The City Commission will consider approving a 3-year contract for audit services to Anderson ZurMuehlen and Co. for $47,000.

The audit services under the contract would be for fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

State law requires municipalities to perform audits annually.

AZ has been the city’s auditor since fiscal year 2016.

City’s audit report considered for acceptance on Tuesday

The Best Practice for Audit Procurement from the Government Finance Officers Association recommends that “governmental entities should enter into multiyear agreements of at least five years in duration.”

The city audit committee has recommended an extension of the audit contract with AZ for a second three-year term. The actual audit contract is between the City of Great Falls, AZ and the State of Montana as required by the state.

The audit committee consists of the mayor, one city commissioner, city manager, two private citizens and the finance director.

At the end of 2021, AZ will have been the City’s auditors for six years.

Annual audits are a professional service exempt from statutory bidding requirements. The GFOA and the State of Montana Department of Administration provide similar guidance for local governments in selecting professional auditing services.

The audit committee has been pleased with the audit services of AZ, according to a city staff report.

The cost for fiscal year 2018 was $45,000, which included the agreed upon procedures on local building code enforcement program.

The new contract for $47,000 will be a 4.4 percent increase over last fiscal year, but there will be no increase in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, according to the staff report.