For Twelfth Consecutive Year, Elkins Receives ‘Unmodified’ Audit Opinion

ELKINS, W.Va. — May 16, 2025 — The City of Elkins again received high marks on its latest annual audit, as Tracy Judy, the City’s treasurer, reported to City Council last night. Under state law, West Virginia cities must undergo yearly audits. BHM CPA Group, an Ohio-based public accounting firm with offices in Huntington, West Virginia, completed this year’s audit, which examined financial records from the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024.

“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, the discretely presented component unit, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City of Elkins,” concluded BHM CPA in its FY2024 audit report.

During the auditing process, auditors from BHM CPA Group examined the City’s accounting procedures and reviewed all financial processes. This comprehensive audit included financial records related to revenues and expenditures, the administration of grants, and its bank accounts. Auditors also evaluated the City’s internal controls, which the treasurer’s office has set in place to strengthen fraud prevention safeguards.

“I’m proud to say that for the twelfth consecutive year, we received an unmodified audit, which is great for the City when we apply for grants or seek out loans,” said Ms. Judy.

As with the case of Elkins, municipal audits are vital to review any city’s financial position, as they verify annual financial statements, evaluate a government’s compliance with West Virginia state law, and follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for municipalities.

“The very mention of the word, ‘audit,’ often comes across as a negative,” added Ms. Judy. “What residents should understand is that it is an annual process dictated by West Virginia state law. We open the City’s books and all financial statements to the auditors, and once again, residents can take satisfaction in that we have had clean audits year after year since 2013.”

Also referred to as “unqualified” or “clean” opinions by the U.S. accounting profession, an unmodified opinion is the desired outcome for any organization under audit. An unmodified audit indicates that auditors found no misrepresentations of fact nor any failures within the City’s finance department to follow appropriate accounting standards.

View the City of Elkins’ most recent audits at https://cityofelkinswv.gov/departments/finance/audits/.