Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: March 5, 2026 Agenda Title Consideration of a motion to adopt Resolution 1377 appointing the external audit firm to examine the financial accounts of the City of Boulder for the year ending December 31, 2025.

Staff Contact • • •

Krista Morrison, Chief Financial Officer Joel Wagner, Finance Deputy Director Ron Gilbert, Acting Controller

Draft Motion Language The 2026 City Council Audit Committee requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion to adopt a Resolution accepting the firm Weaver and Tidwell LLP as the City’s independent auditors for the year ending December 31, 2025.

Executive Summary Section 12 of the Boulder City Charter requires City Council to appoint an auditor to make a thorough and complete annual examination and audit of all the financial accounts of the City, as summarized in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The independent auditor also reports and makes recommendations regarding the results of that examination, as communicated in the audit management letter. CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) has been the City’s independent auditors for the last ten

fiscal years. Governmental best practice recommends conducting formal Requests for Proposals (RFP) to ensure fresh approaches to audits and ensure reasonable costs. An RFP for audit services was issued by staff for the five-year period starting with 2025 and ending in with fiscal year 2029 subject to annual approval by city council. Five firms responded with formal proposals. With the assistance of staff, the Audit Committee recommends the appointment of Weaver and Tidwell L.L.P. as the city’s external audit firm. Please see Attachment A for the resolution appointing external auditors.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve motion language as drafted

If the motion is approved staff will begin the contracting process and schedule an entrance meeting with the Audit Committee to begin the 2025 audit.

Define and adopt a modified motion

Council would need to define any modifications or amendments to the draft motion language. This will likely require staff to bring back an amended version of the Resolution appointing audit firms and delay the start of the 2025 audit.

Deny the motion or take no action

If this motion is denied staff cannot begin the 2025 audit, which would delay the publication of the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

Refer back to staff

If council refers this item back to staff, staff requests guidance on the evaluation criteria for selecting a different audit firm that would meet council’s expectations.

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area Responsibly Governed The annual financial audit ensures that the city’s finances are responsibly managed and provides assurance that the city is complying with government accounting standards. The subsequent publication of the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial report (ACFR)

and Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) are key components in ensuring financial transparency. Citywide Strategic Plan Strategy 12 – Implement organizational and financial best practices to continuously improve asset management, customer experience, and project and program performance. The annual audit and publication of the ACFR and PAFR ensure that the city’s financial controls, financial reporting, and grant administration are aligned with governmental accounting standards and best practices. Staff Notes This motion is related to an annual workplan item and is the city’s standard practice.

Alignment with Additional City Plans n/a

City Council History This particular item has not come to city council before, however pursuant to the City Charter, council approves the appointment of the external audit firm every year.

Analysis The current auditors, CLA, have performed the city’s audit for the last ten years. the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) recommended audit procurement practice is to solicit audit services at least every five years. CLA was originally awarded a five-year term starting with the 2015 audit. The expiration of the original award would have required changing auditors during the pandemic, so staff recommended another five-year term in 2020. When CLA’s second term expired after the 2024 audit, staff decided to issue an RFP per recommended best practice. On November 10, 2025, a direct solicitation for audit proposals was published on Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System which automatically sent an email notice to all firms registered with this service. The request for proposals sought audit services for the next five years renewable on an annual basis by City Council.

The Audit Committee consists of members Dr. David Gross PhD (external financial expert), Robert Kaplan, and Mark Wallach. The committee was supported by a staff review team including Senior Accountant Amanda Berry, Acting Controller, Ron Gilbert, and Deputy Finance Director, Joel Wagner. The city received five qualified proposals. Staff reviewed the five written proposals and scored each proposal based on the fallowing evaluation criteria: 1.

2.

3. 4.

5.

Technical and Financial Resources. Whether the proposer possesses adequate technical and financial resources to perform the project or services or the ability to obtain the resources required for performance. Experience & Technical Skill. Whether the proposer possesses necessary experience, organization and technical skill in the relevant fields or the ability to obtain them, including, without limitation, arrangements with subcontractors. Approach & Timing. Whether the proposer proposes a reasonable approach to achieve the project or service objectives. Record & References. Whether the proposer has a satisfactory record of performance in developing and implementing similar projects or providing similar services in other jurisdictions. Reasonable Costs. Whether the proposer will perform the project or services at a reasonable cost compared with the level of effort to be expended.

Staff independently reviewed and scored the proposals, giving equal weight to the five evaluation criteria above. Best practice in selecting professional services is to consider cost/value as a factor in the evaluation, however, unlike a construction bid, the lowest cost proposal does not have to be selected. The three independent staff scores were consolidated to identify the top scoring firms. Three firms were selected to continue to audit committee interviews: • • •

CliftonLarsonAllen Plante Moran Weaver and Tidwell

Individual interviews were held with the three finalists (CliftonLarsonAllen, Plante Moran, and Weaver and Tidwell) on Wednesday, February 18 during a virtual Audit Committee meeting. Pursuant to the RFP, staff attributed an additional scoring equivalent to 25% of the maximum written score (or 25 points). Each staff member added an interview score to the prior written score to determine a final total score. After combining the three staff scores, the firm with the highest total score was Weaver and Tidwell L.L.P. At its February 27 meeting, the Audit Committee discussed staff’s recommendation and unanimously voted to recommend Weaver and Tidwell L.L.P. for the 2025-2029 financial

audit. While all three firms were well qualified and scored very closely, the recommendation was based on: • •

•

Weaver and Tidwell’s demonstration of a solid work plan and reasonable approach to complete the city’s audit on time. An experienced audit team that demonstrated a commitment to developing a deep understanding of the city’s financial processes and having open communication with the Audit Committee and city management while maintaining independence. A reasonable price.

The committee also agreed Weaver and Tidwell’s award would help ensure that the city’s processes and controls were benefiting from examination by a new firm without any familiarity with the city’s operations. After due consideration, the City Council Audit Committee formally recommends appointment of the firm of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. as the City’s independent auditors for the years ending December 31, 2025 to 2029, subject to annual appropriation and approval.

Equity Analysis This motion is related to work required by the city charter.

Fiscal Note Estimated Fiscal Impact Narrative Since the audit firm is selected using a Request for Proposals, the city can select the service provider that best meets the needs of the City, taking into consideration proposer qualifications, price, products, and service capabilities and other factors relevant to the City’s ordinances, policies, programs, administrative resources, and budget. Fee proposals were received by all five firms. Weaver and Tidwell’s fee proposal was the second lowest of the five proposals, and the lowest of the three finalists. This work is part of the Finance Department’s annual operating expenditure and the year one fee of $94,375 is within the currently approved budget.

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations The accounting firm will be utilizing paperless audit technology products greatly reducing the need for printed copies of work papers and spreadsheets.

Community Engagement The auditor interviews and recommendation occurred during two separate audit committee meetings on February 18 and 27 which were open to the public. No members of the public attended either meeting.

Workplan Considerations This item is included in the Finance Department’s annual workplan.

Next Steps for City Council When the annual financial audit is completed, the Audit Committee will present the results and request a motion approving a resolution to accept the annual financial audit. This motion typically occurs in August.

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Attachments Attachment A: Resolution 1377