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SIMILAR ENGAGEMENTS WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (continued) • Close monitoring of the ongoing activity of the Minnesota Legislature to keep abreast of the latest legislative intents and proposals in order to be a resource to our clients when they are evaluating the impacts of pending legislation. � Frequent communications with key staff members of the Minnesota State Auditor's Office and Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), including inquiries on behalf of our clients. These are only a few examples of the many other services we can provide. We would be glad to provide you with specific referrals relating to the above services upon request. We often respond to client inquiries on a no -cost baaie, believing that such assistance should be provided to our clients as part of good client service. Examples of such no -cost inquiries depend on the individual matter but would typically include payroll -related tax inquiriea, technical inquiries relating to proper accounting or auditing pr000dunem, or other inquiries related to best business practices or internal control matters in general. EXPERIENCE WITH GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, FEDERAL SINGLE AUDIT AND LOCAL GUIDELINES FOR CITIES REQUIREMENTS, A. Financial Reporting Requirements of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has recently issued some of the most significant new technical pronouncements for governmental accounting and reporting in history. These statements prescribe significant changes to governmental financial reports that must be used by virtually every governmental organization that issues financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These represent dramatic changes in the way local government entities must report and present financial information. MMKR is dedicated to educating ourselves and our clients in the intricacies of the new pronouncements. Through a combination of professional education and an abundance of hands-on expehenoe, our governmental audit team has acquired the knowledge and expertise necessary to guide our clients through the implementation of these complex pronouncements. Our experience in assisting Minnesota governmental entities with the implementation of GASB Statements is second to none. MMKR has taken a proactive approach in assuring that our clients are prepared to meet the challenge of implementing new GASB standards. Through our management reports and annual audit preoentationa, we have communicated to our clients' governing bodies and constituents the impact any changes will have on both their annual financial reports and the resources of their finance departments. We have also worked closely with our clients' management and staff to devise implementation plans and provide assistance with a myriad of related technical issues. MMKR also works closely with all of our clients in preparing for the audit, helping them identify the areas where additional schedules or audit procedures will be required due to new GASB Statements. We offer our clients internally -developed checklists and electronic workpaper templates to make their audit preparations as efficient as poemib|e, although we are always willing to work with client -prepared schedules in whatever formats they prefer. We also help our clients interpret the technical aspects of GASB Statements and the related pronouncements. All through the audit prooema, from planning through report prepanation, we work closely with our clients to assure these new standards are properly applied. The area where we typically provide the most assistance is financial statement preparation. MMKR takes great pride in the quality of our clients' financial atatementa, whether we are reviewing a client -prepared report, or drafting the statement for them. We offer our clients the use of MMKR-developed financial statement templates and example note disclosures. Also, every report that bears our opinion goes through an extensive review process to help ensure accuracy and compliance with governmental reporting standards.