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AUDIT SERVICES APPROACH Our tailored audit approach focuses on meeting your needs in a timely manner. We place emphasis on early planning to assist in identifying those areas of significance. Our process focuses on individual entities and how they function. We also focus on identifying constructive management letter comments for your consideration. The goal of our audit process is to provide an independent, less costly, quality audit that is performed by the most experienced and dedicated professionals. Several steps in planning the audit and assisting you in containing your costs include: • We emphasize an open line of communication with our clients throughout the year, • We suggest management submit minutes to us on a regular basis, • We review financial analysis and detail at various interim dates each year, • We provide our clients with a detailed list of items to prepare for the audit (and update the list each year), and • We educate our clients as to issues pertinent to their operations and current accounting issues and trends. Specific audit methodology utilized when performing your audit will consist of the following: • Review of budget to actual data and trends, • Obtaining a basic understanding of the City and its environment, including the City's organizational charts, operating manuals, and internal controls over both entity level and specific account transactions (including obtaining an understanding of the City's financial and management information systems), • Analytical procedures will be performed consisting of trend and ratio analysis, and • Substantive testing on specific account cycles. We use statistical sampling to assist us in our substantive procedures. Sample sizes are determined based upon our assessed risk of the area being audited, population size, and assessed materiality levels by fund. • Determining compliance with laws and regulations. We will follow the legal compliance guide published by the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, as well as review transactions for compliance with other statutes and requirements. The above audit service approach encompasses any compliance portions of the audit, including audits of Minnesota Legal Compliance and the Single Audit Act. Schlenner Wenner & Co. uses EDP software in its audits of cities and has a fully paperless audit process. We have a portal available for the City to download contracts and other items throughout the year to move so of the audit preparation time out of the typical preparation timeframe for you. We feel our commitment to quality service and concern for our clients assists in containing our clients' cost through awareness of their unique situations, addressing their concerns throughout the year, and providing education to their accounting staff. 11