguards broke down in the 2024 fiscal year.   

Critics say these issues could hurt the town’s bond rating and muddy the waters of ongoing budget debates.

Town Manager Kerry Lafleur acknowledged this is “out of the ordinary.” She said staff were already working to fix problems before the audit landed. 

“These issues do not regularly occur in Acton,” she told The Acton Bridge, “and they can’t regularly occur.”

Long delay

Officials usually finalize Acton’s audits within 12 months of the end of each fiscal year, according to a Bridge review of documents from the last decade. The 2024 process has taken more than 18 months. 

Fiscal ’24 ended June 30, 2024. Lafleur said auditors at CBIZ CPAs submitted their final letter late last month. 

Lafleur told The Bridge that “the town is not blameless and the auditor is not blameless” for the long wait.

Although officials want a quicker process in the future, Lafleur said the town’s financial adviser said dozens of other Massachusetts communities were also awaiting 2024 audits over the summer. 

‘This is outrageous’

Alongside their reports, auditors file management letters with recommendations for better financial practices. 

CBIZ wrote that auditors found “material weaknesses” in four categories. This is the lowest rating the auditors can assess. It means there’s “a reasonable possibility” that officials wouldn’t have caught errors in financial records. 

Issues included a roughly yearlong delay in reconciling cash and receivable accounts.

Reconciliation involves comparing internal records with bank records to identify any discrepancies. Auditors said water and sewer fund reconciliations from 2024 remained “unresolved.” 

The state Division of Local Services recommends reconciling accounts monthly; delays can hamper audits and free cash certification.

Paul Macone, a onetime Acton deputy police chief who’s now a frequent critic of the town administration, surfaced a draft version of the audit letter with a public records request. 

Beyond reconciliations, other issues included a situation where the town uploaded the wrong budget file into its system.  

“This is outrageous,” Macone wrote in an email to Finance Committee Chair Lois Wasoff. 

FinCom’s John Garofalo said he was “beyond alarmed.” 

‘Atypical’ factors

Lafleur said she doesn’t remember a material weakness exposed in any previous cycle.

Among “atypical” factors, she said the town was handling a financial software conversion that continued after fiscal ’24. Officials and auditors mentioned staff turnover, which has also continued.

Moody’s credit rating agency threatened to put Acton’s AAA rating under review last June due to the delayed audit, according to emails obtained through a Bridge public records request. A downgrade or withdrawal would make it more expensive to borrow money because the town would be seen as a higher risk for repayment.

Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Barrett said the town gave Moody’s the information it needed and remains “in good standing.”

Barrett, in a reply to the auditors’ letter, said some issues had been resolved. She detailed plans to fix other problems soon. 

She told FinCom that the fiscal ’25 process “will move a lot faster.”

Asked about audit timing, CBIZ spokesperson Amy McGahan said the firm “does not comment publicly on client matters.”

Although the management letter found faults, auditors affirmed that Acton’s 2024 records “present fairly” the town’s financial position.

Assigning responsibility 

Anthony Ansaldi helmed the Finance Department as the town’s CFO during much of fiscal ’24 and ’25 before his firing.

“The work of the Finance Department is 100% the responsibility of the chief financial officer,” Lafleur said, without mentioning Ansaldi’s name. 

In a separate interview, Lafleur acknowledged her stint as head of the department from 2016 to 2021, saying, “It’s particularly hard for me as the former CFO to see that we’re in this place.”

Ansaldi recently filed a lawsuit alleging that officials retaliated when he called out what he said were illegal and improper practices that predated his hiring.

Lafleur said she “would caution against conflating” the audit with the lawsuit.

She said the audit aims to identify opportunities for improvement, and the results aren’t “findings of wrongdoing, intent, or retaliation.” 

Lafleur said the lawsuit contains “disputed allegations that will be addressed through the legal process.” 

FinCom concerns

Select Board Chair Mark Howell said he’s satisfied that the town “is responding appropriately” to the auditors. 

While FinCom isn’t directly involved, members had concerns about transparency and the 18-month holdup during their latest meeting. FinCom’s Eric Dahlberg said “it feels odd” to have heard about the draft letter from Macone, rather than from town staff. 

Lafleur said Acton’s independent Financial Audit Advisory Committee usually reviews audits and will report back to the Select Board on the 2024 report. 

“It’s our responsibility” to reestablish trust, she said, adding, “I am very confident that we will be able to do that.”