West Valley Water District selects certified public accounting firm to build on transparency, accountability improvements

In an effort to continue improving and providing better transparency and accountability for ratepayers, the West Valley Water District (WVWD) Board of Directors approved the selection of The Pun Group, LLP as a certified public accountant to audit its finances and ensure compliance for the next three fiscal years.

Director Dr. Clifford Young stated, “This is an additional step we are taking in our reform measures by making certain we seek competitive proposals from well-qualified and experienced firms. I look forward to making the final report available to our ratepayers for their review.”

WVWD selected The Pun Group to audit the agency’s financial statements for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2022. The firm is charged with providing an opinion on WVWD financial statements and keeping board members and management updated with best practices and new developments affecting special district accounting and reporting policies. This includes the WVWD’s approximately $30 million operating budget and $13 million capital improvement budget, which fund water services for 31 square miles within Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside through approximately 23,000 water service connections.

Director Dr. Michael Taylor stated, “We are committed to protecting our ratepayers by ensuring our Water District remains fiscally responsible and in compliance with all requirements. The Pun Group is highly respected and an award-winning auditing firm. I am confident they will hold our board, management and staff accountable for our ratepayers.”

Based in Orange County, The Pun Group is a full-service certified public accounting firm that provides accounting, auditing, tax and advisory services to public agencies as well as private sector companies. The firm maintains offices in Orange County, Bay Area, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix and serves industries and governments throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. In 2018, The Pun Group received the Single Audit Resource Center’s (SARC) Award for Excellence in Knowledge, Value and Overall Client Satisfaction in 2018, which is given to audit firms that provide outstanding service, based on client reviews. SARC is a resource library and trade association of professionals focused on improving the efficiency and quality of single audit engagements.  

WVWD conducts an annual audit of the organization’s financial activities. The audit includes a review all of the WVWD financial activities for compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in accordance with standards established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). After the audit is complete a Compressive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is prepared to document the audited results. The CAFR includes introductory, financial,  required supplementary and statistical sections. 

To ensure further accountability for ratepayers, WVWD has also arranged for The Pun Group to render several additional reports. These reports include a review of a sample of employee payroll records to verify compliance with California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CalPERS) regulations, a review of a sample of accounts payable and payroll to verify compliance with federal and state sales tax and income tax requirements and a review of a sample of Board of Directors expenses to verify compliance with District Ordinance 85, which sets compensation policies and procedures related to board activities. The Pun Group will also incorporate a statistical section within the financial report which includes a detailed analysis of all revenues and expenses, as well as local economic indicators.

The WVWD issued a request for proposal for qualified firms of certified public accountants on April 2, 2020 and required firms to respond by May 4, 2020. WVWD received bids from several accounting firms including Moss, Levy & Hartzheim, LLP and Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, LLP. The new arrangement also allow for the The Pun Group to audit financial statements for the next two years.