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During the planning and internal control phases of our audit, we will develop our understanding of the City's business operations and internal control structure for financial accounting and relevant operations through observation, discussion, and inquiries with management and appropriate personnel. During this phase of the audit, we will review budgets and related materials, organization charts, accounting and purchase manuals, and other systems documentation that may be available. Once we understand your operations, we will then identify control objectives for each type of control that is material to the financial statements. The next step will be to identify and gain an understanding of the relevant control policies and procedures that effectively achieve the control objectives. We will then determine the nature, timing, and extent of our control testing, and perform tests of controls. This phase of the audit will include extensive testing of controls over transactions, financial reporting, and compliance with laws and regulations. Whenever possible, we will use dual-purpose tests to reduce the need to select multiple samples for internal control and compliance testing. We will be as efficient as possible, thereby reducing the disruption to your operations while achieving our audit objectives. Our assessment of internal controls will determine whether the City has established and maintained internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that the following objectives are met: • Transactions are properly recorded, processed, and summarized to permit the preparation of reliable financial statements and to maintain accountability over assets • Assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition • Transactions are executed in accordance with laws and regulations that could have a direct and material effect on the financial statements Our workpapers during this phase will clearly document our work through the preparation of the following for each significant transaction cycle or accounting application: • Audit program • Cycle memo and supporting documentation • Account risk analysis (ARA) • Specific control evaluation (SCE) Approach to be taken in determining laws and regulations that will be subject to audit test work We will obtain an understanding of the laws and regulations that have an impact on the City's operations by reviewing council minutes to identify any ordinances or resolutions that might have an impact to operations and reporting by the City, as well as interview key personnel and management of the City. Additionally, the staff assigned to the engagement attend regular trainings and are well versed in upcoming legislation, federal and state laws (i.e. Uniform Grant Guidance) and proactively discuss these upcoming changes with our clients. We will also review current operations, contracts and IGA's that may have an impact on current operations. Identification of anticipated potential audit problems In situations where authoritative guidance on a particular transaction or accounting issue is unclear or subject to interpretation, our approach is to proactively meet with management to discuss the issue and reach a conclusion that is hopefully agreed upon by both parties. We do not have specific "firm policies' that dictate our conclusions to be reached on all complex accounting issues. Rather, each issue must be evaluated independently by our engagement team. As discussed above, we will not only meet internally, but also facilitate discussion with the City's management team in order to obtain a mutual understanding of the particular accounting issue, determine the applicable authoritative guidance that most closely relates to the issue, and strive to reach an